Browse privately with InPrivate or Incognito
Private windows leave no sign-ins, history, or cookies behind on the computer — useful in specific moments, and widely misunderstood.
A private window is a browser session with amnesia: when the last private
window closes, its history, [[cookies]], sign-ins, and form entries are
gone from that computer.
Open one
- Edge: press Ctrl + Shift + N (three-dot menu: **New InPrivate
window**).
- Chrome: press Ctrl + Shift + N (three-dot menu: **New Incognito
window**).
The dark theme and the InPrivate/Incognito badge confirm where you are.
Close all private windows to end the session — that's what triggers
the forgetting.
When it's genuinely useful
- Signing in on a computer that isn't yours — a colleague's machine,
a meeting-room PC. Your sign-in evaporates when the window closes
(still: sign out first, and never tick "stay signed in").
- Testing whether a site problem is yours or the site's — private
windows run without your cookies and (by default) without extensions,
so if the site works there, your normal profile's data is the culprit.
- Checking something without teaching your history about it — gift
shopping on a shared home PC, say.
What it does not do
Private browsing does not make you anonymous. The websites you visit
still see you, your sign-ins are real, and network owners — including an
employer's network — can still see the traffic. It protects against
traces on the computer, nothing more. Treat "private" as "tidy", not
"invisible".
If that didn't work
If the private option is missing, it's disabled by policy on that device —
intentional on some managed machines. Nothing to fix; use your own signed
profile appropriately instead.