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New Chrome flag brings screenshot powers to incognito mode

Pictured: Sumit Adhikari
By Sumit Adhikari
June 21, 2023
Featured image for New Chrome flag brings screenshot powers to incognito mode

Google Chrome is bringing screenshot powers to incognito mode. The company has added a new flag to Chrome Canary (experimental channel) to enable screenshots when browsing in Incognito mode while blocking the functionality on the “recents” screen. A stable rollout may follow in the coming weeks.

Currently, Google Chrome doesn’t let you take screenshots of an incognito tab by default. You either get a black page or an error message. “Taking screenshots isn’t allowed by the app or your organization,” the message reads. However, you can manually enable the “IncognitoScreenshot” flag to unblock screenshots in incognito tabs. Go to chrome://flags (type the address in the URL box), search for the IncognitoScreenshot flag, and enable it. You will need to relaunch Chrome for the changes to take effect.

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But the problem with this Chrome flag is that it doesn’t hide the content of incognito tabs on the recents screen. It also lets you take screenshots of the content from this overview, which isn’t ideal for privacy-minded users. Google is fixing this issue with a new flag that is currently experimental in the Canary Channel. Techdows spotted a recent change list on the Chromium Bug Tracker that states that a new API introduced with Android 13 allows users to “disable screenshots in [the] recents screen while enabling them in other contexts on Incognito.”

An attached screen recording shows the change all in action. Renowned Android expert Mishaal Rahman shared the video on Twitter, which you can see below. The new flag is named “Improved Incognito Screenshots” and carries the following description: Enable Incognito screenshots on Android except while the user is on [the] recents screen. It does precisely what Google or the description says. You can only take screenshots of incognito tabs when Chrome is running in the foreground. Incognito content will not be visible elsewhere, so screenshots are of no use.

The new incognito screenshot flag in Google Chrome is currently experimental

As said earlier, this flag is currently only available in Chrome Canary. It ignores the existing IncognitoScreenshot flag available in the stable channel. For the uninitiated, Canary is an experimental Chrome version where the company pushes new features without proper testing. Some features may not work properly or misbehave. This applies to the new incognito screenshot flag as well. Once Google sets everything right, the changes will gradually make it to the stable version. But if you want to try it out early, you can download Chrome Canary for Android here.