Browsing in Private Window or Incognito Mode

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Do comes across posts where CC members have indicated that they get ads or search engine results that seemed odd or follows a similar theme. This is common as commercial websites deploy cookies that sit in you browsers. Search engines do the same. Many track by IPs. There are approximately 200 features such as your browser versions that that can be used to track someone online.

Don't worry this is not going into conspiracy theories, just shows the reality of the commercial world where tracking customers and their taste is common.

Here are times when you want to use your private windows ;
  • When its time to finally commit to travel, airline tickets or big ticket items. Most people will do a lot of search online before they commit. There will come a time when vendors know your preference is inclining towards them after a few visits. They use algorithm for this. Used to be bad in the past where differential pricing was common.
  • When you want your search results not be biased based on your past browsing history. A fresh outlook.
  • When you are curious and go digging into something online that you do not want associated with your usual online persona.
  • You do not want anything stored in your history or in the cloud.
All Browsers have private windows or incognito mode. They are not 100% private but goes a long way. You can open a private and the usual windows simultaneously and they are both separate. Good to see price comparisons.

The single biggest benefit I found is better pricing (avoid captive pricing) and range of inventories increases when shopping online on your frequent store such as Amazon etc.

Note: Wont help if you are a member of a site and login with your credentials such as facebook or frequent flyer site of your airlines l
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PaulSB

Legendary Member
Interesting thoughts which had not occurred to me. I will play around with this in the future.
 

Venod

Eh up
Location
Yorkshire
This is good advice from @Arrowfoot, I have also had positive results by deleting all cookies and browsing history when I have suspected the price is not the best because they think I am on the hook.
 

sheddy

Legendary Member
Location
Suffolk
If one uses another machine to make the airline login and ticket purchase, or will that make no difference ?
 
OP
OP
A

Arrowfoot

Guest
If one uses another machine to make the airline login and ticket purchase, or will that make no difference ?
Yes, unless the vendor uses your wifi IP and yours is static to track. Most vendors stop stop using it and prefer cookies. In the past before private windows became thing, I did all price checking in the office PC and then came home to place the order on my home PC.
 
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D

Deleted member 1258

Guest
Good post.
I use Duckduckgo as my default browser for general searches and similar. It automatically deletes all cookies and history when it is closed.

I'm on Firefox and use Duckduckgo as my search engine, I've always had my browsers set to delete cookies and history when I close the browser.
 

Chris S

Legendary Member
Location
Birmingham
I've got Duck Duck Go as my default browser but I find it treats all search words with equal importance. For example if I do a search for 'replica Yamaha FS1E' I also get results for the original bike, which is reasonable. However, I also get results for replica sports clothing! I've still got a shortcut to Google for when I get silly search results.
 

Archie_tect

De Skieven Architek... aka Penfold + Horace
Location
Northumberland
I've got Duck Duck Go as my default browser but I find it treats all search words with equal importance. For example if I do a search for 'replica Yamaha FS1E' I also get results for the original bike, which is reasonable. However, I also get results for replica sports clothing! I've still got a shortcut to Google for when I get silly search results.
{Off topic- I had a purple one!]
 
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