Secretly watching your guilty pleasure without YouTube bombarding you with all kinds of embarrassing recommendations? It’s possible with YouTube Incognito Mode. That is how it works.
Watch YouTube videos anonymously
You probably already know the incognito mode from other apps, such as Google Maps. It works very simply. After you turn on private mode, YouTube no longer keeps track of what you watch. This is ideal for watching guilty pleasures, such as mukbangs or the Django Wagner repertoire.
After completing the video, YouTube has already forgotten it, so you will not receive any personal video suggestions based on your viewing habits. This way, the Recommendations page actually remains based on what you might like.
Here’s how to turn on YouTube Incognito Mode:
- Open the YouTube app on your iPhone or iPad;
- Tap your account icon at the top right;
- Select ‘Enable Incognito Mode’ here.
The first time you go incognito, you will be notified again stating that your private session will be erased when you switch back to your account. Be aware that all your activities are still visible to your employer, school or internet provider. This works the same as, for example, the incognito mode of the Google Chrome browser.
While the option is activated, you can use YouTube as if you were not logged in. This also means that you cannot access your Library, add subscriptions or videos to your playlists. You can recognize that you are currently looking incognito by the icon at the top right. A narrow bar with the text ‘You are incognito’ is also displayed at the bottom.
To switch the mode off again and watch ‘public’ videos again, tap the incognito icon in the top right. In the menu, tap on ‘turn off incognito mode’. You will automatically be logged back into your account. In addition, YouTube automatically switches the mode off if you do not use the app for a few hours. So if you want to watch incognito again a little later, you will have to re-enable the function.
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