Incognito Mode is Google Chrome’s version of private browsing. It allows for a certain level of privacy, by not saving the browsing history and not collecting cookies after a browsing session, which is why it’s generally considered to be quite a useful feature.
However, if for some reason you don’t want the availability of Incognito Mode on your computer, then you need to turn it off entirely. Here’s how:
Exiting out of Incognito Mode
Firstly, it’s worth mentioning that if you simply entered Incognito Mode and used it for browsing, but would now like to exit it and go back to normal, you can do so simply by closing the Incognito browser window. When you start Chrome once again, it will automatically open in public browsing mode, as usual.
Disabling Incognito Mode
If you want to disable Incognito Mode completely, however, and prevent its use in Google Chrome, then just follow the steps below:
Windows
- Bring up the Run box by holding down the Windows Key and pressing the R Key on your keyboard.
- Type in “regedit” and then hit Enter.
- Next, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > Policies > Google > Chrome.
Note: You might have to create the “Google” and “Chrome” folders.
4. Now, right-click on Chrome and choose New > DWORD 32-bit value.
5. Name this value “IncognitoModeAvailability“.
6. Double-click on “IncognitoModeAvailability“. A box will now appear, where you can set the value data to 1.
7. Finally, restart your computer. The Incognito Mode in Google Chrome will now disappear.
MacOS
- From the Finder, choose Go and then Utilities.
- Open the Terminal app.
- Type in the following: defaults write com.google.chrome IncognitoModeAvailability -integer 1
- Press Enter.
- Finally, restart your computer. The Incognito Mode in Google Chrome will now disappear.
Evidently, disabling the Incognito Mode on your computer is an incredibly quick and easy process. However, in case you ever want to revert this setting and enable Incognito Mode once again, all you have to do is repeat the same steps, but change 1 to 0.