Since doing the same in a new profile would work as expected, it seemed there was no other option than to clear the profile. This would mean losing all my history – but I had cleared that anyway before.
I decided to first remove all of my synced data. Then, I exported my bookmarks from the Bookmarks Manager (⌥⌘B). Finally, I removed the Default
folder in my Chrome's application files (~/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/Default
) and started Chrome again.
It might be possible to migrate extensions from the Default
's Extensions
folder, but I've decided to re-install the four I had.
If anybody had the same issue and found another way to resolve it, I'd be glad to read about that.
Chrome's “Clear Browsing Data” does not clear cookies for open incognito tabs?
No, incognito data is wiped when the tab(s)/window(s) are closed.
I open a fresh Chrome (31.0.1650.63 m on Windows 7), no previously kept tabs ("Continue where I left off" is off), no cookies.
… In incognito tab 2, I go to the same site S. The 'Network' tab of DevTools shows me that the first request sends cookie X. This seems incorrect to me.
I know what you mean; it seems logical that using incognito would allow for cookies to be independent so that you could open a couple of windows to the same site and log in with different usernames. However, that is not how Chrome’s incognito implementation works.
When you open an incognito window, Chrome creates a new and separate instance of itself which behaves just like the regular version in every way, except that it does not store cached files on disk or record anything in the logs. Because it behaves like the regular browser, it shares cookies and other session information among the open tabs and windows. That is why all of the incognito tabs that have the same page loaded will be able to see the same cookies.
When close the last incognito tab, Chrome wipes out the cookies and other session information. Until then, they are retained.
(It seems like "Clear Browsing Data" is running off of a non-incognito tab, and that it therefore cannot access the cookies of incognito tabs. Or something like that.)
All browser-related tabs like settings, extensions, plugins, history, downloads, etc. run in a regular, non-incognito window and have access to the whole browser, including incognito windows.
Is this a Chrome bug?
No, it is intended behavior.
If so, is it already reported somewhere? If not, can anyone point me to the relevant documentation or standards?
Yes, this was reported in 2010, but was closed. Further, there are discussions which indicate that this is normal behavior and will not be changed in the foreseeable future. [1][2][3][4] You can check up on changes or file a new report (though they might very well just close it as a duplicate of the previous one).
Best Answer
Firstly, consider switching to Firefox, which allows you to turn off browsing history in its settings and has more concern for privacy overall.
Secondly, if you still prefer to use Chrome, you may want to configure your Chrome shortcuts to start the browser in incognito mode, because in this mode Chrome will not record your history. On Windows you can do the following.
Navigate to the location of the shortcut:
%USERPROFILE%\Desktop
to find your desktop shortcut;
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs
to find the start menu shortcut;
%AppData%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\TaskBar
to find your taskbar shortcut;
Change the properties of the shortcut:
Shortcut
tab;Target
property: append-incognito
to the end of the value,for example, in my case the value would look like as follows:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Google Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" -incognito
;OK
to save and close the properties.Test the shortcut:
Incognito
.Bonus: If you start Chrome with a text command rather than a shortcut,
just append
-incognito
to the end of the command to start it in incognito mode:Win + R
;chrome -incognito
;Enter
.Please note that this does NOT entirely prevent Chrome from working in normal mode, in which it does record your history, so be careful when you open new windows, for example:
New incognito window
option instead ofNew window
;Ctrl + Shift + N
to create a new incognito window,rather than
Ctrl + N
which would create a normal window.