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When using your favorite web browser, you might make purchases online, fill out forms, or even research personal interests. While you're surfing the Web, you may not realize that it's possible your online activity is being seen by others. This is because your browser automatically saves a record of your browsing history, and many websites can track what you click on.
Private browsing
It makes sense to enable private browsing anytime you want to keep your browsing history confidential. Private browsing only prevents your web browser from saving your browsing history. This means anyone else who uses your computer will not be able to see your online activity. Unfortunately, it doesn't guarantee security—your activity can still be tracked by websites. We'll talk more about tracking later.
Turning on private Browsing
Private browsing is available for most web browsers. Here, we'll show you how to enable private browsing in Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox, and Safari (for Mac computers).
- Internet Explorer: Click the gear icon. Hover the mouse over Safety, then select InPrivate Browsing from the menu that appears.
- Chrome: Click the Menu button, then select New incognito window.
- Firefox: Click the Firefox button, then select Start Private Browsing.
- Safari: Click the Safari menu, then select Private Browsing.
Do Not Track
Websites can track what you click on. This is usually done to deliver targeted ads to you, but it can also be used for collecting data and making a site run smoother. Currently, browsers let you choose not to participate in this system by offering a Do Not Track option.
Do Not Track asks each website you visit to not track your activities. It is similar to the national Do Not Call list. However, website participation in Do Not Track is voluntary, so some of the websites you visit may not honor the request.
Turn On Do Not Track
Web browsers generally place the Do Not Track option in the Privacy settings. By default, most browsers have this feature turned off. You will need to open your browser's privacy settings to enable it.
To view instructions for how to enable Do Not Track in Firefox and Chrome follow the links below:
Older versions of browsers may not support the Do Not Track option. Be sure to update your browser to the most recent version.