Ever had to hand over your phone to someone to take a look at something you were browsing, but you didn’t feel overly confident about it, should they have decided to snoop around your open tabs? Well, to celebrate Data Privacy Day (January 28), Google is rolling out an update that will now let Android users lock their Incognito tabs.
It is interesting that this is not a particularly new feature on Google Chrome. However, for some reason, the tech giant saw it fit to only release it on iOS back in 2021. But now, at last, Android users will get the same functionality.
To turn it on your device, Open Chrome, then hit the three dot button on the top right. From here, choose Settings from the list of options. You will get another page with different options, select Privacy and security. Finally, you will see a toggle written, ‘Lock Incognito tabs when you leave Chrome’, turn it on, and you will be set up.
Once you are set up, leaving Chrome and coming back will present you with a splash screen with a button to unlock the tab you want to visit. Depending on how you lock your phone, either fingerprint, PIN or a pattern, you will have to input your authentication method before accessing the incognito tabs. It is however important to note that your other tabs will remain fully accessible to anyone, only the incognito ones will be protected.
As Google has just begun rolling out to Android devices, you might not yet have it on your browser, but it will be available in the coming days. It is certainly a small update, but a welcome one for those people who interact with friends or family who are nosy and will not hesitate to go through whatever you have opened on your incognito tabs.
