Google making Incognito Mode a long press away across Android and iOS apps

In addition to new auto-delete defaults, Google is making it easier to control key privacy settings. Google Account controls will be directly available in Search, while Incognito Mode is becoming more ubiquitous.

Google is capitalizing on how most people just turn to Search instead of navigating long settings pages. Signed-in users will soon be able to search for terms like “Is my Google Account secure?” and “Google Privacy Checkup.”

They’ll encounter an inline card that links to the appropriate preference or lets you directly adjust. This is similar to how Find My Device is already integrated with Search for fast access.

The company is also working to make Incognito Mode easier to access across all of its products. In Maps and YouTube today, tapping your avatar in the top-right displays a menu of options, with “Turn on Incognito” towards the bottom of the screen.

Building on how you can swipe to quickly change accounts, you’ll soon be able to long press on that avatar to launch Incognito. This useful shortcut is already available on Google Search for iOS and “coming soon” to Android, as well as other apps.

Google is also working on cross-service Incognito where you’ll be able to stay in the mode across apps like YouTube and Maps. More details are coming soon.

Lastly, in providing better control, Google is adding proactive recommendations to Privacy Checkup. Meanwhile, Password Checkup will soon be integrated on the Security Checkup page to identify any credentials that have leaked. The tool has been used by 100 million users and led to a 30% reduction in breaches. It was recently added to Chrome, with the standalone extension going away soon.