A browser is not a VPN. A free private browser does not hide your IP address from sites you visit or from your network operator. Tracking protection is list-based and not absolute: known ads, analytics, and social trackers from bundled lists are blocked on the device, but no blocker catches everything. Private Browser Incognito is rated 17+ for unrestricted web access and is intended for adults.
Paywalls that hide the actual browser are a different product. Private Browser Incognito is listed as free on the App Store. The core session is free: no history file, on-device Disconnect lists, one-tap erase, App Lock with Face ID, HTTPS-Only Mode, per-site camera and microphone permissions, and no accounts. Stealth Suite is optional Apple IAP for people who need a second scene, a wipe from the lock screen, files that never hit Photos, or a recolored shield. Free here is not a three-day demo of tabs. It is the forgetful browser.
This page is the inventory, the prices we actually charge, and the limits that stay true when the download is free. It is not a claim that unpaid users become anonymous. If you are still choosing on architecture, start with The Best Private Browser for iPhone: What Actually Matters. If you only needed the split between core and kit, that article is What Stealth Suite Adds (and What Stays Free). Why there is no login is Why a Private Browser Should Not Need an Account.
What free means here
Free means you can install the app and browse without creating a Private Browser identity. There are no accounts, no sign-in, and no app server for browsing. The App Store privacy label is Data Not Collected. There is no analytics SDK, no ads in the app, and no third-party SDKs. Search can be Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, Wikipedia, or a custom engine. Suggestions are off by default. The app asks before sharing a keystroke.
Free also means the architectural choices that define the category are not behind a gate. Every tab is a private session in memory. There is no browsing history feature and no history file to clear. Ads, analytics, and social trackers are blocked by content-blocking rules powered by the open Disconnect lists. The lists ship inside the app and run on the device. They are not downloaded at runtime. One-tap erase closes every tab and destroys cookies, cache, and site data. There is a home-screen quick action. App Lock with a six-digit passcode and Face ID is free in the shipping default. HTTPS-Only Mode is on by default. Sites ask for camera and microphone; the app does not harvest those sensors for us.
Free does not mean a VPN. Free does not mean tracker blocking is 100 percent. Free does not mean the 17+ rating is decoration. This is a real web browser with unrestricted access. You are responsible for what you visit and for using the app lawfully. iOS only. Not Android, not desktop, not a password manager.
The forgetful session
A history-keeping browser writes a list and later invites you to clear it. A forgetful browser declines the list. That timing difference is the whole local story: never written versus written then deleted. Private Browser Incognito never writes a history file. Cookies and cache still exist for the life of the session so pages can work. Erase destroys that session. It is not emptying a diary we do not have. The two clocks are spelled out in Incognito vs Deleting History.
Safari private browsing is a real mode inside a browser that also keeps history for everyday tabs. This app is a specialized session. The product still loads pages, runs site JavaScript, and talks to the servers behind the URLs you type. Privacy here is about residue on the phone and extra requests a page tries to fire. It is not about disappearing from a network. Sites you visit still see an IP. Your operator still sees destinations.
Erase is permanent. Erased data cannot be recovered, by you or by us. Session erase does not empty the encrypted download vault. The vault is Stealth Suite. Panic and self-destruct are Stealth Suite. The free trash button is still enough to end the working state. Packets that already left cannot be recalled. That limit belongs in the same paragraph as the feature, paid or unpaid.
Blocking, HTTPS, and permissions
List-based blocking is not absolute. New trackers appear. Some requests will never match a rule. You can add per-site exceptions when a page needs a blocked resource to function. The lists are Disconnect, open, bundled, on device. The app does not sit in the middle of your traffic as a proxy. We do not market a proxy. A DNS filter or a VPN adblocker is a different machine. Ours is rules on this iPhone.
HTTPS-Only Mode prefers an encrypted connection. The app asks before falling back to insecure HTTP. That is user choice, not a scare wall. Encryption hides contents from a listener on the local network. It does not hide the host. It does not change your public IP. The prompt, and what it is not, is in When HTTPS-Only Mode Asks Before HTTP. Blocking and HTTPS stack. Neither replaces the other. A tracker over HTTPS is still a tracker. An HTTP printer on your desk is still a printer you might choose to load.
Per-site camera and microphone permissions follow the site’s request. The app does not turn those sensors on for us. Intruder Photo, if you later enable it in Stealth Suite, is a different camera path: permission is asked when you turn that feature on, never at the lock screen. Photos may depict other people. Local law still applies. Intruder Photo is off until enabled. It is not part of the free core.
App Lock without a paywall
A private browser on a phone that other people can pick up still needs a lock. App Lock with a six-digit passcode and Face ID is free. The passcode is never stored. It becomes the key. Forgotten passcodes cannot be recovered. There is no reset email. If you forget it, data sealed under it is permanently inaccessible. Face ID is convenience, not a second key we can reset. The device passcode is a different door. The key, without API fan fiction, is Your Six-Digit Passcode Is the Key.
Lock hides the session. Erase destroys it. Decoy, panic, and self-destruct change what happens at the door, and they are paid. You should not have to subscribe to refuse to open the real tabs. Shared iPhones are a different audience. Someone asks you to unlock the browser. Refusing is itself a signal. A second code that opens a clean, empty browser is how that request is handled. That decoy is Stealth Suite, not part of the free lock.
We do not claim fingerprint spoofing, Tor, or IP hiding. A locked free browser is still a browser. Websites you visit see headers and whatever you type. Paying does not rewrite that sentence. The honest IP article remains true on day one of a lifetime purchase.
What Stealth Suite is for
Stealth Suite is optional. Monthly $4.99. Yearly $19.99 with a 7-day trial. Lifetime $49.99. The subscription group display name is Stealth Suite. Purchases go through Apple. Subscriptions auto-renew until cancelled at least 24 hours before the period ends, managed in your App Store account. We do not invent other price points. We do not take a card number inside a Private Browser login, because that login does not exist.
The kit adds a decoy passcode, a panic code, a break-in log with optional Intruder Photo, self-destruct, the encrypted vault (AES-256, no plain copy on disk, excluded from backups), Auto-Erase when you leave, and icon colors. Icon colors recolor the shield: Midnight, Ocean, or Ember. Same mark, your color. Classic always stays free. There are no calculator, notes, or weather disguise icons in the shipping app. If a subscription lapses, protections you already enabled keep working and the vault stays accessible. New downloads that require an active unlock follow the lapse policy in the terms. We do not hold existing files hostage.
Panic silently wipes tabs, the entire vault, and the break-in log, then opens what looks like a fresh start. Irreversible. Self-destruct fires after too many wrong codes. Session erase still does not clear the vault; panic can. Keep a separate copy of anything irreplaceable. Lifetime is a one-time purchase for the kit on that Apple ID, not a cloud of files. Vault files stay on the device.
A table you can keep
When a listing says free private browser and then gates the session, the table is the test.
| Capability | Free core | Stealth Suite |
|---|---|---|
| No history file | Yes | Yes |
| On-device Disconnect lists | Yes | Yes |
| One-tap erase | Yes | Yes (plus Auto-Erase timer) |
| App Lock and Face ID | Yes | Yes (plus decoy, panic, log) |
| HTTPS-Only Mode | Yes | Yes |
| Per-site camera and mic | Yes | Yes |
| Accounts | None | None |
| Encrypted vault | No | Yes |
| Icon colors | Classic | Midnight, Ocean, Ember |
| Hides your IP | No. Not a VPN | No. Not a VPN |
Use that table on any candidate, including ours. If an app cannot say what is free, it is not finished explaining itself. If it treats a subscription as a new public IP, it is selling a different category. Private Browser Incognito is built so there is nothing to trust us with on the core path: no accounts, no browsing server, lists on device, passcode as the key. Sites still see requests. Phones still get borrowed. Lists still miss names. The free private browser for iPhone is the one that stays inside those facts and still gives you a session you can throw away without paying first.
Private Browser IncognitoFree on the App Store. No history, on-device blocking, one-tap erase.
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Frequently asked questions
Is there a free private browser for iPhone?
Yes. Private Browser Incognito is free for the essentials: private tabs with no history file, on-device ad and tracker blocking, one-tap erase, App Lock with a six-digit passcode and Face ID, HTTPS-Only Mode, and per-site camera and microphone permissions. There are no accounts and no ads in the app. Stealth Suite is optional.
What does Stealth Suite cost?
Stealth Suite is optional Apple IAP: monthly $4.99, yearly $19.99 with a 7-day trial, or lifetime $49.99. Purchases go through Apple. Subscriptions auto-renew until cancelled. We do not invent other prices. There is no Private Browser login. The Classic icon stays free. Midnight, Ocean, and Ember need the suite.
What happens if my Stealth Suite subscription lapses?
Protections you already enabled keep working and the vault stays accessible. New downloads that require an active unlock follow the lapse policy in the terms. We do not hold existing files hostage. App Lock remains free either way. Lifetime is a one-time purchase, not a file-restore service from us.
Does the free private browser hide my IP address?
No. A browser is not a VPN and does not hide your IP address, free or paid. Sites you visit and your network operator can still see it. Private browsing on iPhone is about what the app stores on the device and what it blocks locally. Tracking protection is list-based and not absolute.
Do I need an account to use the free browser?
No. Private Browser Incognito has no accounts, no sign-in, and no app server for browsing. The App Store privacy label reads Data Not Collected. There is no analytics SDK, no ads in the app, and no third-party SDKs. Your traffic goes to the sites you visit, to a search engine if you search, and to Apple if you buy Stealth Suite.