How to See Incognito History on PC and Mobile

Elsa Updated on Apr 17, 2025 Filed to: Parent Control

Undoubtedly, the incognito mode offers a measure of privacy, allowing us to surf the web without saving browsing history. However, we sometimes need to view incognito history or get the incognito tabs back. So, is there any way to see incognito history? How to check incognito history? In the following minutes, you'll know.

What You Need to Know about Incognito Mode

What Does Incognito Mode Do?

Doesn't save your browsing history: Websites you visited and searches are not recorded in the history.
Doesn't store cookies: Any cookies created are automatically cleared.
Doesn't sync your credentials: Any site won't be signed in with your account automatically under the incognito.

Is Incognito Really Incognito?

No, it is incorrect to believe that it does not leave a trace of your private browsing activities.

Though it doesn't save your browsing history, your online activities are still visible to websites you visit, ISP, network admins, your employer, your school, and third-party apps.

What's more, your IP address is saved to the DNS caches. Every time you access a website, whether incognito or not, your device's IP address must be sent to the server so that it can return your requested data.

How to Check Incognito History on PC

To check incognito history on the computer, using an extension is necessary. Several add-ons can start documenting your detailed browsing history once it has been installed. Such an example is "Off The Record History."

This extension can maintain your incognito history for up to 7 days. However, it won't record search history on incognito. Surely, to use it, you have to grant the extension permission to read your incognito activities. Here's how to see incognito history on PC with it:

Step 1.Access the Off The Record History extension and add it to your Chrome.
Step 2.At the top right, go to "Extensions."
Step 3.Click on the three dots next to "Off the Record History." Then, select "Manage extension."

Step 4.Next, toggle on "Allow in Incognito" to enable it.

Step 5.Now, start browsing on incognito. And then you can view your incognito history by tapping on the extension.

How to View Incognito History on Mobile

Though the extension is only supported for PC, you can also view your incognito history on Android phones and iPhones. Third-party apps, especially parental control apps, are used to monitor internet activities in real time.

The following are two tools that I opt to view my incognito history on Android phone and iPhone.

1AirDroid Web Tracker

This is best for someone who needs to get iPhone's private browsing history. As long as you set it up, all browsing and searching activities on Google Chrome and Safari are saved into this app. Surely, it lets you know the detailed time when you visit these websites in incognito mode.

*While it does not currently support viewing the incognito history of Android, it can remotely mirror an Android's screen in real time (including content on incognito).

Now, follow the steps below to check incognito history in mobile:

Step 1.Download AirDroid Web Tracker on your phone.
Step 2.Follow the instructions to connect the iPhone you need to view incognito history.
Step 3.Once done, go to "Web Restriction" on the dashboard.
Step 4.Then, you can find out your private browsing history and visit the detailed URLs.

2Qustodio Parental Control

If you need to see incognito history on both Android and iPhone, Qustodio can be a better solution. With it, you can easily view the incognito history as well as the duration and frequency of the visited websites. This parenting app even records all the searches you do in incognito mode.

However, please note that I found that it sometimes missed some webpages, especially under the incognito mode. To use it, please do the following:

Step 1.Install Qustodio Parental Control on your phone.
Step 2.Tie up the Android or iPhone you need to view incognito history.
Step 3.Scroll through the "All Activity" dashboard.
Step 4.Then, you can find out your private browsing and searching history.

Can I view my incognito history on Android without app?

Yes. You can view incognito history on Android without app through your WiFi router as long as you are the administrator. But note that WiFi routers can only record the domain of the visited website. That is, it is impossible to view the detailed incognito history if you do not use a third-party app.

Misleading Ways That DON'T Work

When searching for ways to find Incognito history, you may encounter YouTube tutorials or blogs promoting "guaranteed solutions" - most are technically impossible. Below, we debunk the most common misleading ways to save you time.

Via ipconfig /displaydns

Almost every post on Google suggests checking incognito history by typing the ipconfig/displaydns command in the CMD. However, this only displays the domain names and IP addresses of websites that your Windows computer visited, not accurate URLs.

Indeed, the ipconfig/displaydns command is used to get the DNS caches of the computer. And DNS is responsible for mapping and translating readable domain names in browsers to an actual IP address. Therefore, if you need to see the incognito history accurately, skip this method.

Via chrome://chrome-urls/

This is another misleading method that nearly covers the YouTube platform when you search for view incognito history. But the truth is that when you enter "chrome://chrome-urls/" and go to the history tab, you can merely get the history of non-incognito mode.

How to Delete Incognito History Caches

Since you know that your IP addresses in incognito history are saved to the DNS cache, this section will show you how to get rid of it.

On Windows PC

Step 1.Click the "Windows" key and search for "Command Prompt."
Step 2.Select "Run as administrator."
Step 3.Type ipconfig/flushdns in the CMD window and press the "Enter" key.

On Mac

Step 1.On Finder, go to "Applications" and then "Utilities."
Step 2.Double-click on "Terminal."
Step 3.Type sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder in the Terminal and press the Enter key.
Step 4.Input your password once requested.

On Android

Step 1.Enter chrome://net-internals/#dns on your Chrome browser.
Step 2.Hit on "Clear host cache."

You can also enter chrome://net-internals/#dns on your Windows PC or Mac to clear incognito DNS caches. But note that this is not working for iPhone users.

In Conclusion

We all think that incognito mode is really incognito without being tracked. However, the above extension and parenting software are available to track and see incognito history.

Likewise, all your activities on the internet are still accessible to your network administrators or ISPs. Therefore, it is better to surf in incognito with a VPN, which encrypts your internet connection and masks your IP address.

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Elsa

Elsa has worked on a number of iOS & Android solutions, she can always find her way around almost any application. She is an accomplished, skilled and versatile writer with more than 7 years of technical article writing experience.

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