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> was never meant to be Since "incognito" literally means "with one's identity concealed" [1], the fact that this was allegedly never intended to be a browsing

> was never meant to be Since "incognito" literally means "with one's identity concealed" [1], the fact that this was allegedly never intended to be a browsing mode that concealed one's identity is absurdly dishonest. You developers who work on this sort of crap should be ashamed of yourselves. [1] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/incognito https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/incognito

obmelvin 3y ago
Except, there has been a disclaimer for as long as I can remember that clearly states that incognito will not hide your activity from websites, your employer, or a gov agency. It has always been billed as a way to order a present without a shared user seeing that in the history.
- dockd 3y ago
  A disclaimer is great, but like the prior post said, when you give something a name and then redefine the meaning of the name in a disclaimer, it feels dishonest. The Honest* Browser *disclaimer: may lie
  - obmelvin 3y ago
    I do get what you are saying, and would agree that one should strive to use words as the dictionary indicates for clarity. But I also think that much product and marketing overloads terms and most of the time there isn't a clear definition. So, I hardly take issue with a case where there is a relatively direct contextual definition. Also worth considering that dictionary definitions aside, things can mean different things to different people. As a silly example, we can consider the :) emoji. Apparently many young people think it is passive aggressive [0]. To me, it is just a smiley face. So, I'd argue contextual definitions are useful. [0] - https://www.google.com/search?q=smiley+emoji+passive+aggressive https://www.google.com/search?q=smiley+emoji+passive+aggress...
Izkata 3y ago
It was introduced in the era when families regularly shared computers. It was meant to hide history from people using the same machine, not from the internet.
readams 3y ago
Incognito mode and other private browsing modes can only change the local behavior of your browser. They cannot magically cause web sites to treat you in any specific way.
shadowgovt 3y ago
It was always intended to conceal from other users of a shared machine back in the day when most machines were shared, such as in a family setting. General comprehension of the term changed because usage patterns changed.

obmelvin 3y ago

Except, there has been a disclaimer for as long as I can remember that clearly states that incognito will not hide your activity from websites, your employer, or a gov agency. It has always been billed as a way to order a present without a shared user seeing that in the history.

dockd 3y ago
A disclaimer is great, but like the prior post said, when you give something a name and then redefine the meaning of the name in a disclaimer, it feels dishonest. The Honest* Browser *disclaimer: may lie
- obmelvin 3y ago
  I do get what you are saying, and would agree that one should strive to use words as the dictionary indicates for clarity. But I also think that much product and marketing overloads terms and most of the time there isn't a clear definition. So, I hardly take issue with a case where there is a relatively direct contextual definition. Also worth considering that dictionary definitions aside, things can mean different things to different people. As a silly example, we can consider the :) emoji. Apparently many young people think it is passive aggressive [0]. To me, it is just a smiley face. So, I'd argue contextual definitions are useful. [0] - https://www.google.com/search?q=smiley+emoji+passive+aggressive https://www.google.com/search?q=smiley+emoji+passive+aggress...

Izkata 3y ago

It was introduced in the era when families regularly shared computers. It was meant to hide history from people using the same machine, not from the internet.

readams 3y ago

Incognito mode and other private browsing modes can only change the local behavior of your browser. They cannot magically cause web sites to treat you in any specific way.

shadowgovt 3y ago

It was always intended to conceal from other users of a shared machine back in the day when most machines were shared, such as in a family setting. General comprehension of the term changed because usage patterns changed.