November 27, 2018

Using Incognito Mode in Google Chrome - WHY??? Here's WHY!!!

Incognito Mode is a super handy tool! What is Incognito Mode?

• Incognito mode is a setting in your web browser that prevents Internet browsing history from being stored. Normally, when you visit any web page, any text, pictures, and cookies required by the page are stored locally on your computer. Additionally, any searches or forms that are filled out may be stored in Autocomplete fields. Incognito mode forgets this data when you close the browser window, or doesn't store it at all.

Incognito Mode is turned off within Gunnison's student accounts. This means that if a student is logged in his or her account, he/she will not have an Incognito Mode option. However, if students are just using the Chrome browser and not logged in, they will have access to Incognito Mode. We can't turn this off generally on computers unless each one is touched an it's a little complicated.

So WHY should I want to use Incognito Mode as a teacher?

• I use this resource all the time when visiting and teaching in a different classroom. I can easily log in to my account using Incognito Mode without logging out the main user of the computer. Also, when I close out of my Incognito window, my passwords aren't saved and I don't have to log out!
• Similarly, when I have a student present, I don't have to log out of my account. I can open Incognito mode and have the student log in to his/her account, present and close the window!
• When I create links in Google, I sometimes don't see what the user will see because I will still have an edit button (or something of the sort). If I copy a link and paste it into an Incognito window, I'll see what the person using this link will see without all the editing options! I do this very thing to check the link to this page! You can use a different browser, but this is easier!
• This is another trick. Many of you have two gmail accounts - one school and one personal. It can get pretty confusing switching between the accounts on one open window. Have the account you use the most open on the regular page and then open the other account on the incognito window!
• YouTube - If you use YouTube in the classroom a lot, sometimes a bunch of video suggestions pop up on your channel and then when you use YouTube with kids, these searches show up. Look for YouTube videos in incognito mode so that if you get sidetracked - as we all do from time to time - those embarrassing videos don't show up on your suggestions. Once you find a video you like, copy the URL, go back to the regular chrome page, paste the URL and then add the video to a playlist.

How about as a regular consumer? There are reasons for this as well - and they don't involve doing something you shouldn't be doing at work...

• Do you Christmas or birthday shop for your family. Well, if you shop online, sometime ads pop up from sites you've visited. If you shop in Incognito Mode, you don't have that problem!
• This reason is similar to visiting other classrooms. I love to travel! When I do, I rarely take my computer. Therefore, if I need to use a public computer, I always use incognito mode so I don't accidentally stay logged in to an account. Simply close the incognito window and you're logged out. I usually take the extra steps and still log out and then clear the history before logging out of a public computer - just in case!
• If you travel, you can sometimes get better deals with a vendor not knowing who you are. Also, then you don't get all those annoying ads that come up on all your web pages!
• If you go incognito, you will also get different searches because there is no accompanying information about you and your habits.
• Lastly, you can search without fear of others knowing. Don't think bad things, but maybe you are researching a medical condition and you don't want other to know or have information pop up. This is a good way of doing it!

Incognito Mode isn't foolproof. At work, depending on where, your searching can still be tracked - so beware.

Here's a VIDEO of how to access incognito mode!