Getting fast, reliable internet in rural areas remains one of the biggest connectivity challenges facing millions of American households. Rural 4G Internet – Can Incognito Mode Hide My Identity? — a problem without easy answers when cable and fiber infrastructure simply doesn't exist in your area. Nomad Internet changes that by delivering 4G LTE and 5G broadband directly to rural homes, farms, and remote properties where traditional ISPs fall short.

Ready to get connected? Check out Nomad Internet's rural broadband plans — fast 4G LTE and 5G delivered to homes and properties where cable and fiber don't reach.

Luckily, embracing wireless Internet does not mean you have to give up your most sensitive data. 4G rural Internet users have more privacy control options today than ever. One of these options is your browser’s Incognito Mode. Does it really hide your identity? Keep reading to find out more.

What is the Incognito Mode?

Incognito Mode lets you surf the Internet in an “undercover” mode. The idea is that you get to visit websites without creating a trail of where you’ve been. These sites do not make part of your history.

Typically, websites track online activities using cookies in order to learn more about you and provide a customized browsing experience. However, there are times when you do not want that. Incognito Mode can help keep them off from your trail.

What Incognito Mode does

When you browse under the incognito mode, the browser is disabled from keeping any local data of what you did online. The data automatically deletes as soon as you close the browser. In so doing, you get to enjoy your rural mobile Internet with peace of mind knowing that no browsing is recorded in your local search.

The mode disables numerous trackers, third-party toolbars, and temporary files.

It is important to understand that Incognito Mode is specific to your device and the browser data on those devices. Therefore, you have much more data that goes unprotected even as you surf in the undercover mode.

Whether or not Google records all Incognito Mode records is subject to debate. Being the world’s biggest search engine, expert research acknowledges that Google has the mechanisms to keep this record if they wanted to. The search engine can backtrack Incognito Mode sessions on YouTube and Gmail to learn more about the user.

Google’s response to these allegations is that they are erroneous and meant to discredit their data privacy efforts. The Search Engine is adamant that they would never consider recording such data as doing so violates their terms and conditions.

Malware and Incognito Mode

The need to get a secure internet connection when traveling or from home is a key requirement for the Digital Nomad. But can Incognito Mode really keep you safe from malware? The answer is, no, it cannot.

Even though the mode takes care of some of your privacy needs, it is not a security mechanism against malware. It does not have the ability to set a firewall and filter viruses. As you visit various websites in Incognito Mode, you are at the risk of downloading harmful programs to your computer as you would under usual browsing sessions.

Whereas Incognito Mode provides some level of privacy, you may still need to use a VPN depending on what level of privacy you want. Also, you cannot afford to ignore the need for an antivirus.