Browsing in incognito mode doesn't protect you as much as you might think

abcnews.go.com:

Google’s widely used Chrome browser has offered a private browsing mode called “Incognito” for nearly a decade

NEW YORK — Although a private browsing mode known as “Incognito" in Google's widely used Chrome browser has been available for nearly a decade, a legal settlement involving the way it works has cast new attention on this commonly available setting.

The settlement disclosed Monday in a federal court is primarily designed to ensure that users who use Incognito mode in Chrome get more privacy while surfing the internet than they had been previously.

Although Google isn't paying any money to consumers, the lawyers who filed the case in June 2020 believe the stricter safeguards will be worth $4.75 billion to $7.8 billion, based on the estimated value of the personal information protected by the settlement.

Nearly every major browser now has a private browsing mode. Here's a look at what they do and don't do for surfers.

When you turn on your browser's private mode, think of it as a fresh start.

So all of the advantages of browser personalization won’t be there: No suggestions based on your history, autocomplete will be largely unavailable and you will have to sign into your accounts.

As soon as you close your incognito window, your internet browser wipes the browsing history and any cookies that have been created during that session, according to the Mozilla Foundation, meaning — locally to your device — your browser won’t remember where you’ve been or store any information you filled into any forms.

This kind of experience does have its uses. For example, making sure searches on more sensitive topics, like health care, don’t show up in your browsing history (which may invite related ads to start showing up). Or