You saw a fare for 300,000 won. A few minutes later, it is 330,000. Has the website worked out how badly you want that trip?
That suspicion explains the familiar advice to clear cookies or open a private window. But seeing a price rise and proving that your searches caused it are different things. Timing alone does not establish the cause.
Before blaming your browsing history
In its official explanation, Skyscanner says it does not raise prices on its site because of repeated searches or cookies. Switching to private browsing therefore does not make its fares cheaper for that reason.
This describes Skyscanner's stated practice, not a universal audit of every seller. It also means the claim that repeated searches must make your ticket more expensive lacks a solid basis.
Identical-looking seats can have different fares
Prices can change with demand and sales. The availability of cheaper fares may change even when the physical economy seats look the same.
Think loosely of a shop's promotional stock: the item need not change for its selling price to change. Airline pricing is more complicated, but a different fare does not require a different-looking seat.
Other people can book while you deliberate, and sellers can update prices. Those changes happen during the same period as your searches. You can also see a lower fare later; movement is not always upward.
Check whether you are comparing the same offer
The same departure date is not enough. Match the airports, times, connections, passenger count and seller. A morning nonstop and an overnight connection can produce different prices regardless of your history.
Baggage is another easy detail to miss. A fare with only a small personal item may have a different total cost from one including a checked bag. Google's baggage guide explains comparing fares with the fees for the bags you need.
Also check currency and sales-location settings. Google's Matrix help notes that fares, taxes and available flights can vary by sales city. A different regional result is not automatically evidence of a cookie effect.
What if a private window really shows less?
You do not have to dismiss what you saw. The question is why it happened. Prices may have changed between checks, or the two results may have different conditions.
Compare the flight number, dates, travelers, baggage and final payment total together. A low search-result number is not necessarily a low price for the trip you actually need.
Choose a comparison method, not a refresh ritual
Set your requirements and an acceptable total budget first. Compare alternative dates if you have flexibility. There is no need to treat a particular booking weekday as a guaranteed route to the cheapest ticket.
Price tracking can reduce repeated manual checks. An alert does not guarantee the lowest fare or reserve the seats.
So does searching push up the price?
There is insufficient basis for saying that repeated searching itself must make a flight more expensive. Check availability, demand and matching conditions first. Comparing the final total for the same trip is more useful than relying on a cookie-clearing trick.