If you want to open something that you do not want to add to your browser history, you can use the in-private mode.  If multiple users use the system and you want to keep track of the history of what users are opening in the browser, you should disable in-private browsing in all installed browsers. Let us examine how to disable In-Private Browsing across all browsers.

Enable private mode in browsers

Enable In-Private browsing in Google Chrome (Incognito mode)

Open your Chrome browser. On the top right hand side, you’ll see “three dots”. Click on it and select  “New Incognito Window”. Or, press the shortcut key “Ctrl+Shift+N”. Clicking on it will open a new window that contains the image of a hat with glasses in the center of your browser’s window. The hat with glasses a.k.a. incognito mode window conceals all your activity. In Incognito window, you can still book mark pages and download anything, but your extension will not function.   If you want to disable it, simply close the Incognito Window and again start using your browser in normal browsing mode.

Enable In-Private Browsing in Mozilla Firefox (Private Window)

To enable In-Private Browsing in Firefox, apply the following steps: Open the Firefox browser and on the top right you’ll see the “three lines “menu. Click on it and select the “New Private Window”. Or press “Ctrl+Shift+N” from keyboard. Blue window will appear, and now you can surf the Internet privately. It won’t save visited pages, cookies, temporary files and searches. But it saves your downloads and bookmarks. Even if you browse privately, your employer and internet service provider are still able to track your online activities. In addition, the “Tracking Protection” feature blocks all tracking mechanisms in websites that could be used to keep your personal information, so you do not have to worry about being tracked.   If you want to exit private browsing, close the private Window.

Enable In-Private Browsing in Internet Explorer (InPrivate mode)

Since some users still use Internet Explorer, I will also discuss how to enable In-Private Browsing in Internet Explorer. You can find the steps by scrolling down the page   Open your Internet Explorer Browser. Then click on the Gear icon which is available on the top right side of the browser, click on it and select the “Safety” and then In-Private Browsing. A new window will appear, on the Address bar a blue mark will appear that shows the private mode. Whether you search or browse, it will not go into your history. No tracking will be recorded of your activities over the Internet. All your extensions will be disabled in Private mode. If you want to disable it, close the window and the Safe mode will close. For other users who use the system, it is important to keep their activities record. For this the In-Private Browsing must be disabled. See below how you can disable it for any browser.

Disable In-Private Browsing in Google Chrome/Internet Explorer/Firefox

Disable InPrivate mode in Internet Explorer

The Internet Explorer’s In-Private browsing can be disabled by making simple and easy changes to the Group Policy Editor. Follow the steps below to disable inPrivate mode in Internet Explorer. For this type “gpedit.msc” in Run dialog and you’ll have the window of Group Policy Editor. Now go to the following Registry In the right hand window, you’ll see the first result “Turn Off In-Private Filtering”. Double-click on it and click on “Enable”, to enable this feature.

Use Third Party Tool to disable Private mode

IncognitoGone is a small tool that helps you block or disable In-Private Mode for all browsers. All activities of any user will be recorded. The history of each page the user visits will be available in History. Downloads will be also tracked through disabling the In-Private Browsing This is a very light resource on your system and is compatible with Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10. It can also work on Windows 11. Download IncognitoGone

Disable Private Browsing Mode in Firefox

There are two ways to disable private browsing mode in Firefox. You can install an add-on called Disable Private Browsing Mode Plus which will disable the private mode completely from Firefox. To enable it again, you will need to open Firefox in Safe Mode and then disable the plugin. The second option is to change the Firefox Registry settings. Open Registry Editor (Run –> regedit) and go to the following Registry key: Right-click on the Firefox key –> New –> DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name the value DisablePrivateBrowsing and set its value to 1. This will disable Firefox private browsing mode. To enable it again, just set the value of DisablePrivateBrowsing key to 0.

Disable Incognito Mode in Chrome

Similar to Firefox, Incognito Mode or private browsing mode in Chrome can be disabled using Windows Registry. Open Registry Editor (Run –> regedit) and go to the following Registry key: Right-click on the Chrome key –> New –> DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name the value IncognitoModeAvailability and set its value to 1. To enable it again, simply set the value to 0. Find out what you want to do with your browsing for each browser, whether to be tracked or not to be tracked. It is good for every user not to play with settings. Keep them as they are. Private Browsing also helps in troubleshooting your system but in case of need, you can disable the In-Private Browsing for any browser by applying the above steps. Also see:

How To Enable Or Disable JavaScript In Browsers (Chrome, Edge Firefox, Opera, Vivaldi)How To Enable/Disable SafeSearch On Device And Search EnginesHow To Open PDF Files In Your Preferred Browser (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera, Vivaldi)How To Show/Hide Bookmarks Bar in Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Vivaldi, OperaHow to Disable Pop-Up Blockers in Web Browsers