Incognito mode is not enough: How to truly delete all browsing traces
Many users believe that incognito mode makes them anonymous. In fact, DNS entries, router logs, and account activity remain visible. In this article, we show you where these traces are stored on Windows, Mac, Android, and iPhone and how you can reliably delete them.
Incognito mode: What really remains hidden (and what doesn’t)
Private mode in the browser prevents history, cookies, and forms from being saved on your device. However, DNS queries are generated every time you visit a website and are cached in the system regardless of incognito mode.
Router logs, provider logs, or extensions that have been released for incognito also continue to be recorded. If you really don’t want to leave any visible remnants, you have to remove these system entries manually.
Tip on anonymity: Incognito only protects you from other users of the same device. For more privacy, you should combine it with a VPN. This encrypts your data traffic and hides your IP address from third parties. You can find a VPN provider here in our roundup of the best VPN services.
How to view all surfing traces from incognito mode
Windows
Under Windows, you can view all DNS entries, including incognito mode histories, via the command prompt. This is how it works:
- Open the Start menu and type cmd.
- Right-click on “Command Prompt” and “Run as administrator.”
- Enter
ipconfig /displaydns. You will then see all DNS entries, including the sites visited in incognito mode.
Mac
On Mac devices, you need two on-board programs to call up the DNS entries: Console and Terminal. Proceed as follows:
- First open the console under “Applications” and “Utilities.”
To view your DNS entries on the Mac, you first need the Console app.
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- Select your Mac in the sidebar on the left, then enter mdnsresponder in the search field at the top right and click on the “Start” icon.
Enter “mdnsresponder” in the search field and then click on the start icon.
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- Now open the terminal under “Utilities” and type
sudo killall -INFO mDNSResponder. - Then enter your admin password (type blindly and confirm with Return).
In the terminal, enter the command in the red box and confirm with your admin password.
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- Return to the console to view the incognito history.
You can see all saved DNS entries in the console.
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Android and iPhone
The Android and iOS mobile operating systems do not offer direct access to the DNS cache. Incognito traces can therefore only be viewed via linked monitoring apps such as Hoverwatch, AirDroid (for Android) or special parental control tools. However, these solutions only record future sessions and should be used with caution due to the high level of data access.
How to delete all browsing history from incognito mode
As the browser itself does not save any history, the traces in the DNS cache must be deleted. To do this, proceed as follows:
Windows
- Open the command prompt again as administrator.
- Enter
ipconfig /flushdns. This command deletes all DNS entries and thus removes your incognito traces.
Mac
- Open “Applications,” “Utilities,” and then the Terminal.
- Enter
sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder. - Confirm with your admin password. The DNS cache will be rebuilt immediately.
Android and iPhone
Deleting incognito traces works slightly differently on mobile devices, as they do not display the DNS cache openly. In Google Chrome, however, you can use the same hidden DNS area on both Android and iPhone:
- Open Google Chrome and type chrome://net-internals/#dns in the address bar.
- Tap on “Clear host cache” to remove the saved DNS queries.
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If you use a different browser such as Firefox, Brave, or Edge for surfing, this hidden area will not work. In this case, you can restart the device completely or activate flight mode for 10 to 15 seconds and deactivate it again. Both clear the DNS cache and remove the temporary incognito entries.