Use Chrome’s Incognito Mode to Troubleshoot Problems

This tip is for those using Google Chrome on Windows 7, Windows 8.x,  or Windows 10

As we have discussed before, if you think incognito mode hides your online activity, it does not. It does not prevent web sites or your ISP from logging everything you do online. It will prevent your browser from saving history and cookies on your PC.

If you are having problems with Chrome, the easiest way to make sure that it’s not a browser extension causing your problem(s) is to open Chrome in Incognito mode.

Here are 3 ways to open Chrome in incognito mode:

1. With Chrome open and in focus, press CTRL+SHIFT+N to open a new Chrome incognito window.
2. Right-click on Chrome’s shortcut in your Start menu, desktop or taskbar and choose “New incognito window”.
   
3. Click on Chrome settings’ icon in the top-right corner of Chrome (the 3 vertical dots). From the menu, click on “New incognito window”.
   

 Incognito mode disables all extensions automatically [unless you’ve intentionally chosen to make an extension available in incognito mode*].

Now, try browsing with Chrome in incognito mode for a few minutes and see if you still have the the same problem(s) with Chrome.  If you don’t, then chances are good that one of your extensions is causing your problem(s). You can disable each extension, one at time, until you find the culprit. You can then choose to leave the extension disabled, completely remove it, or check to see if there’s an updated version. 

If you’re still having problems, then it’s most likely not a problem caused by a browser extension. In that case, you might want to consider resetting Chrome by following the instructions on this page. That page also has instructions for fixing Chrome by completely removing Chrome and reinstalling it. If you choose to re-install Chrome, be sure you export and save your bookmarks first – otherwise you’ll lose them. To learn how to save your Chrome bookmarks, see this Cloudeight tip.

*Incognito mode in Google Chrome, disables all extensions except ones you have explicitly chosen to allow in Incognito mode. Most of you shouldn’t have to worry about that.