If you are a person who peruses the internet while at work and you enjoy visiting websites that do not pertain to your job, but think your boss won’t find out because you use Google’s incognito mode, you may want to read this. Many people assume that the incognito mode on Chrome allows them to covertly browse the internet, even on websites that are explicitly not safe for work while they are at work. One of the creators of the incognito mode wants you to know that your boss can easily see your browsing history so you may want to steer clear of risky websites that may jeopardize your career.
Darin Fisher, Chrome developer and vice president of Chrome, told Thrillist that the incognito mode was never intended to hide your risque internet browsing habits. “When you launch the Incognito tab there’s this disclaimer there where we really try to help make it really clear to people that your activity is certainly still visible to the websites you visit and could be visible to your employer, to your school your, and to your ISP [internet service provide] of course,” Fisher said. Even from the inception of the incognito mode, Google developers did not want to give users the idea that it would provide privacy and that is why they never dubbed it “privacy mode.”
When entering incognito mode, the page outlines that Chrome won’t save your browsing history, cookies and site data, and information entered in forms. The entry page also clearly states that your internet activity might still be visible to websites you visit, your employer or school, and your internet service provider. Despite the obvious warning people still think using the incognito mode means that their boss can’t see all of the freaky-deaky porn that they’re watching at work. That is a regrettable mistake that can cost you your job.
Google designed incognito mode for a much different reason than most are using it for. An example of how Google intended IM to be used was maybe a man to uses the home computer to go wedding ring shopping and then have his girlfriend use Google and not see wedding ring ads plastered all over the internet and tipping her off that her boyfriend has been wedding ring shopping. They did not create incognito mode for you to gaze intently at porn from your cubicle. Sorry. Go to the bathroom and use your phone to look at porn like a normal person.