To use the Incognito mode of Google Maps, just go to the Maps application on your mobile device or computer, go to the section of the icon of your profile photo and select ‘Activate incognito mode’. Now, referring to the configuration, it is limited only to edit the settings of the Google Maps notifications, because once you activate this option you will be using Google Maps as an anonymous user .
There are certain things that happen once you activate this mode, such as the pause in the update of your locations and that of other friends, so, although it is an advantage, it has certain consequences, we leave them below.
Index( )
- What happens when I use the incognito mode of Google Maps?
- How can you enable incognito mode in your Maps app?
- How can you configure your Google Maps incognito mode?
- What is the procedure to disable incognito mode in Maps?
- How to use your entire Android or iOS cell phone in incognito mode?
What happens when I use the incognito mode of Google Maps?
When Incognito browsing mode is activated , Maps does not perform the following tasks on that device: your account’s browsing or search history will not be saved, personal or shared location history will not be updated.
In addition, even once you activate the incognito mode of Maps, this will not affect how your Internet provider, voice searches and other Google services save and make use of the activity performed there and in other applications. Likewise, there are some functions that will not be available once you activate the incognito mode such as:
- History of the daily trips you made using Google Maps.
- History of your locations (not only from Maps, but from your entire device).
- Share your location (with friends, family in case of emergency).
- Maps for offline access.
- Notifications and messages from the app .
- Google Assistant microphone.
- Your places.
How can you enable incognito mode in your Maps app?
To enable incognito mode, you just have to click on the icon allusive to your profile photo (located in the search bar) and proceed to select ‘Activate incognito mode’ in the drop-down menu. Once you select this option, the Google Maps application will proceed to restart in this new navigation mode with which the navigation and search history will no longer be saved and will stop showing us notifications and bookmarks.
The incognito mode allows us to make explorations on the map, see files and reviews of different sites and make use of the private browsing option , however we will not be able to use reviews, edits, share location or save sites .
However, browsing in incognito mode does not prevent the access of other Google applications or services from accessing our location, since our location continues to be shared with those applications that have permission to access our location.
How can you configure your Google Maps incognito mode?
Because you are in incognito mode, you cannot do any further configuration in Google Maps , than select the configuration of the Maps application theme so that it is light or dark, or change the configuration you receive from Maps notifications. This is because once you activate this option, you will be browsing completely anonymously.
Therefore, you will not be able to write reviews about one or several places, or register your home, office or place of study because by doing this you would be breaking the main purpose of the option incognito in the Google Maps application, which is to provide you with almost total anonymity .
What is the procedure to disable incognito mode in Maps?
Android devices
- Find and select your profile photo (located in the upper right corner).
- In the drop-down menu, select ‘disable incognito mode’.
Apple devices
- On your iOS device, open the Google Maps application.
- Select the icon allusive to your profile photo (located in the upper right corner).
- Select ‘Disable Incognito Mode’.
Once you deactivate the incognito mode of Google Maps, you will have again available all the options that were lost when you activated it, including the history of your daily trips, your daily locations not only from Maps but from your entire mobile device or tablet.
In addition, you will have the option to share your location enabled again, make use of the Google assistant microphone to search within Google Maps, notifications and messages sent by the app. You will even be able to access quite convenient functions if you are offline, such as the preloaded maps that Maps offers .
In case of finding yourself without an Internet connection, as well as being able to access the ‘your places’ section referring to those locations that you recently visited and that you registered in the application, be it a tourist destination or even your workplace.
How to use your entire Android or iOS cell phone in incognito mode?
Apple devices
- Open the Google Maps application on your iPhone or iPad.
- Go to the icon allusive to your profile photo (located in the upper right corner) and select it.
- Once the menu is displayed, click on the option to ‘activate incognito mode’.
Android devices
- Open the Google Maps application on your Android operating system mobile phone or tablet.
- Once there, select the icon of your profile photo.
- In the drop-down menu, select ‘Enable incognito mode’.
Once the incognito option is activated in Google Maps, you will know that it was activated successfully as a black bar will appear at the top . Also, bookmarks and notifications will no longer appear.
Remember that once you start using this option on your mobile phone, the options to add information about a place you recently visited and even make use of the option to share your current location in case of emergency, will not be available. However, if you went somewhere that you don’t want to be notified by Maps, this is a pretty favorable option.
