I used to think 'incognito mode' was a real privacy shield. I was wrong.

For years, I just assumed opening a private browser window meant my searches and visits were hidden from everyone. Then last month, my gym's wifi login page showed a banner ad for the exact, very specific medical clinic I had looked up in incognito the day before. It wasn't a coincidence. My internet provider was still seeing everything and selling the data. That one ad convinced me it's just a local delete, not actual privacy. Has anyone else had a moment like that, where you realized a basic tool you trusted was basically useless?

3 comments

3 Comments

tarag281mo ago

Ugh, that's why I got a VPN.

cameronschmidt1mo ago

Totally get why you did that, @tarag28. I mean, it feels like everything online is trying to track you or block you based on where you live now. I started using one a while back just to watch a show that wasn't available here, and now I just leave it on all the time. It's kind of sad that paying for a bit of privacy and access feels like a necessary extra step these days, you know?

norag6623d ago

Eh I dunno, I feel like VPNs just shift who gets your data rather than really fixing the problem lol.