Cover your tracks like a ninja with these tips for keeping your browsing habits private on your Chromebook.
The internet is filled with naked sweaty people doing naked sweaty things. It's also used by folks who like to look at them — but don't really want anyone else to know about it. While there's not much you can do to make sure nobody can see where you've been and what you clicked on, you can erase your tracks in case someone grabs your Chromebook and looks through the history.
We talked about how to cover your tracks on Android, and most of the same principles apply for your Chromebook. Your internet service provider is always going to be able to see your first connection (so using a VPN or Tor keeps the sites you visit private, but your ISP knows you're using a VPN or TOR through your Android phone) and the people sitting in the same room as you are going to be able to see what's on your screen.
Now that your dreams of being fully incognito on the internet are ruined, let's talk about how to cover your tracks locally when you're using your Chromebook.
More: Hide your porn browsing habits on Android
User accounts and passwords
You can use a Chromebook as a guest user, but that means you're not going to be able to install extensions from the Chrome Web Store. You can sideload an unpacked extension and make it work, but there's an easier way — anyone who might want or need to use your Chromebook can have their own local account. This works great for your partner or roommate. Not only do they have quick access to the web when they need it, but they can personalize their experience. Anything they download or install is going to take up some space, but they won't be able to access your account data or your stuff at all. And you won't be able to see theirs — privacy works both ways. To add a user, when you're on the login screen click the Add person link at the bottom of the page.
The next step is to make sure you need a password when you wake up your Chromebook. Open the Settings and scroll down to the People section, and you'll see a checkbox to require a password to wake from sleep. When your Chromebook times out, or if you shut the lid, you have to type your password to do anything but look at your account picture.
Install some extensions
You can't use a browser with "better" privacy settings on your Chromebook, but you can install some extensions to keep things as anonymous as possible. We're focused on scrubbing your local history in this article, but it's not unheard of for scripts and ads — especially the scummy ads that seem to always be present on porn sites — to do things like blocking your screen with pops until you click something you shouldn't or to try and use your IP address to "remember" you the next time you visit. Advertisements, cookies and other forms of user profiling can be useful and beneficial to both the user (that's us) and the provider but the sheer abundance of crapware and malware that is drawn to porn sites means you should never visit one without a way to try and stay safe.
I can recommend these extensions from the Chrome Web Store:
- Ghostery — Ghostery does a great job of blocking trackers that want to know where you are, what site you came from and what sites you're going to next. They track you, which is why they are called trackers.
- Privacy Badger — This is another extension that blocks trackers from the EFF. It's an alternative to Ghostery, but the interface is a bit more detailed and can be confusing. You don't need to use Ghostery and Privacy Badger at the same time, but you can.
- Adblock Plus — Adblock Plus blocks ads. It's easy to set up and out of the box blocks almost every ad on the internet. If you feel overwhelmed with settings, use this one.
- Script Blocker — Blocks JavaScript, Java, Flash, and other plug-ins by way of a whitelist/blacklist. You might need to allow Flash or scripts to see your porn — if that happens, find a new porn site. Don't let scripts and plug-ins run as they please.
Extensions are able to store data when you allow them in Incognito mode. I feel good about recommending these and am confident that they aren't going to expose you or your habits. These extensions need to run in Incognito mode. See the link below if you need help setting that up. Don't worry, it's easy.
How to allow extensions in Incognito mode on your Chromebook
Incognito mode
I've mentioned it enough times that you knew this was coming. Always use incognito mode (in tandem with some extensions to help control what the internet can do to you) when you are doing something you don't want to be associated with your Google account.
Open the browser app on your Chromebook, and click the three dots in the upper right to open a menu. You'll see a listing that says open a new Incognito window. Click it. When it opens, go back and close the original window to be extra sure and paranoid like I am.
You can also open an Incognito window directly from the desktop by pressing Control+Shift+N, but I usually forget which keys to press so I use the menu. Whichever way you do it, just do it.
Remember, that anything you download gets saved where anyone can see it, and any site you bookmark will get mixed in with your regular bookmarks (and saved to the cloud) so don't do either.
This isn't going to make you invisible on the internet. That's impossible. But it will cover your tracks if someone else gets to snooping around at what's saved in your Chromebook's history. Stay safe.
Also, It's OK to want to keep some things private but never forget to communicate with your loved ones. I'm a little past looking at porn on the internet, but when I do have a look at naked Twister activities I do it with my wife. It's a lot more fun that way, and it's easier than trying to keep secrets.
This post was updated in January 2017 with the latest information.
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