Yes, private browsing on iPhone can be traced. There are plenty of options for private browsing on your iphone like the Safari private browsing mode, Chrome incognito mode, and Safari's Hide IP Address option.
I’ve used the Private Browsing mode on my iPhone for years but I recently found out that I can still be traced and it's not as private as I thought it to be. I did a little research to look at how to avoid being traced, and I’m going to walk you through a couple of effective ways.
So here’s a guide to all the options for private browsing on iPhone and how to avoid being traced while doing it.
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Is Private Browsing On iPhone Really Private?
It is private to a certain extent. Normal browsing can store your browser history, typed passwords, and cookies, which can be sold to third-party websites for marketing purposes.
You can switch to private browsing mode on your iPhone to avoid storing any of the above-mentioned data on your device. Private browsing essentially means your phone doesn’t store any temporary information like your browser history, cookies, and typed passwords. However, this doesn’t mean that you can't be traced. Your browser can still track your device's IP address, traffic-related information, and even your bookmarks.
Although Apple's security features for iOS devices are much better than those on Android devices, it doesn’t mean you're immune to tracking. You can be traced because your IP address is still visible. To avoid this, you can use the Tor browser and a VPN. It is commonly known as Onion over VPN.
How To Turn On Private Browsing Mode On Your iPhone?
Using Safari's Private Mode
If you have iOS 15 or versions after that, follow these steps:
Open the Safari browser on your iPhone and tap on the multiple tab view icon represented by two overlapping squares on the bottom right. The next step is to click on the Switch Tabs option and then tap on the Tab Number option. Finally, tap on Private. This will open up private browsing and you can open a private browser tab by clicking the plus sign on the bottom left.
Alternatively, you can also enable private browsing mode this way. Instead of tapping on the multiple tab view icon, press and hold the icon. Now, tap on Private to start private browsing.
If you have versions earlier than iOS 14, follow these steps:
Open the Safari browser and tap on the multiple tab view icon at the bottom right. The next step is to click Private present on the bottom left. Now, you can privately browse on Safari.
However, this doesn’t mean your private browser history is inaccessible. It can be accessed using the Advanced settings.
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Enable Hide IP Address In Safari
Safari also has an option to hide your IP address on your iPhone or iPad. On your iPhone, tap on Settings. Go to Safari and tap on Hide IP Address. Now, select From Trackers.
Although websites can still see your IP address, this setting will ensure that it is hidden from trackers.
Using Chrome's Incognito Mode
If you're a Chrome user, you would know that Google Chrome provides an option to switch to Incognito Mode. To enable Chrome's Incognito Mode, follow these steps:
Open Google Chrome and tap on the three dots. Select New Incognito Tab. Now you can privately browse using the tab. Bookmarks and downloads will still be present unless you manually delete them.
Enabling Incognito Mode only hides the search history from your device; it isn't hidden from the websites you visit or your ISP. This means that your activity can still be traced.
How Do You See Your Private Browsing History On Safari?
The Private mode hides browsing history on your iPhone but you can still access it by using an advanced option.
Go to Settings on your iPhone, find Safari, and click on it. Scroll down and select Advanced. Now, swipe left on the Website Data option.
You can now view your private browsing history. The Website Data option shows your deleted search history or private browsing data.
You can remove all the data stored. On the Safari settings page, scroll down to find the Remove All Website Data or Clear History and Data option. Click on it to delete all the stored data on Safari.
How To Avoid Being Traced During Browsing?
We saw that the private browsing feature for iOS users can still be traced. There are plenty of other applications that value your privacy. One of the most popular privacy-focused browsers is Brave. Brave blocks all ads and trackers by default.
You can also integrate Brave with Tor (see below) for extra security. It has an Open New Private Window With Tor option. DuckDuckGo is another popular search engine focusing on private browsing. It can also be used with Brave and adds an extra layer of security.
The strongest combination for private browsing would be using the Tor browser with a VPN such as NordVPN.
Tor Browser
Tor, by default, is in private browsing mode. It masks the identity of users and enables anonymous browsing. No third-party apps or trackers can follow you because Tor isolates each website. Cookies or history are automatically deleted. Tor encrypts and relays your traffic three times, making it impossible to see what you do online. There is no storage of private browsing history, search history, or website data like Safari.
However, some malicious Tor nodes can keep limited logs. Tor doesn’t encrypt your connection either. Your ISP will know that you are using Tor. You can avoid this by adding an extra security layer, i.e., a VPN.
VPN
Connecting to a VPN and Tor provides the ultimate security for private browsing. It is commonly called Onion over VPN. It means that you first turn on your VPN and then use Tor on top of the VPN. Tor is also called Onion, short for The Online Router.
A VPN masks your IP address and all data sent through the VPN network is encrypted and made invisible to third-party apps or trackers. Sometimes, when your ISP knows that you're using Tor, they can throttle your internet speed. You can bypass this by using a VPN. Connecting to your VPN before Tor means that you don’t reveal your identity even to Tor.
Note that Tor reduces speed as it passes through multiple layers in its network to achieve anonymity. Using a VPN with Tor can further slow down your browsing speed. Try to pick a reliable VPN that helps increase your browsing speed like NordVPN.
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Wrapping Up
You might've chosen the Apple iPhone for its incredible security features. However, browsing privately is not one of them. You can turn on Private Mode in Safari or Incognito Mode in Google Chrome to browse the internet privately. It will not store your search history, cookies, typed passwords, etc.
Although it is much better than normal browsing, you can still be traced even when the private mode is on. This can be frustrating.
Check out more smartphones
The above-mentioned Onion over VPN method enables you to browse the internet safely and privately, without being tracked. You first need to connect to NordVPN and then Tor to browse. However, Tor passes through multiple layers in its network to achieve anonymity, and this might slow down your browsing speed.
