Just a few days ago we wrote about Google's plans to make it easy to access Incognito Mode in Chrome so you can browse the internet privately.
Using Incognito Mode prevents Chrome from storing a record of the sites you visit, and also stops cookies and other data about your online activities from being saved. A new feature in the browser means it is possible to launch Chrome directly into this private browsing mode rather than having to switch to it manually.
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At the moment you have to launch Chrome in 'normal' mode, and then switch to Incognito. This can be done in a couple of ways: either selecting the 'New Incognito Window' option in the main menu, or by using the Ctrl + Shift + N keyboard shortcut.
But now, as reported by Techdows, Google has added something that people have been asking for quite some time – the ability to create a desktop shortcut to access Incognito Mode directly. Of course, there is nothing stopping you from creating shortcuts in other locations such as the Start menu or the taskbar as well.
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The option of creating shortcut to Incognito Mode is now available in Chrome 86 Canary , which you can install alongside the stable release of Chrome 85. But even with the latest Canary build installed, you will still have to enable an optional flag:
- Launch Chrome and visit chrome://flags
- Search for 'Enable Incognito Desktop Shortcut'
- Select 'Enabled' from the drop-down menu
- Restart Chrome by clicking the 'Relaunch' button
Switch to Incognito Mode manually (it doesn't matter what method you use), then click the 'Incognito' button to the right of the address bar. Click 'Create shortcut' in the menu that appears, and an Incognito Mode shortcut will be added to the desktop.
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