[Tip] How to Take Screenshots in Incognito Mode in Chrome on Android

If you use Google Chrome web browser app in your Android smartphone and you want to take screenshots of Incognito tabs, this article will help you.

Recently a reader asked me how to take screenshot of Incognito tabs in Chrome app on Android mobile phone? He was trying to take a screenshot of a tab running in Incognito mode in Chrome app but Chrome was not allowing him and showing error message.

Incognito Mode is a special private browsing mode present in Google Chrome web browser which helps users in browsing Internet with improved privacy. When a user is browsing websites using Incognito mode, Chrome doesn’t store user’s browsing data and activities such as visited websites, online forms data, searches, etc. Also once the user exists from incognito mode, Chrome automatically removes all traces such as cache, cookies, etc.

You can launch Chrome in Incognito mode by tapping on 3-dots menu and selecting “New incognito tab” option. Incognito mode is present in both versions of Chrome web browser: Desktop as well as mobile phones.

Many times we need to take screenshots of our mobile phone screen to share it with others. Consider an example, you are browsing a website using Chrome Incognito mode and you found something interesting and you want to take its screenshot to share it with your friends, family members, etc.

Related: How to Take Screenshots on Google Android Mobile Phones

If you try to take screenshot of Incognito tab in Chrome, it’ll not allow you to take screenshot. Chrome will show following warning or error message on your mobile phone screen:

Actually Chrome app on Android mobile phones doesn’t allow users to take screenshots in Incognito mode to improve privacy. That’s why if you try to take screenshot, it restricts or prevents you from capturing the screen.

Here is a good news for you. Chrome app comes with a hidden preference/flag which can be modified to enable screenshots feature in Incognito mode. Once you enable the flag, you’ll be able to take screenshots of Chrome tabs even if you are using Incognito mode in your smartphone.

Following image shows screenshot taken using Incognito mode in Chrome app stored in Gallery in our Android smartphone:

Following steps will help you in enabling screenshot functionality in Incognito mode of Chrome app on Android smartphones:

1. Open Chrome app in your smartphone and type chrome://flags in address bar and tap on Go. It’ll open Chrome Experiments page where you can turn on/off several features.

2. Now type screenshot in Search flags box and it’ll show following result:

3. Tap on the “Default” drop-down box and select “Enabled” option from the list.

4. Chrome will ask you to restart the browser. Click on “Relaunch Now” button to relaunch Google Chrome.

Now open Incognito mode and try to take screenshot. Chrome will no longer show any warning message and the screenshot will be captured without any issue. You can now take as many screenshots as you want in Incognito mode in Chrome app. All screenshots will be stored in Gallery as usual.

PS: In future, if you want to restore default settings and want to restrict or block taking screenshots again in Incognito mode in Chrome app, set the above mentioned preferences to Default.

Also Check:

[Tip] Restore Old Tab Switcher Screen UI in Chrome on Android