Ever searched for a gift on the family Mac and worried someone would find it in the history later? That’s what InPrivate browsing is for. It’s a private mode in Microsoft Edge. It stops your history, cookies, and form data from being saved once you close the window.
This guide shows you how to open and confirm InPrivate browsing on a Mac. You’ll also learn how to get your extensions working inside it, and what InPrivate can’t hide, like your activity from your ISP, employer, or school network. By the end, you’ll know when InPrivate helps and when you need something more, like a VPN.
What Is InPrivate Browsing?
InPrivate browsing is Microsoft Edge’s built-in private mode. It works like Google Chrome’s Incognito mode or Firefox’s Private Browsing. Open an InPrivate window, and Edge stops saving your history, cookies, site data, and anything you type into forms. Everything clears once you close all InPrivate windows.
Here’s what makes it useful:
- No local history: Sites you visit in an InPrivate window don’t show up in your regular Edge history, similar to how clearing your browser history works.
- Temporary cookies: Cookies and site data only last for that InPrivate session. They vanish once all InPrivate windows are closed.
- Visual indicator: A dark toolbar and an “InPrivate” badge next to the address bar make it obvious you’re in private mode.
- Extensions off by default: Browser extensions don’t run in InPrivate windows unless you turn them on for it, which can be managed in extension settings.
- Stricter tracking prevention: InPrivate windows use tighter tracking defaults than a regular window, which can be adjusted in browser settings.
It suits people sharing a computer with family, roommates, or coworkers. It also helps if you want to log into a second account, shop without your usual cookies skewing prices, or keep a one-off search out of your regular history, similar to using private browsing modes in other browsers.
Before You Begin
Make sure you have:
- A Mac running a currently supported version of macOS
- Microsoft Edge downloaded and installed (or ready to install)
- A few minutes to check for updates, since tracking prevention improves with newer Edge versions
- No Microsoft account required, InPrivate works without signing in
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| Device | Mac (Apple Silicon or Intel) |
| OS version | Any macOS version Edge currently supports |
| Browser | Microsoft Edge, latest version recommended |
| Account | None required for InPrivate specifically |
Step-by-Step Guide
Step 1: Install or update Microsoft Edge
If you don’t already have Edge, grab it from microsoft.com/edge. Drag it into your Applications folder like any other Mac app, then open it. Nothing fancy here.
If you already have Edge installed, open it and click the three-dot Settings and more menu in the top-right corner, then go to Help and feedback > About Microsoft Edge. Edge will check for updates and install them automatically. Don’t skip this step. Tracking prevention and other privacy defaults get refined in newer releases.
Tip: Microsoft updates Edge’s release notes often. If you want to know exactly what changed in your version, check the Microsoft Edge release notes page rather than relying on rumors. Privacy defaults like tracking prevention shift from release to release, so it’s worth a quick look if you rely on Edge for anything sensitive.
Step 2: Open an InPrivate window from the menu
With Edge open, click the three-dot Settings and more icon in the top-right corner of the window. Select New InPrivate window from the menu that appears.
Expected result: A brand-new Edge window opens with a dark toolbar and a distinct InPrivate splash screen, separate from any windows you already had open.
Step 3: Or use the keyboard shortcut
You don’t have to dig through the menu every time. On a Mac, press:
Cmd+Shift+N
This opens a new InPrivate window instantly from anywhere in Edge. It’s much faster once it becomes muscle memory. (If you’re following along on a Windows PC instead, the same feature opens with Ctrl+Shift+N.)
Step 4: Confirm you’re actually in InPrivate mode
Before you do anything sensitive, double-check that the window is really InPrivate. Look for two things: the dark toolbar, and the “InPrivate” icon or badge next to the address bar.
Expected result: Every new tab you open inside this window stays InPrivate too. You don’t need to repeat the shortcut for each tab, only for a new window.
Warning: If you open a link in a regular Edge window by mistake (for example, from Spotlight or another app), it won’t be InPrivate. Always launch new tabs from inside the InPrivate window itself.
Step 5: Browse normally, then close every InPrivate window when you’re done
Use the InPrivate window like you would any other: search, sign in, shop, whatever you need. When you’re finished, close all InPrivate windows, not just tabs.
Expected result: Once every InPrivate window is closed, Edge discards that session’s history, cookies, and form data. Anything downloaded to disk, though, stays on your Mac. Closing the window doesn’t delete files you saved.
Tip: If you had multiple InPrivate windows open at once, they all share the same private session. Closing one still leaves the session (and its cookies) alive until the last InPrivate window closes.
Configuration
Allow an extension to run in InPrivate
Extensions are switched off inside InPrivate windows by default. That’s intentional. Many extensions collect or store data that would defeat the point of going private. If you need a specific extension, like a password manager, to work in InPrivate:
- Open a regular Edge window and go to:
edge://extensions
- Find the extension you want and click Details.
- Turn on the Allow in InPrivate toggle.
Expected result: The next InPrivate window you open will load that extension normally. Repeat this for each extension you want to allow; it’s a per-extension setting, not global.
Check your tracking prevention level
Edge pairs InPrivate with its tracking-prevention system, which blocks many known trackers automatically. InPrivate windows use a stricter setting than your regular browsing by default. You can see and adjust the underlying levels from:
edge://settings/privacy
Look for the Tracking prevention section, where you can choose between Basic, Balanced, and Strict.
Microsoft has kept refining tracking prevention through 2026. Some reports point to changes that unify its behavior across regular and InPrivate windows in recent releases. Rather than repeat an unverified version number here, check the Tracking prevention section on your own installed version. Look at Microsoft’s release notes page for the exact current behavior. It’s a quick way to confirm you’re getting the latest protections instead of relying on a build number that may already be outdated by the time you read this.
Expected result: Strict blocks the most trackers but can occasionally break site features like embedded videos or comment sections. Balanced is the default for a reason; it’s a solid middle ground for most people.
What InPrivate Doesn’t Do (Read This Before You Rely On It)
This is the part most people skip, and it’s the part that actually matters. InPrivate only changes what Edge saves on your Mac. It doesn’t change what other parties can see over the network. Specifically:
- Your ISP can still see which sites you connect to, InPrivate or not, since that visibility happens at the network level, outside the browser entirely.
- Your employer or school, if you’re on a managed device or a network they control, can typically still see your activity through firewall logs, DNS records, or monitoring software installed on the device. InPrivate does nothing to stop this.
- Websites themselves can still see your IP address. They can still track you through account logins, fingerprinting, or other techniques that don’t rely on cookies.
- Ads and some trackers can still follow you. Tracking prevention blocks a lot of known trackers, especially cross-site ones, but it doesn’t block every ad network or every tracking technique, and your IP address stays visible regardless.
If you take one thing away from this article, make it this: InPrivate protects you from the next person who uses your computer, not from the network you’re connected to.
Combining InPrivate with a VPN
InPrivate doesn’t hide your IP address or network activity, so pairing it with a VPN covers the gap. A VPN encrypts your traffic and masks your IP address from the sites you visit, and to some extent from your network provider. InPrivate alone was never built to do that. Edge also includes its own built-in Secure Network feature, a VPN-style option that can mask your IP for a limited amount of data each month.
Using InPrivate plus a VPN together means:
- InPrivate handles what’s saved locally on your Mac.
- A VPN handles what’s visible over the network.
Neither one replaces the other; think of them as covering two different layers of privacy. If you’re on a managed work or school network, keep in mind that a VPN generally can’t get you around device-level monitoring software your organization installed directly on the computer.
Tips and Troubleshooting
Problem: Ads still seem to follow me even in InPrivate.
- Remember your IP address and account logins (if you sign in) are still visible to ad networks.
- Set tracking prevention to Strict in
edge://settings/privacyfor stronger blocking. - Add a VPN if you specifically need to mask your IP address too.
Problem: My extensions aren’t working in the InPrivate window.
- Go to
edge://extensions. - Click Details on the extension you need.
- Turn on Allow in InPrivate, then open a fresh InPrivate window.
Problem: My school or employer can still see what sites I visited.
- This isn’t a bug. InPrivate never hides activity from network administrators, and no browser setting changes that.
- Treat InPrivate as protection from other users of the shared device only, and avoid sensitive browsing on a managed network or device altogether.
Problem: I closed one InPrivate window, but my data wasn’t cleared.
- Check whether you have another InPrivate window still open somewhere; they all share one session.
- Close every InPrivate window, not just the last one, to fully end the session and clear its data.
Pro tip: If you just want your regular browsing to clear automatically without switching to InPrivate every time, check Edge’s Clear browsing data on close option in edge://settings/privacy. It’s a different tool for a different job, good for people who want a clean slate on every restart rather than a separate private window.
FAQ
Does InPrivate browsing hide my IP address? No. InPrivate only controls what Edge saves locally on your device. Your IP address is still visible to the websites you visit and to your network provider.
Can my employer or school see what I do in InPrivate mode? Yes, if you’re on a device or network they manage. Firewall logs, DNS records, and monitoring software operate outside the browser, so InPrivate has no effect on them.
Does InPrivate stop all ads and trackers? No. Tracking prevention blocks many known trackers, especially cross-site ones, but it doesn’t block every ad network or every tracking technique.
Do I need to close every InPrivate window to clear my data? Yes. All InPrivate windows opened at once share the same session. Data only clears once every one of them is closed.
Do extensions work in InPrivate windows?
Not by default. You have to manually turn on Allow in InPrivate for each extension in edge://extensions.
Is InPrivate the same as using a VPN? No. InPrivate hides local browsing data on your device; a VPN masks your IP address and encrypts traffic over the network. They solve different problems and work well together.
Does InPrivate protect downloaded files or bookmarks I create while in the window? No. Files you download and bookmarks you save stay on your Mac even after you close the InPrivate window, closing the window doesn’t delete them.
Is InPrivate browsing illegal or suspicious to use? No. It’s a normal, built-in browser feature that anyone can use for everyday privacy, like keeping a shared computer’s history clean or comparison-shopping without personalized pricing getting in the way.
Wrapping Up
You’ve now got InPrivate browsing set up in Microsoft Edge on your Mac, your extensions working where you need them, and a clear sense of what it protects. It’s a genuinely handy tool for keeping your local browsing tidy on a shared computer.
Just don’t mistake it for a privacy cloak. Your ISP, employer, or school can still see your activity whether InPrivate is on or off. InPrivate does exactly what it says and nothing more. Pair it with a VPN when you need to hide your network activity too, and you’ll have a setup that covers both bases.
| Step | Action | Applies To |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Install or update Microsoft Edge | macOS |
| 2 | Open InPrivate from the three-dot menu | macOS |
| 3 | Use Cmd+Shift+N (or Ctrl+Shift+N on Windows) | macOS / Windows |
| 4 | Confirm the dark toolbar and InPrivate badge | macOS |
| 5 | Close all InPrivate windows to clear the session | macOS |
| 6 | Allow specific extensions via edge://extensions | macOS |
| 7 | Check tracking prevention at edge://settings/privacy | macOS |