Does incognito mode change flight prices?
It's one of the most repeated travel tips: open a private window and the price will drop. It's an understandable idea, but there's little reason to expect it to work.
What incognito mode does
A private window stops your own browser from saving your history and cookies after you close it. It doesn't change the fares an airline or booking site holds for that flight.
Why prices still seem to change
- Fares move on their own. Seats are sold at several fare levels that open and close as a flight fills.
- Results can be cached. Two searches a few minutes apart may show different snapshots.
- Currency and site differ. The same flight can look different on another site or in another currency.
A fair test
Run the same search in a normal window and a private window in the same minute. If the prices match, the tip did nothing. If they differ, try again a minute later and see whether it flips back.
What to do instead
Stop trying to trick the page, and set a budget. A tracker checks for you and tells you when a fare comes in under it.
Know your number, then let us watch. Pin a trip with your budget and we alert you when a fare fits it.
Pin a trip