1817: Incognito Mode

2017-03-29T18:10:33Z

BigDiceDave: /* Relation to Animorphs */ Correct "advise/advice" typo.

{{comic
| number = 1817
| date = March 29, 2017
| title = Incognito Mode
| image = incognito_mode.png
| titletext = They're really the worst tech support team. And their solutions are always the same. "This OS X update broke something." "LET'S INFILTRATE APPLE BY MORPHING APPLES!"
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Is it Blondie, just with more details to her hair?}}
A woman (maybe a different version of [[Blondie]], or Rachel from The Animorphs) warns [[Cueball]] about not browsing for more than two hours in {{w|privacy mode|incognito mode}} as he might get stuck there forever.

Incognito mode/private mode is a feature in a web browser that automatically clears any cookies and web history when the browser window is closed. One could become metaphorically "trapped" in this mode if they don't want to lose this data (for example if they've found a useful page which they want to refer back to, or if they're on a website like YouTube which uses cookies to provide recommended videos and they're finding the recommendations interesting), meaning that they can never close the browser again. Presumably this is more likely to happen after a longer browsing session. The only option to keep browsing data when the incognito/private session is closed is to bookmark or write down the URLs of interesting pages; there is no way to keep the cookies, so things such as recommended YouTube videos from within the incognito browsing session will inevitably be lost when it is closed.

An alternative interpretation revolves around the use of incognito/private browsing modes when the user is paranoid. They may use this mode if, for example, they don't want the risk of anyone else discovering what they've been doing online, and they find it safer to simply use incognito mode rather than manually deleting the relevant cookies and browsing history afterwards. If they use this mode a lot, the sense of paranoia that initially led them to use incognito mode can reinforce itself, and over time they may become uncomfortable browsing outside of incognito mode. This is another way in which one may become "trapped" in incognito mode after extended use.

===Relation to Animorphs===

The caption explains that tech tips from Animorphs are the worst, i.e. the woman is an Animorph, and this was not good advice.

''{{w|Animorphs}}'' is a book series by {{w|K. A. Applegate}} featuring several children who have a special power: they can {{w|shapeshifting|morph}} into various animals whose DNA they have absorbed through alien technology. However, if they stay morphed for over two hours, they will get stuck in that form until they die.

In this comic [[Randall]] pokes fun at this by relating it to surfing in incognito mode/privacy mode in a browser. As explained above, staying for too long in incognito mode may cause the user to become "stuck" in this mode until something causes the browser to close, such as the browser/computer crashing or a power failure. This is analogous to the animorphs who become stuck in animal form if they spend too long in that form.

The title text continues the idea that an Animorph tech support team would be the worst possible explaining that their solutions are always the same. And then it gives an example which references a common occurrence in the Animorphs book series wherein the protagonists uses their ability to morph into animals to infiltrate enemy strongholds. In the example it is an update for {{w|Apple Inc.|Apple's}} {{w|MacOS|OS X}} (a popular commercial operating system), that broke something. The solution is to infiltrate Apple by morphing apples. That advice, however, is nonsensical within the rules for morphing, put forth in the books, since the children can only turn into animals and not into fruits like apples.

Animorphs has been referenced before, first only in the title texts of [[1187: Aspect Ratio]] and [[1360: Old Files]], and then later in the main comic in [[1380: Manual for Civilization]], with the books being the actual manual...

==Transcript==
:[A woman with long blonde hair (maybe a version of Blondie) holds both arms up as she addresses Cueball who is sitting in an office chair working on his laptop.]
:Woman: ...But remember—if you browse in incognito mode for more than two hours, you'll be trapped there ''forever!''

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Animorphs tech tips

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Animorphs]]

explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1817: Incognito Mode