How do you lock private browsing on iPhone?

Private Browsing keeps pages out of your history. On its own, it does not stop a person from opening Safari and seeing the private tabs you left open. Both Safari and Chrome can lock those tabs behind Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode. We checked these steps against Apple’s iPhone User Guide for iOS 27 and Google’s Chrome Help on 2026-10-09.

Lock Safari Private Browsing

You need a passcode on your iPhone first. Then:

1. Open Settings, tap Apps, then Safari.
2. Turn on Require Face ID to Unlock Private Browsing. On a model with Touch ID, the setting says Touch ID. Without either, it says Require Passcode to Unlock Private Browsing.

To open your private tabs after that:

1. Open Safari and tap the Tabs button.
2. Swipe right on the tab bar at the bottom until Private Browsing opens.
3. Tap Unlock.

Apple says Private Browsing locks when it is not in use, but “may not lock immediately”. To lock it now, tap the Tabs button and swipe left to a normal tab group. The private pages stay open, and Private Browsing locks.

What Safari Private Browsing does

Private Browsing	What Apple says
History	Private tabs do not appear in History on your iPhone
Other devices	Private tabs are not shared with your other Apple devices, even on the same Apple Account
Extensions	Extensions with access to browsing data turn off in private tabs unless you allow them
Search engine	You can pick a separate search engine for private tabs in Settings, Apps, Safari

What it does not do

• Downloads stay. Apple’s guide says files you download from the internet go to the Downloads folder in the Files app. The Private Browsing page does not say that private downloads are kept apart. Check that folder after a private session.
• Saved photos stay. An image you save from a private tab goes where you save it, for example to your photo library.
• Websites and networks still see you. Google says this plainly about Incognito. Sites you visit, your employer, your school and your internet provider may be able to see your activity. The same idea holds for any private mode. iCloud Private Relay, part of iCloud+, hides your IP address from sites in Safari.
• Your passcode opens it. If a partner knows your iPhone passcode, they can unlock private tabs. See when someone knows your passcode.

Lock Chrome Incognito tabs

Google gives different steps for each platform.

On Android:

1. Open Chrome.
2. Tap More, then Settings, then Privacy and security.
3. Turn on Lock Incognito windows when you leave Chrome.

Google says some of these steps work only on Android 11 and later on Pixel phones.

On iPhone and iPad:

1. Open Chrome.
2. Tap More, then Settings, then Privacy and security.
3. Tap Hide Incognito tabs.
4. Choose Lock immediately with device authentication.

The other two options are Hide after a few minutes, which blurs the tabs, and Don’t hide.

Google also says Chrome keeps bookmarks you add and files you download in Incognito. Files “will remain on your device until you delete them.”

Before you save something from a private tab

A private tab keeps no history, but a saved image or PDF is a normal file. If it is private, move it out of Photos or Files and into a place with its own lock. Our guide to what a photo vault is explains the options. Photos you save can also carry a location. Our location remover strips it in the browser.

What York Vault does

York Vault has a private browser in Plus and Pro, on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Android. It keeps no history by default, stores bookmarks inside your library, and saves images and videos you long-press straight into York Vault, encrypted. They never touch your photo library or the Downloads folder. The browser opens only behind your York Vault code, which differs from your phone passcode. See private browser.

York Vault’s browser has the same network limits as Safari and Chrome. Sites and networks can still see your visits. Download York Vault.