What you do online is personal, which is why Google Chrome offers a couple of ways to keep your browsing private. The two main options for this are incognito mode and guest mode, but how are these different?

Let's take a quick look at guest mode vs. incognito mode in Chrome, including what they do and when you should use each one.

What Is Incognito Mode in Google Chrome?

Incognito mode, known as private browsing in most other browsers, has been around for years and is a staple web browsing function. While incognito, you can browse the web without Chrome saving any information about the session. When you close an incognito window, all the information about that session disappears, except for certain kinds of data that you save.

This means that Chrome won't save any browsing history, cookies, or form data created in the incognito window. It also blocks the functionality to reopen closed tabs with Ctrl + Shift + T and disables extensions (unless you enable them manually). However, any files you download and bookmarks you create will persist after you end the incognito session. You'll need to manually delete those if desired.

Starting an incognito session essentially opens up a new browser window that's never seen the internet before. Because there are no cookies, you aren't logged into any sites and none of them are personalized for you. As long as you don't sign in, sites have no idea who you are and they don't know you're using an incognito window.

Incognito Mode Chrome 2021

Incognito mode has lots of uses, such as:

  • Signing into one of your accounts on a friend's PC without forcing them to sign out
  • Seeing how a webpage looks to the public
  • Searching for something without affecting your recommendations
  • Testing if one of your installed extensions is breaking a website
  • Bypassing page view limits
  • Using a shared PC to shop for surprise birthday gifts or similar

While it's incredibly useful, keep in mind that you aren't invisible in private browsing. Websites can still identify your general location through your IP address, and incognito doesn't hide your browsing activity from your ISP or network administrator. You'll need to connect to a VPN for increased privacy in those areas.

To open a new incognito window, open the three-dot menu at the top-right of Chrome and choose New incognito window, or press Ctrl + Shift + N (Cmd + Shift + N on a Mac). In the first screen you see, you can enable the Block third-party cookies if you don't want sites to track you across the web. This is a good idea for incognito browsing, but keep it mind that it can break some sites.

Opening an incognito window starts a new incognito session, which persists across any other incognito windows you open. You'll know you have more than one open if you see a number next to Incognito at the top-right of your browser.

Chrome Incognito Multiple Windows

Once you close all open incognito windows, the session ends. Open a new incognito window to create a fresh one.

What Is Guest Mode in Google Chrome?

Guest mode is a separate function from incognito mode in Chrome; these are not the same. Guest browsing takes advantage of Chrome's profile switching feature to give you a blank profile for someone who's temporarily using Chrome.

Like incognito mode, guest browsing doesn't save any record of the browsing history and disables all extensions. However, in guest mode, the user also can't see or change any Chrome settings (aside from the default search engine). A guest user can't see any of the browsing history, bookmarks, or downloads from the main Chrome profiles. They also can't add new bookmarks to the guest profile.

Chrome Guest Mode

Guest mode is most useful when you're browsing on someone else's computer, letting someone use yours, or working on a public machine.

To launch a new guest window, click the profile switcher in the top-right of Chrome, which shows your current profile picture. Click Guest under Other People to start a new guest session. To close the guest browsing session, simply close the guest window.

Like incognito mode, closing this window will erase all traces of the guest user's browsing, aside from downloaded files. Starting a new guest window begins the process over, with no ties to the previous guest window. Unlike incognito, you cannot have more than one guest window open at once.

The Differences Between Incognito and Guest Mode in Chrome

As we've seen, the incognito and guest modes in Chrome are pretty similar. But guest mode isn't exactly the same as incognito, so when should you use each of them?

Both are suitable when you want to erase all traces of your browsing as soon as you close the window. However, incognito is primarily intended for you to use on your own computer, while the guest mode is meant for using a computer that's not yours. This makes more sense because you still have access to all your bookmarks and can change browser settings in incognito.

Related: How to Go Incognito on iPhone and Mac

Thus, incognito mode allows the primary Chrome user to browse without recording history, while guest mode lets someone else use the browser without access to the primary user's information. Both prevent any information about the session from being saved, so there's really no wrong way to use these modes.

If you want to start a blank browsing session in guest mode or have a friend browse using an incognito window, go for it. Just be aware that doing this may result in a friend seeing personal info from your browser.

Master Using Guest Mode and Incognito Mode

Now you know how guest mode and incognito mode differ in Chrome. Use them both wisely when you want to browse without the session being tied to your primary profile. Just remember that you aren't totally invisible when using either mode, without employing some additional protections.

If this has you interested in making your browser more private, there are Chrome privacy settings you should have a look at, too.