Android: Sometimes you want to watch a video on YouTube and not have it show up in your history. For those moments when you need to go undercover, YouTube recently added an Incognito mode that makes it easier to watch videos without leaving a trace.
The feature is currently only available for Android, and there’s no word if, or when, it’ll make it to the iOS version of the app. (If you really need to watch videos without YouTube keeping tabs on your habits, you have a few alternate options.)
[referenced url=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2018/04/automatically-open-youtube-links-in-an-uncluttered-viewer/” thumb=”https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/t_ku-large/nwdrfr9onpprrrilsj0u.jpg” title=”Automatically Open YouTube Links In An Uncluttered Viewer” excerpt=”If you like using an alternate site to watch YouTube videos (like the minimalist Tube, which we recently covered, or the more minimalist Surprise.ly, which we covered long ago, then you can set up a Chrome extension to redirect you every time you click on a YouTube link.”]
Also, know that the feature might prevent anything you watch from showing up in your history in the app, but your school or employer will still be able to see what you’re up to, depending on what methods they use to police their networks.
To turn on Incognito mode, launch the YouTube app and tap on your avatar. From there, select “Turn on Incognito” from the menu that appears.
If you don’t see the option in your app, make sure that you have the latest version on YouTube installed on your phone by going to the Google Play Store on your device and checking for updates. If Incognito mode is still MIA, give it a few days. YouTube started testing this mode back in May, but is rolling it out to all Android users this week.
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