InBrowser is an Android app that offers users completely incognito browsing on their Android smartphone or tablet. It runs on Android 2.1 and above, has a minimal, Material-esque look and feel to it and is as easy to use as possible. No data is saved when you close the app whatsoever, and it doesn’t even appear in your multitasking menu, either. With LastPass integration as well as support for the Orbot Tor app, InBrowser is one of the best ways to go under the radar when browsing on Android. With in-app video playback as well as downloads, there’s little you have to sacrifice when it comes to features you’d normally expect from any web browser, incognito or otherwise. As a nice bonus, this free browser doesn’t feature any ads aside from one or two HTML-based ads in the home page, that’s it!
To get started with this yourself, all you need to do is download InBrowser from the Play Store, and launch the app.
Right away, users are greeted with the changelog, and users can see that the app is kept relatively up-to-date, and TomPod (the developer) is very approachable and offers good customer service. The next screen is a Google search page customized for InBrowser as it doesn’t feature the ability to log in with your Google Profile or anything log that, it’s just a search box.
There are many reasons why you might need an incognito browser like InBrowser, and yes we all know the chief reason, but using something like this that leaves no data behind is great for online banking, perhaps even logging in to your email and of course this is a must for using Tor. For me though, I thought to try it out with something a little more mundane, I decided to search for iPhone stuff.
As we can see, the search results are easily navigated and do the job quite nicely. They’re simple, and to the point. If my coworkers found out I was reading iPhone and Apple rumors….
Web browsing here was just as smooth for me as it was with Chrome, perhaps even smoother as a result of there being no cache or stored data for InBrowser to chug through. Hitting the multitasking menu reveals, well, nothing:
By default, InBrowser doesn’t even show up in your multitasking menu, but this – along with many other settings and choices – can be changed quite easily.
A key feature of InBrowser is the ability to change the user agent on the fly, which tablet users will find particularly welcome, no more using phone sites on a tablet.
In-App video playback worked fine for me, and while I tested a number of videos, the YouTube test was a good one as the app didn’t ask me if I wanted to launch YouTube to play the video, it just played it back as an MP4.
As I’ve said, there are many reasons why you might need an incognito browser, and forgetting all the terrible surveillance that goes on around the world these days, it’s a good idea to limit the amount of data you have “written down”. For instance, banking from your phone using Chrome or Firefox might not be the best idea, as the cache could contain info hackers can use, but with InBrowser there is no cache, therefore there is no data. Tor users will absolutely love InBrowser and those looking to hide things from friends and family to avoid embarrassment or awkward conversations will find value here as well. The app itself is good-looking, it runs quickly and there are few complaints to be made.
Ratings
- Speed (4/5) – No sacrifices here to browsing speed, in fact in some cases it’s quicker than the usual suspects.
- Theme (4/5) – InBrowser features a sort of low-key Material Design theme and it works well, it’s also easy to navigate and find all the settings.
- Features (5/5) – With a custom search engine, no data trace and deep integration with both LastPass and Tor’s Orbot app, this ticks all the right boxes and it’s also a breeze to use as well.
- Overall (4.5/5) – While incognito browsers aren’t for everyone, those that will need one should find all that they need with InBrowser.
Pros
- Easy to change the User Agent to a number of popular choices.
- Plays back videos without asking to launch in an external app, a la Chrome.
- Offers users peace of mind when banking, trying to keep a secret or just looking for some privacy.
- Features deep integrations with both LastPass as well as the Tor app, Orbot.
Cons
- Option to bypass the Google search would be good, as a lot of users don’t trust Google.
- Pop-up blocker would be helpful for certain use cases.
All-in-all, InBrowser has everything that someone in the market for an incognito browser could want. It’s free, and features just two ads on the search page and error page, which is a very nice approach. Of course, the inclusion of Google and not DuckDuckGo seems a little misguided, but at least it’s no the default Google homepage, we suppose. A good-looking app that’s super-simple and easy to use, InBrowser works like a treat and those in the market for such an app won’t be disappointed.