How to use Incognito mode in the YouTube app on Android

howtosimply.com/guides/how-to-use-incognito-mode-in-the-youtube-app-on-android/ · Checked October 2026 · Samsung Galaxy A57 5G (SM-A576B), One UI 8.5, Android 16

2 of 3 steps with real screenshots · 1 official source below

Device

Android

Shown on

Samsung Galaxy A57 5G (SM-A576B), One UI 8.5, Android 16

App

YouTube

Real screenshots

2 of 3 steps

Checked

October 2026

Sources

1 official, linked below

Step by step

1. Open the account list

   Tap You at the bottom right, then your name at the top to open the account list.

   Done

2. 

   Tap Turn on Incognito

   It is below Manage your Google Account. Our account list is blurred.

   Done

3. 

   Read the notice

   You've gone incognito explains the rules: activity is not linked to your account, and the session ends when you turn it off or after 90 minutes of inactivity. A You're incognito bar stays at the bottom.

   Done

If you do not see this option

• There is no Turn on Incognito YouTube says Incognito only works when you are signed in to the YouTube app. Sign in first; the option then appears under your profile picture, Accounts. Source: Browse YouTube while incognito on mobile devices
• You want to comment or subscribe YouTube says that public actions such as commenting or subscribing ask you to sign in, because Incognito acts as if you are signed out. Source: Browse YouTube while incognito on mobile devices

If this does not work

• Incognito switched itself off YouTube says the session ends after more than 90 minutes of inactivity and you go back to the last account you used. The next time you open YouTube, a message tells you that you are no longer incognito. Source: Browse YouTube while incognito on mobile devices
• You want to leave Incognito YouTube says that when you turn it off you return to the last account you used before turning it on. Source: Browse YouTube while incognito on mobile devices

About this guide

Watch something without it shaping your recommendations or showing in your history. It only hides activity from your Google account, not from your network.

The screenshots are from the YouTube app, version 21.39.522, on a Samsung Galaxy A57 5G with Android 16 and One UI 8.5, in dark mode. Other people's videos, ads and comments are blurred.

Good to know

Your employer, school or internet provider might still see the activity, as the notice says.

To stop saving history all the time instead, pause YouTube history.

In short: You, account list, Turn on Incognito.

📷 See real photos from the Galaxy A57 in our Camera Lab, next to 10 other phones.