How to Open a Private Browsing Window

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to detail the process for opening a private browsing window in a few of the more commonly used web browsers.

Target Audience

  • General Public

  • Vanderbilt University Community

    • Faculty and Staff

    • Undergraduate Students

    • Graduate and Professional Students

Description

This guide provides steps for using a private browsing window in various browsers.

Your VUIT technician may ask you to access a website in a private browsing window as a troubleshooting step.

A private browsing window allows you to browse the web without using previously collected cookies or browser history. This can help rule out these factors as the cause of any unexpected website behavior. If a site works in a private browsing window but not in a regular window, it might indicate that we need to clear the web cache and cookies for that site.

Resolution or Procedure Steps

Steps for using a private browsing window follow for several different browsers.  

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Edge

Additional Information

It’s important to note that the term ‘private browsing window’ is somewhat misleading. It does not provide protection for illegal activities or actions that violate Vanderbilt's Information Security Policies and Standards

 

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