Incognito modes on browsers offer the most basic privacy protection. Even though some people mistake them for total privacy protection, the incognito mode will only make sure that there are no traces left behind on the browser. This doesn’t have any use if somebody else is already holding your phone with the browser open. Therefore, Google is now working on a reauthentication mechanism for incognito mode for Android.
Physical access to a device makes the security features weak, to a greater extent if the phone is unlocked. There is no use for the incognito mode when the tabs are open in the background. The unauthorized user can simply switch back to it to see what the user has been looking for in the incognito mode. This is when the use of another lock comes into play. An added lock will provide added security with a PIN or biometric authentication on the phone.
This is what has been added to Chrome for Android’s development Canary version. Chrome Story reports that when the new flag has been enabled and Chrome has been restarted, a new option for switching on or off reauthentication in the browser’s Privacy and Security settings will be present. On switching it on, it will require you to enter the PIN or use face unlock or other biometric authentication for allowing access to incognito tabs.
This feature was experimented by Google in Chrome for iOS but isn’t still available to everyone. When the user closes or moves away from the incognito tabs, they will have to reauthenticate to the phone to access them again. It can’t be done so easily as unlocking the phone because the user may have to tap on the button first. As the iOS version isn’t still available to the public, likely, the Android version will not come anytime soon.
