Ability to lock incognito tabs rolling out to Chrome for Android, already on iOS

Google has announced that it has added the ability to lock incognito tabs in Chrome on iOS and that the feature will also be arriving on Android, with the feature already being enabled for some users. With it, you’ll have to provide a fingerprint to resume an incognito browsing session that you exited out of. The feature should protect your browsing against anyone accidentally opening up your private browsing sessions.

While the feature is already on iOS and some Android devices, it’s still disabled by default. To switch it on and give yourself a security boost, you should go to Chrome Settings > Privacy & Security > then switch on “Lock incognito tabs when you close Chrome”.

The existence of this feature was quietly mentioned on Google’s blog in a post outlining five ways Chrome boosts your privacy. Many of the features such as Privacy Guide, Safety Check, clearing browsing history, and the Google Password Manager are all existing Chrome features but incognito tab locking is new.

If you use Chrome on Android or iOS, head into the Privacy & Security settings to see whether you can enable this feature yet, otherwise just hold on a little while longer and you should also have the option available.

Ability to lock incognito tabs rolling out to Chrome for Android, already on iOS