VPN vs incognito mode: what is the difference?
Also asked as: Does incognito hide my IP address? · Is private browsing the same as a VPN?
Direct answer
Incognito, or private browsing, stops the browser from saving history, cookies and form data on your device when the window closes. It hides nothing from your network, your ISP or the websites, which still see your real address. A VPN does the opposite: it hides your traffic from the network and your address from sites, and saves your history as usual.
What incognito is for
Leaving no trace on the device you are using: a shared computer, a borrowed laptop, a search you would rather not have autocomplete later. It also starts each session without existing cookies, so a site sees you as a new visitor — until you sign in. Browsers say so on the incognito start page, and it is worth reading.
What a VPN is for
Hiding what you do from the network you are on and from your internet provider, and replacing your address for every site. It does nothing about local history, cookies or autocomplete, which is why the two are not alternatives.
Using both
They stack. Incognito on top of a VPN gives you a clean browser state and an encrypted, re-addressed connection. Neither makes you anonymous to a service you sign in to, and neither defeats browser fingerprinting; see the anonymity question for where that line is.
Related questions
- Does a VPN make internet browsing private?A VPN hides browsing from your network and ISP and hides your address from sites. It does not hide you from accounts, or from the VPN provider itself.
- Does a VPN make me anonymous?A VPN hides your address and your traffic from your network. It does not make you anonymous: accounts, cookies, fingerprinting and the provider still know.
- Does a VPN hide my IP address?A VPN replaces the IP address websites see with the server's. Where that holds, where it leaks (DNS, WebRTC, IPv6), and how to check your exit address.
- What is a VPN?A VPN is an encrypted connection between your device and a provider's server. What that changes about your IP address, your ISP's view and your privacy.