Google is making a very useful adjustment to Chrome for Windows, introducing a new desktop shortcut that will open the browser directly in Incognito Mode.
Currently, if you want to browse in Incognito Mode, you have to either click the menu button and select 'New Incognito Window', or tap Ctrl+Shift+N on your keyboard, so this could save you a little valuable time each day.
- Check out our full guide to the best browsers
- Find out how to use Chrome dark mode
- You can also try Gmail dark mode
Incognito Mode is a particularly handy tool right now, when so many people are working at home on potentially sensitive documents, and want to make sure their browser isn't storing data entered into forms and website URLs.
However, using Incognito Mode doesn't mean your online activity is completely private; it only means that the browser won't store the pages you've visited, or the terms you've searched for. To truly protect your privacy, you'll need a VPN, which redirects data via a remote server using an encrypted connection.
For more details, and to decide which VPN service is right for you, check out our guide to the best VPNs.
Keep it secret, keep it safe
9to5Google discovered the new feature on the Chromium Gerrit blog, which documents forthcoming changes to the browser's code.
One newly listed change will add a Chrome Flag (a switch that toggles experimental features), which will insert a new option into the browser's Profile menu, allowing you to create an Incognito Mode desktop shortcut with a single click.
The feature isn't available to try yet, but you'll be able to find it at chrome://flags when it's ready for testing. There's no way to know when it'll be rolled out fully – and some experimental features never make it into the browser proper – but we'll keep you updated when we know more.
