Google Chrome's incognito mode is a pretty neat feature. It allows you to keep your browsing history private when using a public computer or someone else's device. You can also use it on your own device for personal reasons.
But when it comes to your kids, especially if they're underage, Incognito mode isn't such a great thing. With this, they can use your personal computer and access all the forbidden internet fruits they want, without you ever knowing. This is why it is essential to be able to prevent the use of incognito mode.
How to Disable Incognito Mode in Windows
If you go through the Google Chrome options, you will notice that there is nothing that allows you to turn off incognito mode. It would be really useful if there was an option to lock its use with a password. Unfortunately, this option does not exist, so you will have to resort to alternative solutions on your Windows machine.
- press the Windows + R keys on your keyboard to open the Run program, type 'regedit', then press Enter.
- Then double click HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE in the left menu.
- Click on Software.
- Click on strategies.
- Open the Policies folder and look for a folder titled Google, if you don't see it, you'll need to create it. Right click strategies, select New > Key, then rename it to 'Google', no quotes.
- When you open the Google folder, it should contain a folder titled Chrome. Again, if you don't see this, you'll need to create this one as well. Right click Google, Click on New > Key in the menu and rename it to Chrome.
- Right-click on the Chrome folder, click New >32-bit DWORD value, and change the name of the entry to 'IncognitoModeAvailability', no quotes.
- Double click IncognitoModeAvailability, change the value to 1, and click Okay.
- Close Registry Editor and restart your computer for the changes to take effect. After restarting, open Google Chrome. You will notice that the New incognito window option is no longer available.
How to enable incognito mode
If you want to re-enable incognito mode for your Chrome, just open the registry editor and change the IncognitoModeAvailability value to 0. Here is a quick guide to the required steps.
- Again, press the Windows + R key type 'regedit', then press Enter.
- In the left menu, double-click Computer to view available folders and open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.
- Open SOFTWARE > Rules > Google > Chrome.
- Double click on the IncognitoModeAvailability entered, modify the Value data à 0, and click Okay.
- Finally, close Registry Editor and restart your computer for the changes to take effect.
How to Disable Incognito Mode on Android Device
Unlike a computer, disabling incognito mode on Android devices cannot be done by fiddling with the device settings. Luckily, there are third-party mobile apps that will make incognito mode unnecessary.
One of these apps is Restless. When you install it on an Android device, it gives you a ton of options. Of course, there is an option to prevent incognito mode tabs from opening. It can also allow the user to surf in incognito mode, but Incoquito logs all events and activities regardless. The application also has the notification settings, allowing you to notify the user if their activities are recorded while browsing incognito.
Another similar app is Incognito Absent. Apart from blocking incognito mode on Google Chrome, it also works with many other browsers. These include Microsoft Edge, Brave Browser, Iron Browser, Ecosia, Start Internet Browser, Yu Browser, as well as DEV, BETA, and Canary versions of Google Chrome.
Although these apps are not free, they are actually quite cheap. Especially when you consider that you are finally able to protect your children from unwanted content.
Using Parental Controls
If you want to turn off incognito mode and for some reason our methods don't work, you can create a child account using Google and install the "Family Link" app. Google's official stance is that kids can't access incognito mode, so assuming you're doing this to ensure a youngster isn't exploring everything on the web, that's another viable option.
Google has a full support article on the subject with links to help you set everything up. We also have a support article to walk you through the process step by step.
Additional FAQ
Can you turn off incognito mode on an iPhone
Unfortunately, you can't prevent all use of incognito mode for Google Chrome on an iPhone or iPad. To make sure no one is using your device incognito, you can do this through Safari. If this is of utmost importance to you, you should consider removing Google Chrome from your device.
To completely disable incognito mode on Safari, follow the steps below:
- Open Settings on your iOS device.
- Tap General.
- Tap Screen Time.
- Tap Restrictions. Please note that if you are using an older version of iOS, you will be able to access the Restrictions menu directly from the General menu.
- Tap Enable Restrictions.
- Enter a password you want to use for this feature. This ensures that no one will be able to lift the restrictions except you. Be sure to remember the password in case you want to enable private browsing at some point in the future.
- Scroll down until you reach the Websites entry. Press it.
- In the Allowed websites section, tap Limit adult content.
Once done, you will essentially disable all private browsing on that device. Additionally, it will remove the Private button that you can normally see in the lower left corner of the tab view in Safari.
Of course, this action also has a side effect. By limiting adult content on a device, it will not be possible to visit websites that Apple has flagged as inappropriate for minors. If you really need to, you can always turn off the Limit Adult Content option using the passcode you created for this purpose.
Can you turn off incognito mode on a Mac?
Yes you can. To do this, follow the steps below:
- Open Finder on your Mac.
- Click Go.
- Click Utilities.
- From the list of available apps, open Terminal.
- When Terminal opens, type the following command: defaults write com.google.chrome IncognitoModeAvailability -integer 1.
- Now close the Terminal application and restart your Mac.
When you open Google Chrome, you will see that there is no New incognito window option.
To re-enable incognito mode, follow the steps above, with only one difference. When typing the command, simply replace the value "--integer 1" with "--integer 0" at the end of the command line (as shown in the last line of the screenshot above). After restarting your Mac, Incognito mode will appear again in Google Chrome. Add Item
No more incognito mode
Now that you have read this article, you know how to disable incognito mode in Chrome, as well as incognito browsing in iOS Safari. Finally, you can relax knowing that your children are not being exposed to inappropriate content online. And if you need to use incognito mode yourself, turning it on is pretty simple no matter what device you're using.
Have you successfully turned off incognito mode on your device? What is the main reason you disable this feature? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
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Update checklist
- h1: How to turn off incognito mode on Windows
- h1: How to Disable Incognito Mode on Android Device
- h1: Additional FAQs
- h2: Can Incognito be disabled on a Mac
- h2: Can private browsing be disabled on an iPhone
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Then open Strategies.
Once you open the Policies folder, it should contain a folder titled Google. Open the folder by double-clicking on it. Sometimes you may not see the Google folder. In this case, you will have to create it yourself. To do this, follow the steps below:
Right click on “Policies” then click on “New”
Right-click Policies and click New from the menu.
Click on the key
Rename 'New Key #1'
A new folder titled New Key #1 will appear in the Policies folder. Right-click New Key #1, then click Rename from the menu.
Change the new key #1 to Google.
Now double click on the Google folder.
When you open the Google folder, it should contain a folder titled Chrome. Again, if you don't see this, you'll need to create this one as well. Right-click on Google and click "New" in the menu.
Click Key.
The New Key #1 folder appears in the Google folder.
Right-click New Key #1, then click Rename from the menu.
Change the new key #1 to Chrome.
Double-click Chrome to open it.
Once inside the Chrome folder, follow these steps to disable Chrome's incognito mode: Right-click the Chrome folder and click New.
Click on the 32-bit DWORD value.
A New Value #1 entry will appear in the main registry editor window.
Right-click on the new value. Click Rename.
Change the name of the New Value #1 entry to IncognitoModeAvailability.
Double-click IncognitoModeAvailability. The Edit DWORD (32-bit) Value window appears.
In the Value data field, change the value to 1. Leave the Base option set to Hexadecimal. Click OK to save changes and close the window.
Close the registry editor.
Once you have closed Registry Editor, the last step is to restart your computer for the changes to take effect. After restarting, open Google Chrome. You will notice that the New incognito window option is no longer available.
How to enable incognito mode
If you want to re-enable incognito mode for your Chrome, just open the registry editor and change the IncognitoModeAvailability value to 0. Here is a quick guide to the required steps:
Win+R to open the Run dialog.
Type regedit and press Enter to open the Registry Editor.
Double click on 'Computer'
In the left menu, double-click Computer to view available folders. Open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.
Open SOFTWARE, Policies, Google, then Chrome.
In the main window, double-click the IncognitoModeAvailability entry.
The Edit window opens, where you need to change the value data to 0.
Click OK, close Registry Editor, and restart your computer.
How to Disable Incognito Mode on Android Device
Unlike a computer, disabling incognito mode on Android devices cannot be done by fiddling with the device settings. Luckily, there are third-party mobile apps that will make incognito mode unnecessary.
One of these apps is Restless. When you install it on an Android device, it gives you a ton of options. Of course, there is an option to prevent incognito mode tabs from opening. It can also allow the user to surf in incognito mode, but Incoquito logs all events and activities regardless. The application also has the notification settings, allowing you to notify the user if their activities are recorded while browsing incognito.
Another similar app is Incognito Absent. Apart from blocking incognito mode on Google Chrome, it also works with many other browsers. These include Microsoft Edge, Brave Browser, Iron Browser, Ecosia, Start Internet Browser, Yu Browser, as well as DEV, BETA, and Canary versions of Google Chrome.
Although these apps are not free, they are actually quite cheap. Especially when you consider that you are finally able to protect your children from unwanted content.
Using Parental Controls
If you want to disable incognito mode and for some reason our methods don't work, you can create a child account using Google and…
