Private Browsing Modes: What They Actually Hide, and From Whom
Private or incognito browsing is widely misunderstood. Here's exactly what it does and doesn't protect against.
Private browsing modes prevent your browser from saving history, cookies, and site data locally on your device after the session ends, which is useful for sharing a device but far more limited than many people assume.
What it actually protects against
It's effective at hiding browsing activity from someone else who later uses the same physical device, since no local record is kept once the private window is closed.
What it does not protect against
Your internet provider, employer network administrator, and the websites you visit can all still see and log your activity during a private browsing session exactly as they would during normal browsing, since private mode only affects what's stored locally on your own device.