[dragracer567]

I should establish first that I am the kind of person who really values his privacy. Since my late teens, I always use incognito mode on my browser and since my early adulthood, I also use a VPN to ensure that my life isn't being tracked. I understand these are not foolproof but it gives me a peace of mind. PS I don't use incognito or VPN for anything illicit, just my personal privacy concerns.

Recently at work, my boss noticed that I was using incognito mode (I don't use VPN at work) in my browser and brought it up during a recent meeting. He announced that I am not allowed to use incognito mode and that I wouldn't need to use incognito if I didn't have anything to hide. My statements about valuing my privacy and preventing cookies were considered moot. My boss also announced that the data from our computers including the browsing history will be backed up into the cloud.

To be fair, the boss understands that we won't work for 8 hours straight and might do some browsing or social networking in between work. So, unsure what is the paranoia since I just want to maintain my privacy.

I would be glad to hear the thoughts of the esteemed and experienced Team-bhpians on this. Are my concerns about privacy giving the wrong message to my company?

[vikram_d]

Incognito mode only prevents websites from tracking you, but it does not prevent your employer from doing so. ISPs can track you to.

Quick reference - https://surfshark.com/blog/what-is-incognito-mode

and

https://www.cleaninter.net/Blog/Deta...ingTheProsCons

[Warwithwheels]

Originally Posted by dragracer567

I would be glad to hear the thoughts of the esteemed and experienced Team-bhpians on this. Are my concerns about privacy giving the wrong message to my company?

Looks like even Incognito knows your boss pretty well! Just Kidding

You must thank your stars that you are allowed access to external sites from your work place. Many employers don't!

There is very little that you could do to safeguard your right to privacy in an employer's premises.

[Vishal.R]

As per security policy, whatever you browse from inside your office, will always visible to your employer.

Things like your password would be secure if the site is using TLS (https), so no harm in using netbanking, I generally prefer office network for such work due to added security, but please refrain from expressing any controversial / political view online even if the site is not blocked.

[2000rpm]

Originally Posted by dragracer567

Recently at work, my boss noticed that I was using incognito mode (I don't use VPN at work) in my browser and brought it up during a recent meeting.

Your boss seems to be a micro-manager. Ignore him.

If he doesnt understand basics of tech, there is little you can do.

I dont use incognito as its fairly useless in my view, its like trying to cover a naked body with two leaves, a lot remains visible.

[7000plusrpm]

Originally Posted by dragracer567

My statements about valuing my privacy and preventing cookies were considered moot.

My employer, an IT MNC does not allow browsing in incognito mode. And I would prefer to use my cellphone to browse what I want instead of using the employer's bandwidth.

However, this is a common occurrence when I discuss privacy online among my friends and colleagues. This may seem offtopic here but all my friends ask why I'm not using any social media. If I remind them that the popular ones are guilty of multiple data breaches of different magnitudes and I'm not comfortable using them, I usually get a blank face and a question - what private data do you have on social media

[PetrolRider]

Originally Posted by dragracer567

My boss also announced that the data from our computers including the browsing history will be backed up into the cloud.

I am afraid and sorry that your boss is a bully and a fool, there might be some better adjective that I wouldn't like to use here respecting T-Bhp's culture.
Incognito mode doesn't hide anything from your office proxy. In-fact, there are several times where incognito is encouraged, e.g. to avoid single sign on etc. Here is something that Mozilla says about Incognito mode / Private browsing mode myths. LINK

Ask your IT team regarding what your IT policy says about this and update your boss accordingly.

[dragracer567]

Originally Posted by PetrolRider

Ask your IT team regarding what your IT policy says about this and update your boss accordingly.

Our office is pretty small with less than 10 peoples, its more of a startup.

I understand that incognito browsing doesn't help with privacy at all, it was more of a habit. I suppose the best way to have complete privacy would be incognito browsing + VPN.

Anyway, I have stopped using incognito now and also have decided not to use the VPN at work.

[Rehaan]

The good news is that incognito isn't really all you think it's cut out to be.

Incognito does in fact:
- Save cookies
- Save 3rd party cookies
- Save localStorage
- Save sessionStorage
- Allow JavaScript on pages (and all the tracking that comes with it)
- etc

All of the above is only destroyed when you close the incognito session (ie. WINDOW, not single tab/s).

From what I understand, there is barely any difference between Chrome's Incognito mode, and the regular mode if you clear your browsing history / cookies / site data on exit.

Two small differences might be:
1) There is no saved "page history" in incognito. But that's not a big deal for you either way.
2) The regular window will have a "sync" account you're logged in to -- but in your case I doubt you've signed in, so this is a moot point.

If your boss is hell bent on you NOT using incognito, just turn this setting on and use regular Chrome tabs. AFAIK it will be 100% similar to incognito in your use case, without the sketchy incognito vibe:


PS - The setting below it is worth turning on too. The one above will cause most sites to behave weirdly (not recommended) - but I think you'd want to turn on blocking for 3rd party cookies.

PS2 - If we're talking about Firefox's "Private Browsing" mode, that is a bit different. It blocks things more aggressively than the regular Firefox. Chrome behaves the same.

PS3 - The solution circled in the screenshot above only makes sense for guys like dragracer567 who are using incognito all the time anyway. If anyone else turns that on, you'll have to deal with the pain of logging in to every site (Gmail, Team-BHP, Facebook, etc) every time you restart Chrome. Also sites that show you certain notifications/pop-ups only once, or once in several weeks will now show them to you every time you visit.

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by dragracer567

I would be glad to hear the thoughts of the esteemed and experienced Team-bhpians on this. Are my concerns about privacy giving the wrong message to my company?

I would heed his advice if I were you. Many corporates have strict rules about using the company's internet connection both during and after work hours. Breaking the rules can set you up for disciplinary action and even dismissal.

I speak from personal experience where some chaps in my team were browsing p**n sites in an ODC (they're deliberately kept unblocked as a test ). When the issue came up for disciplinary action they were taken off the project and had to spend weeks on bench looking for a new assignment, not a good thing at all from a career and job perspective.

I would suggest you use your cell phone to browse OR if you use a laptop, create a wifi hot spot on your mobile and connect to it. Be sure to erase your browsing history when done. Also, be aware that most corporate PCs/laptops have software that monitor usage and report back to a central server. Also, company proxy servers log EVERY access by users defined by company policies. The more senior folks are generally not monitored but that's an exception not a rule.

PS - you are using the company's laptop and internet to do personal work on company's time. I would strongly recommend using your own device. The company is well within its rights to throw the book at you which boils down to the discretion of your line manager.

[Hayek]

Don’t do any personal browsing from an office PC. The fact is that organisations are increasingly sensitive about it. We use key stroke loggers and screenshot loggers on all our office machines - and AI systems to search them for potential causes for concern. And the firm is not liable if you have your net banking for example hacked because of a lapse in the firm‘s security.

Everyone has smartphones and reasonably good data - use them for whatever else you want to do.

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by vikram_d

Incognito mode only prevents websites from tracking you

Just to clarify this further for the benefit of others...

Websites can still track you when you're using Incognito.

However:

1) You're not likely to be logged in to Facebook, Google or other sites -- so they can't really tie that tracking data to any "identity", making it useless. However, if you are logged in, they certainly can get the data (eg. facebook tracking you across several sites that have facebook code on them).

2) The fact that all your cookies get deleted between each incognito session means that they only get tiny bits of disjointed and 'unconnectable' data (less useful to them), rather than a long string of your browsing behaviour & habits (which would be more useful) -- and therefore lose the ability (and chance) to target you with ads based on the info they have.

[warrioraks]

Originally Posted by dragracer567

I would be glad to hear the thoughts of the esteemed and experienced Team-bhpians on this. Are my concerns about privacy giving the wrong message to my company?

Originally Posted by R2D2

I would heed his advice if I were you. Many corporates have strict rules about using the company's internet connection both during and after work hours. Breaking the rules can set you up for disciplinary action and even dismissal.

+1 to R2D2. No point in sticking out your neck for this issue (unless you are going to leave this job anyway).
In principle - I am with you on protecting privacy but organizations do have a say on how their resources are being used. Since you are in a startup, maybe they do not want to invest in automated blocking of incognito mode, but if your boss has asked everyone to refrain from it, do you really want to risk another conversation with him on this topic? Choose your battles wisely.

[vinair]

Try ‘DuckDuckGo’ instead of Chrome. It’s amazingly safe and blocks advertisers, Data collectors etc.

[BRV]

Incognito mode is disabled by default if the IT Team / Security Team does not want you to use it.

End of the day, whether incognito mode or normal mode everything is tracked and can be retrieved by the IT Team (let me share a high level tracking what we have - All the screens which are open / closed, what time they are accessed, how much time we were in the page, Copy / paste, downloads and attachments etc., almost everything we do on the office laptop is tracked)

To be on safe side, you can always use your personal mobile / laptop. There are lot of options to be safe from being tracker like using VPN, Duckduckgo Tor etc.,