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/Web Extensions

incognito

Type String
Mandatory No
Example
"incognito": "spanning"
"incognito": "split"
"incognito": "not_allowed"

Use the incognito key to control how the extension works with private browsing windows.

This is a string which may take any of the following values:

  • "spanning" (the default): the extension will see events from private and non-private windows and tabs. Windows and tabs will get an incognito property in the Window or Tab that represents them. This property indicates whether or not the object is private:

    browser.windows.getLastFocused().then((windowInfo) => {
      console.log(`Window is private: ${windowInfo.incognito}`);
    });
  • "split": the extension will be split between private and non-private windows. There are effectively two copies of the extension running: one sees only non-private windows, the other sees only private windows. Each copy has isolated access to Web APIs (so, for example, localStorage is not shared). However, the WebExtension API storage.local is shared. (Note: this setting is not supported by Firefox.)
  • "not_allowed": private tabs and windows are invisible to the extension.

Example

"incognito": "spanning"
"incognito": "split"
"incognito": "not_allowed"

Browser compatibility

Desktop Mobile
Chrome Edge Firefox Internet Explorer Opera Safari WebView Android Chrome Android Firefox for Android Opera Android Safari on IOS Samsung Internet
incognito
Yes
≤18
48
?
Yes
No
?
?
48
?
?
?
not_allowed
Yes
17
67
?
Yes
No
?
?
67
?
?
?
spanning
Yes
≤18
48
?
Yes
No
?
?
48
?
?
?
split
Yes
17
No
?
Yes
No
?
?
No
?
?
?

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Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License v2.5 or later.
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Mozilla/Add-ons/WebExtensions/manifest.json/incognito