Firstly, consider switching to Firefox, which allows you to turn off browsing
history in its settings and has more concern for privacy overall.
Secondly, if you still prefer to use Chrome, you may want to configure your
Chrome shortcuts to start the browser in incognito mode, because in this mode
Chrome will not record your history. On Windows you can do the following.
Navigate to the location of the shortcut:
- Go to
%USERPROFILE%\Desktop
to find your desktop shortcut;
- Go to
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs
to find the start menu shortcut;
- Go to
%AppData%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\TaskBar
to find your taskbar shortcut;
- Go to wherever you stash your browser shortcuts,
if none of the above applies. :)
Change the properties of the shortcut:
- Open the properties and go to the
Shortcut tab;
- Edit the
Target property: append -incognito to the end of the value,
for example, in my case the value would look like as follows:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Google Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" -incognito;
- Hit
OK to save and close the properties.
Test the shortcut:
- Open Chrome by using your modified shortcut;
- The profile button in the top right of Chrome should say
Incognito.
Bonus: If you start Chrome with a text command rather than a shortcut,
just append -incognito to the end of the command to start it in incognito mode:
- For example,
Win + R; chrome -incognito; Enter.
Please note that this does NOT entirely prevent Chrome from working in normal
mode, in which it does record your history, so be careful when you open new
windows, for example:
- Use the
New incognito window option instead of New window;
- Use the hotkey
Ctrl + Shift + N to create a new incognito window,
rather than Ctrl + N which would create a normal window.
