How to Activate InPrivate Browsing Mode in IE 10

Surf the web privately

What to Know

  • Open the IE10 browser and select Tools. Choose InPrivate Browsing from the drop-down menu to open a new private window.
  • The keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+P also activates InPrivate Browsing.

This article explains how to activate InPrivate Browsing mode in IE10. This information applies to the Internet Explorer 10 web browser on Windows operating systems.

Microsoft no longer supports Internet Explorer and recommends that you update to the newer Edge browser. Head to their site to download the newest version.

Private Browsing in Internet Explorer

Privacy and security are critical web-browsing elements for most internet users. Some users opt to enable InPrivate Browsing mode in Internet Explorer 10 to keep their browsing history under wraps and protect potentially sensitive data, such as passwords.

While enabled, InPrivate Browsing ensures that no cookies or temporary internet files (also known as a cache) are left behind on your hard drive. Your browsing history, form data, and passwords aren't saved. Here's how to enable InPrivate Browsing mode in IE10.

  1. Open the IE10 browser.

  2. Select Tools.

    Tools selected to open menu in IE 10
  3. Select InPrivate Browsing to activate InPrivate Browsing mode in a new browser tab or window.

    Tools menu in IE 10

    Alternatively, press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+P to activate InPrivate Browsing.

Additional Notes on InPrivate Browsing

When you're surfing the web using InPrivate Browsing mode, you'll see the InPrivate indicator in the IE10 address bar. Here's more information about InPrivate Browsing mode.

  • Cookies: With InPrivate Browsing enabled, cookies are deleted from the hard drive as soon as you close the current window or tab. This includes Document Object Model storage, or DOM, which is sometimes referred to as a supercookie.
  • Temporary internet files: Also known as cache, these are images, multimedia files, and full web pages stored locally to speed up load times. These files are immediately deleted when you close an InPrivate Browsing tab.
  • Browsing history: IE10 typically stores a record of URLs you visited. While in InPrivate Browsing Mode, your browsing history is never recorded.
  • Form data: Information that you enter into a web form, such as your name and address, is normally stored by IE10 for future use. With InPrivate Browsing enabled, no form data is recorded.
  • AutoComplete: IE10 uses your previous browsing and search history for its AutoComplete feature, taking an educated guess each time you type a URL or search keywords. This data is not stored while surfing in the InPrivate Browsing mode.
  • Crash restoration: IE10 stores session data in the event of a crash, so that automatic recovery is possible upon relaunch. This is also true if multiple InPrivate tabs are open concurrently and one tab crashes. However, if the entire InPrivate Browsing window crashes, all session data is automatically deleted and restoration isn't possible.
  • RSS Feeds: RSS feeds added to IE10 while in InPrivate Browsing Mode are not deleted when you close the current tab or window. You must remove each feed manually.
  • Favorites: Any favorites or bookmarks you create during an InPrivate Browsing session are not removed when the session is complete. You'll need to delete these manually.
  • IE10 settings: Any modifications made to the IE10 settings during an InPrivate Browsing session remain intact at the close of that session.

To turn off InPrivate Browsing, close the existing tabs or window and return to a standard browsing session.

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