How to Launch Google Chrome in Incognito Mode by Default

[The AchieVer]

How to Launch Google Chrome in Incognito Mode by Default 

Google Chrome continues to be the world’s number one desktop browser, and there’s no doubt it all happens for a good reason.

And while even the software giant Microsoft is migrating to Chromium, the engine that powers Google Chrome, there are several features that users hope to get in a future update for the browser.

One of them is an option that would make it possible to use Google Chrome in Incognito mode by default, technically launching the browser with this private browsing feature and not leaving any traces behind no matter what.

First of all, let’s see what Incognito mode means. When this browsing mode is enabled, Google Chrome doesn’t save browsing history, cookies, site data, and information entered in forms. However, it’s important to know that some data isn’t hidden from websites you visit, and information like the IP address is still collecting.

Right now, there’s no option to launch Google Chrome with the Incognito mode enabled by default, and the only way to do this is to first fire up the browser and then manually click the Menu button > New Incognito Window.

However, there are two ways to do this, though each comes with its very own setbacks. So stay with me as I detail both.
 

 

 

The first method is also the one that’s the easier to use, as all you have to do is to modify the launch parameter to run the browser in the Incognito mode.

Basically, you first need to create a shortcut of Google Chrome anywhere you like – for this tutorial, I used the default Google Chrome installation path and created a shortcut on the desktop.

Next, you need to right-click the Google Chrome shortcut > Properties. The Target field under Shortcut is the one we’re going to use. By default, it looks like this:

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe"
So what we need to do is to add the -incognito parameter at the end to make it look like this:

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" -incognito
The next time you launch Chrome using this shortcut, it should run in Incognito mode automatically. The main drawback is that you need to either remove the added parameter or to manually create a new standard browsing window, so I recommend you to create separate shortcuts for each mode.
 

 

 

The second method involves editing the run patch of Google Chrome in the Registry Editor. To do this, launch the Registry Editor by typing regedit.exe in the Start menu. Navigate to the following location:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ChromeHTML\Shell\open\command
Double-click the Default entry in the Windows Registry Editor, and change it from:

"C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" "%1"
to:

"C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" -incognito "%1"
Close the Registry Editor and that’s pretty much it. The next time you launch Google Chrome, the Incognito mode should be enabled by default and no data should be collected. Just like in the case of the first method, you need to manually change the registry key or open a standard browsing window.

The biggest setback of both methods is that they enable the Incognito mode when manually launching the browser, but not when clicking on links. For example, if you receive a link in an email and Google Chrome is configured as the default browser, clicking the link launches Chrome in the standard browsing mode.

There’s no way to get around this limitation for the time being, as Windows doesn’t allow users to define default apps with special parameters. Unless Google adds such an option in Chrome, the only option is to manually copy each link and paste them in a browsing instance running in Incognito.

 

 

 

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