How to Open InPrivate Browsing: A Complete Guide

Private browsing goes by different names depending on your browser — InPrivate in Microsoft Edge, Incognito in Chrome, Private Window in Firefox and Safari. But the underlying idea is the same: a temporary browsing session that doesn't save your history, cookies, or form data to your device after you close it.

Here's how to open it across every major browser and platform, plus what it actually does (and doesn't) protect.

What InPrivate Browsing Actually Does

When you open an InPrivate or private window, your browser creates an isolated session. Once you close that window:

• Your browsing history isn't saved locally
• Cookies and site data from that session are deleted
• Form inputs and passwords aren't stored
• Downloads may still appear in your Downloads folder (depending on browser settings)

What it does not do: hide your activity from your internet service provider, your employer's network, or the websites you visit. It's a local privacy tool, not an anonymity tool. Your IP address is still visible to every site you connect to.

How to Open InPrivate in Microsoft Edge 🔒

Edge uses the InPrivate label specifically. Here's how to open it:

Windows:

• Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl + Shift + N
• Menu: Click the three-dot menu (top right) → New InPrivate window
• Right-click the Edge icon in the taskbar → New InPrivate window

Mac:

• Keyboard shortcut: Cmd + Shift + N
• Menu: Three-dot menu → New InPrivate window

Mobile (iOS and Android):

• Tap the tab icon → Look for InPrivate toggle or tab
• Tap the three-dot menu → New InPrivate tab

An InPrivate window in Edge displays a dark theme with a blue InPrivate badge in the corner so you always know which mode you're in.

How to Open Private Browsing in Other Major Browsers

Note that Firefox uses a different shortcut (P instead of N) — a common source of confusion when switching between browsers.

Opening Private Browsing on Mobile Devices 📱

Chrome on Android/iOS: Tap the tab switcher icon → tap the Incognito icon (hat and glasses) → tap the + button.

Safari on iPhone/iPad: Open Safari → tap the tab icon (bottom right) → tap Private in the tab group menu → tap + to open a new private tab. On newer iOS versions, you may need to tap and hold the tab icon for a shortcut.

Firefox on Mobile: Tap the tab icon → tap the mask icon to switch to private tabs → tap +.

Samsung Internet: Tap the tab icon → tap Secret Mode → you may be prompted to set a PIN for additional protection (optional).

Variables That Affect Your Private Browsing Experience

Not every private browsing session works identically. Several factors shape what you'll experience:

Browser extensions: By default, most browsers disable extensions in private/InPrivate mode. Edge and Chrome let you manually allow specific extensions in private mode through the extensions settings panel. If you rely on a password manager or ad blocker, you'll need to enable it explicitly.

Signed-in accounts: If you're logged into Google, Microsoft, or any other account inside a private window, that service can still track your activity within that session. The privacy protection applies to your local device, not to the platforms you're authenticated with.

Managed devices: On work or school devices, your organization may have policies that log browsing activity regardless of private mode. IT administrators can often monitor traffic at the network level.

Operating system and browser version: Some private browsing features — like Edge's Strict tracking prevention that activates automatically in InPrivate mode — are version-dependent. Older browser versions may offer fewer protections than current releases.

Tor integration in Brave: Brave offers a Private Window with Tor, which routes traffic through the Tor network for stronger anonymity. This is meaningfully different from standard private browsing and trades speed for additional privacy.

The Spectrum of Private Browsing Use Cases

Private browsing fits different needs in genuinely different ways:

• Shared device users benefit the most from local history clearing — it keeps personal searches off a family or work computer.
• Logged-in users on personal devices get less value, since signed-in services still log behavior.
• Users on monitored networks (corporate, school, public Wi-Fi) should understand that private mode doesn't encrypt traffic or hide destinations from network administrators.
• Users seeking anonymity from websites and trackers need additional tools — a VPN changes your visible IP address, while Tor provides stronger obfuscation at the cost of speed.

The gap between "clears my local history" and "makes me truly anonymous online" is significant. Private browsing covers the first scenario well. The second requires a layered approach that depends heavily on your specific threat model, technical comfort level, and tolerance for reduced browsing speed or convenience.

What the right configuration looks like in practice varies considerably from one person's setup to the next.