If you're planning on buying an engagement ring online without your partner finding out, Google Chrome's popular 'Icognito' mode may well be the perfect thing.

But the browser's popular 'secret' mode is not as secret as many people think.

The old warning it gave out used to jokingly say: "Be wary of surveillance by secret agents or people standing behind you."

But while the private browsing mode was sold as a way to hide your browsing from other people, according to a Google exec the mode is far from a secure way to surf.

In fact, people using the browser in Incognito mode to look at sites they shouldn't be need to take care who is tracking them.

In an intervew with website Thrillist , Google's vice president of Chrome Darin Fisher said the mode was "misunderstood".


Video Loading

So basically, if you're using it to view NSFW content, such as adult websites, at work there's a good chance your employer knows.

Incognito mode was created almost a decade ago for entirely different reasons to hiding people's browsing habits.

Instead it was designed to get around cookies - the files stored on your computer by websites to recognise browsers - and not for total privacy.

it can give you a pause in your browsing history, to hide a session you want to keep from being logged without having to go back and delete.

Google Chrome's Incognito mode
Google Chrome's Incognito mode

But while your device may not be tracking your surfing, people on the same network as you - for example if you're using a work or public Wi-Fi - could be looking in on your history.

So while Incognito does have its uses - for example not being recognised by shopping websites who track your purchases to pitch you suggestions - people should not use it to surf where they shouldn't.

Mr Fisher's advice is to keep your browser updated, and be vigilant where you're surfing.