Google is updating Chrome‘s Incognito New Tab Page on Android and desktop. After a recent Lawsuit filed against search engine giant for snooping in Private browsing, these changes seem important. The company has carefully, crafted and ensured the Incognito mode landing page that omits the first paragraph which contains “browse privately” and informs the search history will be deleted when you close incognito tabs/windows.
chrome’s revamped Incognito new tab page on Android
What is Chrome’s incognito mode?
Incognito mode or private browsing helps users to prevent their activity from being seen by others when they share their device.
Browsing history, the information you entered in the forms, and cookies will be cleared when you exit incognito. However, the bookmarks and downloads will be kept.
The incognito mode isn’t truly private. You can still be tracked by websites and advertisers.
Some websites detect when you browse in Incognito mode if you try to come around their paywall.
Chrome incognito New Tab Page getting a redesign on Android
The redesigned incognito page can be first seen in Chrome Canary for Android when you enable the flag “Revamped Incognito New Tab Page“. This will eventually make into Windows, Linux, Mac, Chrome OS, and iOS versions.
Comparing the current and revamped pages reveals the following changes:
- The first paragraph that informs “Now you can browse privately and others who use this device won’t see your activity..” has been dropped.
- The updated UI displays “what Incognito does” and “what Incognito doesn’t do” sections.
- “cookies and site data” has been replaced with “your search history from this device“
- Block third-party cookies toggle card has been removed.
The new UI still doesn’t convey bookmarks and downloads will be preserved when you exit incognito.
It’s worth noting the change is behind a flag and the text on the Incognito page may go through other changes.
In related news, Google has announced it will phase out third-party cookies with Federated Learning of Cohorts (privacy Sandbox). The company has delayed FLoC.
Google is keen on Chrome users to review Privacy Settings. The feature is currently available for testing in Canary, where users can reassess certain settings that can protect their Privacy.
Has Google got the new Incognito Tab Page redesign right? Let us know in the comments below
More on Chrome:
Chrome is testing highly experimental ‘Closed Tab Cache’
Google to make Chrome’s Keyword Search feature more discoverable and useful
