Can chrome incognito mode access regular chrome cookies etc

I understand that Chrome incognito mode will not preserve cookies or any data for that browsing session, however, should it have access to cookies etc from the normal Chrome session going on during the same time.

The reason I ask this is because one of the tests I am doing needs a brand new browser with no other info. Pretty much like a new machine and first run of the browser. Wondering if Chrome incognito would simulate that instead of cleaning up everything from settings every time I want to run that test.

4 Answers

I can confirm that Incognito Mode does not have access to cookies, auto-fill form data, or WebSQL databases from normal mode. (At least, it does not carry over my GMail session, nor does it auto-fill my email or password into the login form).

As a web developer, Incognito mode is a great way to get an empty browser which provides a clean slate for testing a web page.

However, when running a few Chromium incognito windows, all of them have access to all cookies, and it is not possible to clear browsing data. So starting another incognito window is not really helpful, it is not "clean". A bit confusing at first.

When starting the first Incognito window, it uses a completely brand new and blank internal profile that has no cookies nor session data. Any cookies or session info are set immediately during that session. Further Incognito windows opened all share that same session, so they share the cookies/session data. But when the last Incognito window is closed all those cookies/session data is purged. None of the information is permanently saved.

And none of it can alter session info in Normal windows, because the Incognito windows run in a completely separate session.

This is per design and functionality of Incognito Mode( Source - Google Chrome).

I have a hard time believing that "Incognito Mode does not have access to ... auto-fill form data". In other words, in some cases, Darth's answer isn't right.

I haven't created an exploit that would allow a site to obtain auto-filled form data but I have a good idea as to how I'd write one. Doesn't seem like it would be difficult for a site to track users, whether incognito or not, if we assume the site wants to do so, and form data is auto-filled when the user visits the site normally (i.e. not in Incognito Mode) and the user visits the site, even if we don't assume the user ever clicks to submit a form.

If some web developers dispute this, I'm willing to create an exploit. Folks agree or dispute this? Feasibility will also depend on how naive or secure the autocomplete system is.