Mozilla: 10-minute ''Private Browsing'' Spikes Common Occurrence At Lunchtimes

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What time of day do Firefox users switch to "porn mode"?

Mozilla's private browsing mode is very commonly referred to as 'porn mode.' Considering this, it doesn't take a genius to figure out the conclusion most people jumped to when the results of Mozilla study revealed that most people are using it for roughly 10 minute periods at lunchtime.

Mozilla says they see spikes in private browsing at lunchtime, around the time people arrive home from work and school, after dinner, and for an hour or two after midnight.

"The 25th percentile stays on for about 4 and a half minutes, the 75th percentile around 22 minutes, and the median stays in for about 10 minutes.

Though it's certainly possible (and a lot of fun to assume) that people are switching to private browsing mode to look at naughty websites, it's also possible that overall browser use goes up at lunchtime, when people have more time to browse the web. It's also plausible that people are more inclined to engage in online shopping or banking during their lunch period and want to keep their bank details safe and secure.

Jane McEntegart

Jane McEntegart works in marketing communications at Intel and was previously Manager of Content Marketing at ASUS North America. Before that, she worked for more than seven years at Tom's Guide and Tom's Hardware, holding such roles as Contributing Editor and Senior News Editor and writing about everything from smartphones to tablets and games consoles.

35 Comments Comment from the forums
  • ecnovaec
    more than likely it's people going onto facebook/etc and not wanting to get caught. I doubt THAT many people do that at work... during lunch. (I do it during coffee break =P)
    Reply
  • jimmysmitty
    But does Private Browsing truly not record every little bit?

    That would be interesting to know.
    Reply
  • zerapio
    This is silly. Your browser is still making requests through your company's gateway where everything is logged. The only thing it saves you is from storing evidence in your computer, but the evidence is somewhere else (gateway).
    Reply
  • zachary k
    jimmysmittyBut does Private Browsing truly not record every little bit?That would be interesting to know.obviously not, it records when you use it obviously.


    Reply
  • chickenhoagie
    zerapioThis is silly. Your browser is still making requests through your company's gateway where everything is logged. The only thing it saves you is from storing evidence in your computer, but the evidence is somewhere else (gateway).exactly. Thats why you only trust private browsing in the security of your own home. Don't think that private browsing helps you at work, because it doesn't. anyone with network administrative access can see what you're doing :)

    but as for me, I use Chrome's incognito for my uhh...private surfing..and yes, my 1 hour lunch at home is a great time for this..hehe..yes..
    Reply
  • Ciuy
    hahhaaha busted !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Reply
  • Fetal
    10 minutes to wank.
    Reply
  • bourgeoisdude
    Epic picture.
    Reply
  • chaoski
    no such a thing as private browsing at work. If your IT departments wants, they will see everything and anything you do.
    Reply
  • braneman
    interesting "private browsing" is tracked...
    Reply