I generally keep all the working tabs open while working on them and close them once I am done. Hence, the new tab options within Chrome are beneficial. It keeps all the tabs open and running.
One of the features available in all browsers, irrespective of mobile or desktop, is the ability to open separate tabs for browsing. These tabs make life easier and help with multitasking. In the case of a desktop, you can also open new windows instead of tabs.
Generally, one can use two types of tabs – New Tab & Incognito Tab. The primary difference between these two is privacy. The Incognito mode won’t save any information or data anywhere on the machine after closing unless you’ve downloaded something.
A week ago, my phone stopped working, and I had to attend an urgent meeting. My friend offered me his phone to attend the meeting. So, I switched to incognito mode to prevent data loss and maintain my privacy. It would also mean I didn’t have to delete anything after browsing manually.
The incognito tab is handy when you’ve borrowed someone’s else device and do not want to leave any browsing history on their device.
Open New Tab
The new tab is just a normal browsing tab with your Google account signed in. It stores the history as well as cache & cookies when you are browsing websites. You can add unlimited tabs and switch between them easily on Android phones. Here are the steps to open a New Tab in Chrome for Android:
- Open the Chrome Android app.
- Tap on the Multitab
for options. - Tap on Plus
the command to open the new tab. - You’ll be able to see two tabs and switch easily on selection.
The tabs will run until you manually close the tab using the X button OR terminate the Chrome browser from the task manager.
Incognito Browsing
Unlike the standard tab, the new Incognito tab in Chrome will not save any data in the browser.
Your browsing history, cookies & cache, etc., are temporarily stored and immediately wiped out on closing the incognito browsing session. Hence, you can’t even open recently closed tabs in Chrome Android while browsing in Incognito mode.
Follow these steps to start Incognito mode:
- Open Chrome for the Android app on mobile.
- Tap on More
the menu for options. - Select New Incognito Tab from the list.
- If you want to add more incognito tabs, tap the Multitab icon .
- Hit the Plus icon to add more incognito tabs in the same session.
To close the incognito tab in Chrome Android:
- Tap on Multitab while in incognito mode to list all running tabs
- Hit on the button against each incognito tab
- The incognito tab will be closed, and all the history and browsing data will be deleted.
You can also kill the Chrome browser app from the task manager to close the incognito tab Chrome. Once you have closed the incognito tab, no trace of the data you browsed will be seen elsewhere in the history of ant.
Switch between Normal and Incognito Mode
If you tap the tab icon, you will see a list of all the existing regular and incognito tabs in Chrome. You can choose whatever you desire from the list. You can follow the given steps to switch between the tabs:
- Launch the Chrome Android app.
- Tap on the Multitab tabs.
You’ll be able to see all the tabs that you have opened. - Click on the Tab you want to open.
- Click on the Incognito icon to the right.
You’ll be able to see the list of the incognito tabs. - Select the one that you wish to open.
You can also close a particular tab from the available list. In the case of the normal tabs, you can browse the same sites by visiting the history, but in the case of the Incognito tab, all the data will be erased automatically.
Video Demo
It’s easy to switch between both types by just swiping between tabs.
Bottom Line
The tabs play an essential role in multitasking and simultaneous browsing. Moreover, if you want to browse or sign in to your online account using someone else’s phone, ensure you’re using the incognito tab for safety.
As mentioned before, I used the incognito tab Chrome while I used my friend’s phone. Since it left no trace of information, including browsing history, cache, cookies, and so on, I was stress-free about my privacy and data loss. I could close the incognito tab and return the phone to her immediately.
As mentioned above, you can enable incognito mode on a Chrome computer. This works similarly to Chrome for the Android browser. Do you use incognito private browsing on your Android phone?
Lastly, if you've any thoughts or feedback on How to Open the Incognito and New Tabs in Chrome Android, then feel free to drop in below comment box. You can also report the outdated information.
