Chrome’s Incognito mode no longer saves copied stuff to clipboard history

It’s been a few years since Microsoft started making changes to Chromium, the open-source engine that powers most web browsers today, including Chrome and Edge. One of the more recent changes grants more privacy to end users in Incognito and InPrivate modes.

Turns out, Windows 10 and 11 no longer save content to the clipboard history when you copy stuff while in private browsing mode. Whatever inappropriate thing you’re copying, rest assured that it won’t end up in your clipboard history for others to spot.

This change was actually implemented by Microsoft back in 2024 and rolled out by Google later that year — but it wasn’t documented by either company, reports Windows Latest.

Normally, when you copy something in a Chromium-based browser, it gets stored in Windows’s Clipboard History (which you can access with the Windows key + V shortcut). If you have Clipboard Sync enabled, that history will sync across all your cloud-synced devices. You probably don’t want that happening when browsing in private, yeah?

Well, now you don’t have to worry. This change has been live for a few months now and is effective on Windows 10, Windows 11, macOS, and iOS. Copy away! Just make sure you’re Incognito/InPrivate.

Further reading: These tiny Chrome security updates make it better