Back in 2018, I explained how some websites use various tricks to detect that visitors are using Private Mode browsers and force such users to log-in. The most common reason that such sites do this is that they’ve implemented a “Your first five articles are free, then you have to pay” model, and cookies or similar storage are used to keep track of the user’s read count.
The New Yorker magazine is one such site:
Unfortunately, such “Private Mode blockers” make it hard for those of us who use Private Mode for other reasons (I don’t want to leave any traces of my Beanie Baby shopping research!). Private Mode detectors typically trigger for Chromium-based browsers’ Guest Profile that you might be use when borrowing a trusted friend’s computer.
So, what’s a privacy-conscious user to do?
If you’re using Firefox, you can use that browser’s “Containers” feature to isolate such sites into a partitioned container such that trackers from the site cannot follow you around the web.
If you use Microsoft Edge, you might consider creating your own “Ephemeral” browser profile for browsing sites that block InPrivate:
After you create the new profile, visit its Settings page at edge://settings/clearBrowsingDataOnClose and configure all storage areas to be cleared every time you close the browser1:
Note: Chrome does not offer a Clear on Close list, but does offer a limited Clear cookies and site data when you quit Chrome option.
You can then adjust any other settings you like, for instance, adjusting Tracking Protection to Strict in edge://settings/privacy or the like.
Then when you want to visit a site that blocks InPrivate, you can either open your Ephemeral profile from your profile icon, or use the Open link as command on a hyperlink’s context-menu:
Over time, browsers will continue to work to make Private Mode detectors less reliable, but it’s unlikely that they’ll ever be perfect. Creating an ephemeral profile that clears everything on exit is a useful trick to combat sites which prioritize their business model needs over your privacy.
-Eric
1 In Edge 85 and earlier, you must unfortunately close all browser windows (even from your main profile) to trigger the cleanup of your ephemeral profile; closing just the windows from the ephemeral profile alone is not enough. This bug was recently fixed in Edge 86.
Advanced Q&A
Q: How is this Ephemeral/ClearOnExit Profile different than a regular InPrivate Mode session?
A: There are a few key differences.
- InPrivate tries not to write anything to disk (although the OS memory manager might at any time decide swap process memory to the disk), while true profiles do not impose such a limitation. The “no disk write” behavior of Private Mode is the primary source of web-platform-observable differences in behavior that allow sites to build Private Mode detectors.
- By default, your default browser extensions do not load in InPrivate, but they can be configured to do so. In a different profile, you’ll have to install any desired extensions individually.
- By default, your credentials (usernames and passwords) do not autofill while InPrivate. In a different profile, your main profile’s credentials will not be available (and will be cleared on exit if configured to do so).
- InPrivate tabs do not perform Windows Integrated Authentication to Intranet sites automatically. Regular browser profiles do not have such a limitation.
Impatient optimist. Dad. Author/speaker. Created Fiddler & SlickRun. PM @ MSFT '01-'12, and '18-, presently working on Microsoft Edge. My words are my own. View more posts