Google Chrome’s incognito mode is getting a privacy upgrade on Android

Google is releasing a feature that lets Chrome users lock their Incognito sessions with a password code or biometric info when they exit the app. The new update helps prevent unauthorized users from accessing your mobile device’s private web browsing history.

You can use a web browser’s “incognito tabs” to visit sites that you don’t want other people to know about. Even though Google Chrome for Android has supported private browsing for a long time, anyone who has access to your phone is able to easily resume your private browsing sessions, which makes them less private.

Google has been working on a way to add biometric authentication to incognito tabs since at least August of 2021. It was added to the stable version of Chrome 105 for Android a few months ago with the help of a new flag. And now, Google has made it official for all Android users to enjoy this improvement at long last.

Though, by default, this option is turned off. To activate it, head to Chrome’s settings, click Privacy & Security, and then flip the switch next to Lock incognito tabs when you close Chrome.

So the next time you close Chrome, your private browsing session will be closed automatically. To open the incognito tabs, you can use the phone’s biometric unlock, such as a fingerprint unlock or lock code.

Chrome users who don’t see the feature by default can enable it by visiting chrome:/flags/#incognito-reauthentication-for-android. If you want the new settings to take effect immediately, you must restart your browser.

The feature has been available for iOS users for some time, but now it’s being made available to folks using Chrome on Android.

It’s important to note that you can still quickly close private tabs from the notification shade on your phone. In this case, you won’t need any of biometrics. Chrome for iOS has supported locking incognito tabs for over two years, but Google has taken its sweet time bringing the feature to Android.

Google also announced new features for Safety Check, which can be used to limit intrusive website notifications, in addition to the incognito mode’s improved privacy. Safety Check will now send you more proactive suggestions on how to turn off these notifications.

“Safety Check will alert you if it detects compromised passwords or harmful extensions. It also reminds you when there are updates to install and stay protected with the most up-to-date proactive protections.”