Block ads in Google Chrome only while in Incognito mode

Question

I've seen several ad blocking extensions on Google Chrome but I don't want to block ads normally. I only want to block ads while I'm browsing in incognito mode.

I don't see any way to limit extensions to incognito mode only. How can I accomplish this?

Solution

Since Chrome doesn't allow to enable extensions in incognito mode only, you may use a different user profile for incognito mode, and set up the extensions you need for the incognito mode in this user profile.

In order to do it, create a shortcut on your Desktop with the following command (for Windows XP):

"C:\Documents and Settings\Your Username\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" --user-data-dir="..\User Data\Inco" --incognito

This solution has two drawbacks:

1. You have to run the incognito mode via a separate shortcut.
2. You have to install and update the extensions for incognito and normal browsing separately.

Comments

[matt]

This sounds good, but I'm not sure I understand how to setup a different user profile.

[Jack Shainsky]

You just need to provide the --user-data-dir parameter in the shortcut, and Chrome will set up the user profile the first time you run it with this parameter (just checked it on my machine).

[matt]

So just creating that directory and using it in the shortcut is enough to create a new user profile?

[Jack Shainsky]

You don't need to create the directory, Chrome will do this for you. You may just create the shortcut and start using it.

[matt]

Perfect, thanks, this was just what I was looking for. I had to change the shortcut a bit though: c:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Application\ch‌​rome.exe --user-data-dir="..\User Data\Inco" -incognito

[Jack Shainsky]

Yes, the exact location of Chrome depends on OS version. I've edited the answer to indicate that my sample is good as is for Windows XP.