Does Covenant Eyes monitor Incognito Mode/Private Browsing?

Some web browsers, e.g. Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc., offer their users the ability to browse without having their browsing history saved. This feature has different names depending on which browser you use.

  • Chrome = Incognito Mode
  • Firefox = Private Browsing
  • Safari = Private Browsing

When selected, these options instruct the browser to stop collecting browsing history. This means the browser will not record history while the member has enabled Private Browsing. (We will call it Private Browsing for the rest of this article.)

Does Screen Accountability work with Private Browsing on computers?

Screen Accountability is not turned off when Private Browsing is enabled. Because Screen Accountability does not rely on browsing history, it is still able to take screenshots and filter when Private Browsing is activated.

How does Screen Accountability work with Private Browsing on iPhones®?

Our iPhone® app is its own browser, which doesn’t have Private Browsing available. If you use a different browser on your iPhone®, like Safari, we are unable to take screenshots but will monitor and report any concerning websites you access via top-level domain monitoring. For the fullest accountability experience, disable Safari with Screen Time and use the Covenant Eyes browser.

How does Screen Accountability work with Private Browsing on Android™?

We can’t capture screenshots within a browser that is using Private Browsing, or Incognito Mode. When that browser is closed, our app will resume taking screenshots. We detect the use of Private Browsing and we report it to the ally as “Unmonitored Screen Activity.” Filtering should still work according to your Covenant Eyes Filter settings.