Hack of the day: How to use Google Maps in Incognito mode

'The Times of India' brings you 'Hack of the Day' — a new weekday-series of quick, practical solutions to everyday hassles. Each hack is designed to save you time, money or stress, using tools and features within your reach — from government websites to everyday apps. In simple words it is: Simple fixes for smarter living.’Google Maps is one of the most used navigation apps worldwide, helping millions of people search for locations, plan routes and discover nearby places every day. But every search and navigation request can be saved to your Google Maps activity history, which in turn may influence future recommendations and suggestions. For users who want a little more privacy, Google offers an Incognito mode that prevents certain Maps activity from being saved to their Google Account while it is turned on.The feature can be useful when searching for places you would prefer not to appear in your Maps history or recommendations later. For example, you may be looking for a surprise destination, visiting a sensitive location, researching an unfamiliar area or simply wanting to keep some searches separate from your regular activity. By enabling Incognito mode before starting your search, Google Maps will not save those searches or navigation activities to your account.Google says Incognito mode allows users to use Maps without having their activity, such as places searched for or routes navigated to, saved to their Google Account. While the feature does not make users completely anonymous online, it can help reduce the amount of location-related activity linked to their account.In today's Hack of the Day, we explain how to turn on Incognito mode in Google Maps and use it for more private searches and navigation. The process takes only a few seconds and can be a useful tool for anyone looking to keep certain trips or searches out of their regular Maps history.Important: When Incognito mode is on, Maps on that device will not:Turning on Incognito mode in Maps does not affect how your activity is used or saved by internet providers, other apps, voice search, and other Google services. Here are some features that aren't available in Incognito mode:Tip: Timeline will be paused for your entire device, not just Maps. Tip: During Maps incognito mode, the Google Assistant microphone isn’t available in navigation, but “Ok Google” will continue to work as expected. Google Assistant is a system feature that isn’t a part of Incognito mode for Maps, so any information you share with it will be saved as usual.