How to start Puppeteer in private browsing mode?

Other Questions Puppeteer
1

I’m trying to use Puppeteer with a browser that’s already running. I connect to it using a WebSocket endpoint. But I want this browser to be in private mode from the start. Is that possible?

I know I can make a new incognito context like this:

const privateMode = await browser.createIncognitoBrowserContext();

But this just adds a private window to the normal browser. I want the whole browser to be private.

I’ve seen that you can add --incognito to the launch options:

const options = { args: ['--incognito'] };

Is this the right way to do it? Or is there a better method?

I’m not sure what’s the best approach here. Any help would be great! Thanks!

2

I’ve encountered a similar situation in my work. The ‘–incognito’ argument is indeed effective, but there’s another approach worth considering. You can use the ‘–user-data-dir’ argument with a temporary directory. This essentially creates a fresh browser instance each time, mimicking private browsing behavior. Here’s an example:

const tmpDir = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'puppeteer_dev_chrome_'));
const browser = await puppeteer.launch({
  args: [`--user-data-dir=${tmpDir}`]
});

This method gives you more control and ensures a clean slate for each session. Just remember to clean up the temporary directory afterwards. It’s been reliable in my experience, especially for automation tasks requiring privacy.

3

I’ve been working with Puppeteer for a while now, and I can share some insights on this. While the ‘–incognito’ argument works, I’ve found a more robust solution for ensuring complete privacy.

Instead of just using ‘–incognito’, I combine it with a few other flags:

const browser = await puppeteer.launch({
  args: [
    '--incognito',
    '--disable-extensions',
    '--disable-plugins',
    '--no-sandbox',
    '--disable-setuid-sandbox'
  ]
});

This approach not only starts the browser in incognito mode but also disables extensions and plugins that might compromise privacy. The sandbox flags are there for added security.

In my experience, this combination provides a more isolated and private browsing environment. It’s especially useful when you’re dealing with sensitive data or need to ensure clean sessions for each run of your script.

Just remember, this setup is for when you’re launching a new browser instance, not connecting to an existing one. Hope this helps with your project!

4

hey stella, i’ve used puppeteer before and yeah, the ‘–incognito’ arg is a good way to go. just make sure you add it when launching the browser, not when connecting to an existing one. if you need the whole browser private, that should do the trick. good luck with ur project!