Google Chrome’s Incognito Mode lets you browse the web privately without giving out your activity data. However, if you think about it, this experience isn’t entirely private, because anyone—who has access to your phone—can see all the incognito tabs you have open in the browser.
Thankfully, Google has a solution to prevent this. This includes locking incognito tabs in Chrome to limit access to them. So, let’s see how to lock incognito tabs in Chrome on iPhone to make your browsing experience more private.
How to Lock Incognito Tabs When You Quit Chrome
First things first, go to the App Store and update the Google Chrome browser on your iPhone to the latest version. Now, given that you have some tabs open in Chrome in incognito mode, here’s how you can lock them.
When you quit Chrome now—and it’s in incognito mode—it will automatically lock all incognito tabs. You can see it when you bring up the app switcher.
Keep in mind that if you’re not in incognito mode, Chrome will still be accessible as before.
How to Access Locked Incognito Tabs in Chrome
Accessing your locked incognito tabs in Chrome is as easy as authenticating yourself using a passcode, Face ID, or Touch ID, depending on what you used to lock them. So, follow these simple instructions.
One thing to note here is that in this case also Chrome will lock the Incognito tab when you switch to normal browsing. Therefore, you still have to authenticate when you switch back and forth between regular and incognito tabs.
Make your secret searches more personal
Chrome’s ability to lock incognito tabs behind a passcode, Touch ID, or Face ID makes incognito searches on the iPhone more private. As a result, you can have as many incognito tabs open in the browser as you want without having to worry about closing them until you’ve finished browsing.
If you have an Android device, you’ll be happy to know that Chrome’s Android app offers similar options for locking incognito tabs so you can browse privately.
It’s always nice to see a technological feature come along that takes the hassle out of interacting with our fellow humans. And it does just that.
The feature means you can set your incognito session to automatically lock when you exit Chrome on Android, ensuring prying eyes can’t see what you’ve been watching online .
How does Chrome’s locking incognito tabs work?
Let’s say you’re trying to find a gift for that special someone, and you want to browse privately and securely without being tracked via Incognito Mode in Chrome. But what if that special someone needs to borrow your device? You don’t want to close the tab to keep the gift a secret because it sounds suspicious.
Thanks to this Chrome update rolling out for Android devices in January 2023, you can choose to automatically lock your incognito session when you close the browser. This is one of the many iOS features missing from Android in 2021, but now it has arrived. And also about time.
A new update may change the way you use incognito mode in Chrome on Android in the coming days.
In the past, you were forced to close incognito tabs any time you realized someone needed to borrow your device. This is a major inconvenience when viewing personal but important information.
Now, Chrome’s incognito mode acts more like your own personal vault, where you can browse privately without worrying about anyone finding your sensitive, open tabs.
How to set up locking incognito tabs in Chrome on Android
As Google details on the keyword, once you have Chrome open on your phone, tap on Settings and then choose Privacy & security. If the update has rolled out to your device, you’ll see an option to toggle “On” a feature called “Lock incognito tabs when you close Chrome.”
If you’ve updated Chrome and still don’t see this option, don’t worry. It simply means that Google has not yet provided this feature for you.
You will need to verify your credentials when you close Chrome and access your incognito session again. Sure, it’s an extra step, but it ensures that your private browsing habits stay hidden from prying eyes and your secrets stay with you.
You will never again have to close your incognito tabs for fear that someone will see them while you are using your Android device.
