The Private Browsing feature is useful, but only if you know what it does and how it works. It helps you hide your online activities from prying eyes, but it doesn't make you completely disappear from the internet.
Myth 1 - Private Browsing allows you to surf the web anonymously.
In order to hide your identity and online activity, you're probably using the browser feature called Private Browsing. It’s important to know that you can still be tracked by websites and internet service providers even if you are not logged in (Google Account or similar).
Private browsing makes it appear as if no one is watching or tracking you, but it only benefits you by preventing your system from recording any browsing activity. Your browsing and download history can be indexed by your ISP's server and the server of your foreign network if they allow it.
Myth 2 - Private Browsing removes all remnants of your browsing data from your PC
By using a private browser, you can avoid saving passwords, cookies, and browsing history. A downloaded file remains on your computer, but it is not visible in the browser’s download manager after it has been downloaded. While using a private window, you can still save a website to your bookmarks.
Myth 3 - In Private Browsing mode, no browsing history is shown.
Unless you change this setting, the address bar will show you recent sites and bookmarks as you type. During normal browsing, browsers save these URLs.
Interested in browsing the web anonymously? Here’s the real solution.
To hide your IP address, you can use a virtual private network (VPN) or the Tor Network & Browser. It encrypts all of your traffic and your IP address before routing it through three randomly selected exit nodes. Because of the constant encryption and re-encryption, it's nearly impossible to track your online activities.
Using Tor to surf the web is one of the simplest ways to keep yourself safe online. In particular, this holds true if you only ever use it in emergency situations. User error is the most common cause of browser traffic tracking, but there are ways around that. It's a good idea to only use Tor when it's absolutely necessary to remain anonymous, and to switch to another browser whenever possible.
The onion-like layers of encryption used by Tor encrypt all communications. One layer of encryption is removed at a time by the nodes, and the data's next destination can be discovered. Upon decryption of the final layer, the data reaches its destination.
It's important to note that the Tor browser and network are not the same as private browsing.
Tor browser is a type of browser that uses a different route to get to your destination. In the Tor network, there are millions of computers and servers connected to each other. The Tor Browser sends your request through the Tor network's millions of computers to the server and then receives the server's response via the Tor network.
Being anonymous is not easy.
Even Google, one of the most dependable names on the web, can put your privacy at risk. Google logs every search you make, so if you're concerned about your privacy, you may want to switch to DuckDuckGo instead. You will not be tracked by this search engine.
Unrestricted internet access has made online security and privacy more important than ever before (but also more difficult to maintain). As a starting point, I recommend using the tools I’ve mentioned, but I also recommend keeping up to date on the most recent threats and frequently and regularly updating your software.