The internet is a huge part of our daily lives. Whether you’re communicating with family over Zoom, checking what your friends are up to on Facebook or buying your weekly groceries, you no doubt use an Internet browser most days of the week – either on your computer, tablet or smartphone. 

Internet browsers have a host of cool tricks and functions that make the browsing experience more pleasurable and straightforward. To make the most of these features, you need to understand what they are and how they work.

One such feature is the use of multiple browsing tabs. Tabs enable you to open multiple websites in one browser, without cluttering your desktop with too many browser pages. Being able to use tabs can enhance your browsing experience and make using the internet much easier. 

Every leading browser has options for tabbed browsing – even smartphones and tablets. 

Tabs are hugely popular – and have a great range of benefits. It’s estimated that the average person has between 2 -3 tabs open at any one point.

Of course, to take advantage of tabs, you need to know how to use them. So, below, we’ll dive into what browser tabs are, why you should use them and how to get started. 

What’s a Browser Tab?

With multiple browser tabs open, you can have multiple websites open at the same time within one browser. Each open website will appear as a “tab” at the top of your browser window. You can use your mouse, keyboard-shortcut or finger to switch between your open tabs/websites.

Why is Using Multiple Tabs Beneficial?

Have you ever signed into a website and then been asked to check your email for a verification code, which you’ll need to enter on that page.

In this instance, you may have wondered if there’s a way to check your email without losing the page you’re on. This is where browser tabs come in.

With multiple tabs, you can keep your current page while opening a new tab to check your email. 

Other use cases for browser tabs include: 

• When you are writing an email and want to look up a synonym of a word
• When you have two email accounts and want to switch between the two 
• When you’re reviewing your stock portfolio and want to research information about a company without exiting your account 
• When you’re researching airline flights and are comparing providers for the best deals 
• When you’re multi-tasking – reading the news, ordering groceries etc. 
• When you want to click a link on a page without losing the webpage you’re on

Have you ever looked at a product on an e-commerce website and noticed that, later, an advertisement appears for that same product on another website? 

This is the work of advertising ‘cookies’ and other tracking tools, which monitor your online browsing activities to present you with relevant, targeted advertisements. 

This can be a great thing. Targeted advertisements can help you to discover new products and makes the browsing experience feel more personalized. 

In line with this, 71% of consumers prefer ads to be targeted to their interests and shopping habits, and 3 out of 4 consumers prefer fewer, but more personalized ads. 

However, while some people enjoy targeted advertisements, many also feel like their online privacy is being invaded. A different research study found that 79% of Americans on the web worry about companies infringing their online privacy.

It’s easy to see why. Personal ads can make you feel a little like you’re living in the world of ‘big brother’. Not everyone wants to be monitored 24/7 – and that’s ok. 

Moreover, let’s say you are researching birthday gifts to buy for your partner. Targeted ads mean that your partner could end up seeing an ad about the proposed gift – which would ruin the surprise! 

As people have become more aware of their online privacy, the leading web browser players have released private browsing options. 

Below, we’ll explore how private browsing sessions work – and how you can set one up on your computer.

What is a Private Browsing Session? 

A private browsing session is a feature available in most popular web browsers. When you switch on private browsing mode, your browser creates a one-time, isolated session that is kept separate from your main browser.

While your main browser collects your browsing history and data, the private browser essentially only has a short-term memory. It won’t save any of the data about the websites you visit or things you buy. Once you finish the session, the data is gone for good. 

Going back to the birthday use case, you can see why private browsing is useful! It ensures that no one else who uses your computer can see what you’ve been looking at online.