A browser is not a VPN. Destroying tabs after failed unlocks does not hide your IP address from sites you visited 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. Erase, panic, and self-destruct permanently destroy data. Private Browser Incognito is rated 17+ for unrestricted web access and is intended for adults. Self-destruct is optional Stealth Suite.
App Lock answers whether the real session opens. Self-destruct answers what happens if someone keeps getting the code wrong. After too many wrong codes, saved tabs are destroyed, and optionally the vault with them. That is a threshold, not a second passcode you type on purpose. The person guessing gets an empty browser. You also get an empty browser.
The wipe is irreversible. This page keeps the neighboring tools in their lanes: panic is owner-triggered, session erase is a tap or a leave timer, a forgotten key is a lock you cannot open. Self-destruct is none of those. If you only needed the free door, start with App Lock With Passcode and Face ID.
A threshold, not a panic number
Panic is a code you choose and enter at the lock screen when you want everything gone now. It silently wipes tabs, the entire vault, and the break-in log, then opens what looks like a fresh start. You are the one who typed it. Self-destruct does not wait for a special number. It counts failed attempts at the real lock. Too many wrong codes, and the saved tabs die.
We will not publish a single attempt count here as if the product had one frozen number. The shipping screen lets you arm the wipe and choose how many wrong codes trigger it. The honest public sentence is the one in the facts: after too many wrong codes, saved tabs are destroyed, and optionally the vault with them. Open the setting if you need the exact row you picked. Do not copy a blog that invents a count.
The passcode itself stays on. Self-destruct is not a reset. It is not a way to recover a forgotten key. It empties what the lock was hiding, then the lock is still there. If you have lost the six digits, stop guessing. Face ID, if it still works, can unlock so you can set a new code. Guessing toward a threshold is how you might fire your own wipe. That path is explained in If You Forget the Passcode There Is No Recovery.
What gets destroyed
Saved tabs go first. The real session that sat behind the lock is gone. Cookies, cache, and site data that belonged to that session go with the tabs. There is no recycle bin. Erased data cannot be recovered, by you or by us. There is no app server for browsing. The App Store privacy label is Data Not Collected. We never held a spare copy that support could pour back.
The vault is optional in this wipe. Downloads that went into the encrypted store are AES-256, with no plain copy on disk, excluded from backups. Session erase never clears that store. Self-destruct can, when you enable the option to take downloads too. If you leave that option off, files stay sealed behind the same lock that just lost its tabs. If you turn it on, the box empties with the session.
One-tap erase is still a different control. You tap it, or you use the home-screen quick action, or Auto-Erase runs after you leave. Those paths destroy the browsing session and leave the vault intact. They do not wait for wrong codes. They do not write a notice that someone was guessing. Use them when you are done browsing. Use self-destruct when the threat model is a keypad and a person who will not stop.
The notice you see afterward
When you unlock later with the real code, the app does not pretend nothing happened. The in-app notice says someone entered too many wrong passcodes, so saved tabs were destroyed. That sentence is for you. It is not a push we send from a server. It is not a photo. It is an explanation of an empty window so you do not think the engine simply crashed.
The notice is not a recovery offer. It does not list the URLs that died. It does not ask whether you want to undo. There is nothing to undo. If you also armed a vault wipe, those files are gone with the tabs. If you did not, the vault is still there, and the notice is still about the tabs.
Break-in log timestamps, if you use that Stealth Suite tool, can tell you that the door was tried. Optional Intruder Photo can capture who was holding the phone. Camera permission is asked when you enable that feature, never at the lock screen. Photos may depict other people. You are responsible for local law. None of those records puts a tab back. A log is not a backup.
Distinct from panic, erase, and a forgotten key
Panic is owner-triggered. You pick a number that is not your real passcode and not your decoy. You enter it when empty should include the vault and the break-in log, and the screen should look like a fresh start. Do not pick a panic code one digit off the real lock. Do not type panic hoping it is a reset. The dedicated page is Panic Code: Wipe Tabs and Vault From the Lock Screen.
Session erase is everyday hygiene. Auto-Erase is the same hygiene on a leave timer: Off, Every time you leave, After 1 minute, After 15 minutes, After 1 hour, After 8 hours, After 1 day, After 1 week. Those intervals destroy the session after a real background trip. They do not count wrong codes. They do not take the vault. The timer article is Auto-Erase When You Leave the App.
A forgotten passcode is the worst mix-up. The six digits are never stored. They become the key. If you cannot open the lock and Face ID is off, the sealed material stays sealed or leaves with a reinstall. Self-destruct does not help you remember. If you keep typing, you may empty the app on the way to admitting the key is gone. That is not recovery. That is a second loss.
Stealth Suite and the free lock
App Lock with a six-digit passcode and Face ID is free for everyone in the shipping default. Self-destruct sits on top of that lock. Without a passcode there are no failed attempts to count, so the tool has nothing to guard. Set the real code first. Then arm the wipe. Stealth Suite is optional Apple IAP: monthly $4.99, yearly $19.99 with a 7-day trial, or lifetime $49.99.
The kit also includes the decoy (a second passcode that opens a clean, empty browser), panic, the break-in log, optional Intruder Photo, the vault, Auto-Erase, and icon colors (Midnight, Ocean, Ember). The decoy is for handing the phone over. Self-destruct is for when you did not hand it over and someone tried anyway. They are not the same scene. Icon colors recolor the shield. They are not calculator, notes, or weather disguise icons.
If a subscription lapses, protections you already enabled keep working and the vault stays accessible. A lapse does not fire self-destruct. New downloads that require an active unlock follow the lapse policy in the terms. We do not remotely wipe devices. There is no browsing server that could.
Honest limits a wipe does not cancel
Self-destruct does not make you anonymous. Sites you already opened saw an IP address. Your network operator saw destinations. On-device blocking still uses bundled Disconnect lists and still misses names. Per-site exceptions still exist. HTTPS-Only Mode still does not hide who you are talking to. The 17+ rating still means unrestricted web access. You are responsible for what you visit and for using the app lawfully.
We do not claim fingerprint spoofing as a product, Tor, a proxy, or IP hiding. Private Browser Incognito is iOS only. It is not Android, not desktop, and not a password manager. There are no accounts. Search can be Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, Wikipedia, or a custom engine. Suggestions stay off until you ask. None of that is rewritten by a failed-unlock wipe. The wipe changes residue on the phone. It does not retract a request that already left the radio.
If you are comparing lock-screen tools, a compact table is more useful than adjectives.
| Control | Who starts it | What dies |
|---|---|---|
| App Lock | You set a code. Face ID can open it | Nothing. The door stays closed |
| One-tap erase / Auto-Erase | You tap, or you leave for an interval | Session. Vault left intact |
| Panic code | You enter the panic number | Tabs, entire vault, break-in log |
| Self-destruct | Too many wrong codes | Saved tabs, and optionally the vault |
Use the free lock when closed is enough. Use erase when you are finished with a session. Use panic when you want the vault gone on purpose. Use self-destruct when a guessing keypad should empty the saved tabs before it lucks into the real code. Private Browser Incognito is built so there is nothing to trust us with after the notice: we never held the tabs. The empty window is on the glass. The network is another story, and we do not pretend a threshold changes that.
Private Browser IncognitoFree on the App Store. No history, on-device blocking, one-tap erase.
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Frequently asked questions
What does self-destruct do after wrong passcodes?
After too many wrong codes at the lock screen, saved tabs are destroyed. You can also choose to destroy the encrypted vault with them. The wipe is irreversible. The app later tells you that someone entered too many wrong passcodes, so saved tabs were destroyed. We do not publish a single magic attempt count in this article, because the threshold is a setting you choose in the app.
Does self-destruct wipe the download vault?
Only if you turn that option on. By default the feature is about saved tabs. The vault is a separate AES-256 store. Session erase never clears it. Self-destruct can, when you ask it to. Panic code always takes the entire vault. Read the toggle before you arm either tool.
Is self-destruct the same as a panic code?
No. Panic is a code you enter on purpose at the lock screen. It silently wipes tabs, the entire vault, and the break-in log, then opens what looks like a fresh start. Self-destruct is a threshold: too many wrong guesses empty the saved tabs, and optionally the vault. One is owner-triggered. The other fires because someone kept failing the lock.
Can I recover tabs after self-destruct?
No. Erase, Auto-Erase, panic, and self-destruct permanently destroy data. Erased data cannot be recovered, by you or by us. There is no app server for browsing and no recycle bin. If you needed the tab, it is gone. Guessing your own forgotten code can fire the same wipe.
Is self-destruct free?
No. App Lock with a six-digit passcode and Face ID is free. Self-destruct is part of Stealth Suite, optional Apple IAP: monthly $4.99, yearly $19.99 with a 7-day trial, or lifetime $49.99. If a subscription lapses, protections you already enabled keep working.