How to Browse Anonymously with Chrome
Privacy on the internet is becoming increasingly important, because practically all our movements online are tracked by different services. So, if you dont want to be monitored and keep your data to yourself, you should make every effort to be as invisible as possible when you are on the move. Additionally, you can be identified by your IP addresses via your internet provider, so that you can access your data quickly. Spam, unwanted warnings and data misuse are therefore possible at any time. To prevent this from happening while browsing on Google Chrome, some precautions must be taken. In this article, we explain what you have to do to browse privately on Chrome.
Table of Contents
Why is it recommended to browse anonymously with Google Chrome?
Privacy online is a great asset. You don’t want your browsing behaviour, data or your location to be logged by different services. Therefore it is important to be as invisible as possible online and to protect yourself. Take a look at the options for browsing the web privately on Google Chrome.
How can you browse anonymously with Google Chrome?
There are several solutions and steps you can take to allow you to browse the web anonymously using Google Chrome. First, there is Chrome’s incognito mode. You can also use a VPN service or connect to the internet via Tor network. Often, a combination of the various methods and services provides the best solution.
VPN for Google Chrome
We recommend using a VPN clients that doesn’t create log files, such as Shellfire VPN, so as to not expose your real IP address to anyone. The VPN works independently of your browser and protects you when downloading or surfing the net with other browsers such as Firefox.
You can get a general overview of the main advantages and disadvantages of VPN in an article we published some time ago.
At the moment, Shellfire VPN is available for the following operating systems:
To disguise your IP address on Chrome, all you have to do is download our app for your operating system, follow the onscreen instructions and you’ll be set. Our Shellfire VPN is available both free and with a paid premium version, which is available for about 5 per month.
Click here to get more information about the Shellfire VPN
Incognito Mode on Google Chrome
Chrome’s incognito mode is very ease to set up and use. However, though it’s not obvious, this mode provides restrictive security to many users. When incognito mode is enabled, the browser prevents the local storage of data on your browsing behaviour and also prevents the use of cookies or other tracking framework.
This means that people using your computer can no longer keep track of what websites you have visited. On the other hand, even in anonymous mode you still leave traces of yourself behind online and can be identified at any time, usually by your IP address.
Go to Google’s official support page where incognito mode is explained.
Tor Network on Google Chrome
The Tor network made a name for itself primarily as a gateway to the so-called dark net, but was actually developed for a completely different reason. It was designed to enable anonymous browsing and thus protect people like journalists in dictatorships from reprisals. Access to the Tor network is very easy and can be set up using Chrome.
In principle, the Tor network can also be used with Chrome, but for most users and simplicity’s sake, we recommend using the Tor browser when accessing the Tor network.
Still, you should be aware that you are not 100% anonymous when using the Tor network, as many news reports in recent years have demonstrated. That’s because, with the appropriate power and court orders, investigative agencies can identify users of the Tor network. However, since this always involves considerable effort, the average user usually doesn’t have anything to fear and can use the Tor network to access the internet as securely as possible.
Proxy-Server on Google Chrome
A proxy-server more or less acts as an intermediary between you and the internet. If you have set up a proxy-server, your request to a web page from Google Chrome first gets forwarded to the proxy and his processed by it. This means that your IP address and location can no longer be recognized by the actual website.
Still, proxy servers are now very unpopular since they only encrypt a small part of the communication, and are complicated to use. Therefore, most users prefer a VPN client to a proxy server, because it is much easier to handle and promises higher security. Thus sooner or later, proxy-servers will be phased out.
Proxy servers are unpopular alternatives to VPN because, among other things, they only protect certain data transferred to the Internet and not your entire connection.
Is it legal to use VPN on Google Chrome?
The use of VPN clients on Google Chrome is legal and easy to do in the First World. Establishing a virtual private network is not a crime, nor is it prohibited. Thousands of companies use such a VPN, for example, when their employees need to access the company’s servers and data from their home office. Therefore, its use cannot be prohibited in the foreseeable future.
In addition, there are an enormous number of VPN network providers who are well paid for their services as premium VPNs. Therefore, there’s no need to worry about the legal aspects of VPN usage.
Does using a VPN with Google Chrome allow anonymous downloads?
The short answer to this question is yes. However, whether it makes sense and is goal-oriented depends largely on the type and design of the VPN. This is because a VPN network is normally slower than the actual internet connection due to the multiple data transmissions. This is hardly noticeable when browsing online or watching videos, but when downloading there can be considerable delays.
The better the VPN network, the faster the speeds. With a premium VPN client (such as Shellfire), it is therefore possible to enjoy anonymous downloading without any problems.
Conclusion
Private browsing with Google Chrome is basically possible but requires some preparation. In addition, you can even enjoy online anonymity for free, but then you must make sacrifices of convenience or functionality. If you want to browse completely privately and don’t want to accept any serious loss of quality, there is no way around using a premium VPN client. With a premium VPN client, you can enjoy all the advantages of anonymity without being confronted with the disadvantages.
