Do you know how to clear your browser history? What is that, you say? Well, if you are asking this question, that’s okay. Most people are unaware that there is a function to clear your browser history or let the browser do that for you every time you shut it down.
Other times, simply browsing in incognito or private browsing mode will not log your history at all, as well as clear cookies. The issue is, these are the fine details in most of us, details that could affect your privacy and security.
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What Is Browser History?
Browser history can mean two things. It can refer to browsing history, which means the storing of the websites you’ve visited (such as their names and the time and data you visited them), but can also mean all the cached information in general.
Web browsers do not just store browsing history, they store a ton of other information, too. This is known as cached (stored) information, in general.
Cached information is information that your browser stores for practical purposes such as loading pages you’ve already visited faster, autofilling your passwords, saving images, or saving your online app configuration files and other access information.
How To Clear Your Browser History?
There are loads of browsers out there, and some are much more popular than others because they have been in the mainstream for so long.
However, we’ll look at how you can clear your browser history on three of the most popular browsers out there which are Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Safari, and Mozilla Firefox.
The technical side of clearing browser history (i.e what the operating system does to remove the cached files) is essentially identical, however, the steps you need to take are different for each browser.
For Chrome Browser
Method 1: Using Chrome Settings
Open the Google Chrome browser on your computer, click the three vertical dots (⋮) in the top-right corner of the browser window.
Now, navigate to “History” in the dropdown menu, in the submenu that appears, click on “History” again. On the left sidebar, click on “Clear browsing data”.
Alternatively, you can directly access this by typing chrome://settings/clearBrowserData in the address bar and pressing Enter. In the dialog box, select the “Time range” dropdown.
Choose the desired time frame (e.g., Last hour, Last 24 hours, Last 7 days, Last 4 weeks, or All time).
Under the “Basic” tab, you can select any of the given below options:
- Browsing history
- Cookies and other site data
- Cached images and files
For more options, switch to the “Advanced” tab to include:
- Download history
- Passwords and other sign-in data
- Autofill form data
- Site settings
- Hosted app data
Once you’ve selected the data types to remove, finally click on the “Clear data” button.
Note: If you’re signed in to Chrome and have sync enabled, deleting your browsing history will remove it from all synced devices.
Method 2: Using Keyboard Shortcut
Press Ctrl + Shift + Delete (Windows/Linux) or Command + Shift + Delete (Mac) to open the “Clear browsing data” dialog directly.
For Android Devices
Open Chrome icon to launch the browser, tap the three vertical dots (⋮) in the top-right corner.
Select “History” from the dropdown menu, click on “Clear browsing data…” at the top.
Now, select the desired Time range and check the boxes for the data types you wish to delete (e.g., browsing history, Cookies and site data, Cached images and files).
Tap on the “Clear data” button, confirm by tapping “Clear” when prompted.
For iOS Devices (iPhone/iPad)
Launch the Chrome browser on your Apple device, tap the three horizontal dots (…) in the bottom-right corner.
Select “History” from the menu, tap on “Clear Browsing Data” at the bottom.
Ensure Browsing history is selected, now you can also select other data types like Cookies, Site Data, and Cached Images and Files. Confirm by tapping “Clear Browsing Data” again when prompted.
For Edge Browser
The Edge browser has just been revamped with a host of security and privacy improvements, and it is Microsoft’s default browser. It replaced the legendary, now-retired Internet Explorer.
Method 1: Using Edge Settings
Launch the Microsoft Edge browser on your computer, click the three horizontal dots (⋯) in the top-right corner of the browser window.
From the dropdown menu, select “Settings”, in the left sidebar, click on “Privacy, search, and services”.
Scroll down to the “Clear browsing data” section, now click on “Choose what to clear”.
In the dialog box, select the “Time range” dropdown, choose the desired time frame (e.g., last hour, Last 24 hours, Last 7 days, Last 4 weeks, or All time).
Check the boxes for the data types you wish to delete:
- Browsing history
- Download history
- Cookies and other site data
- Cached images and files
- Passwords
- Autofill form data
- Site permissions
Once you have selected the data types to remove, finally click on the “Clear now” button.
For Android Devices
Open Edge App to launch the browser, tap the three horizontal dots (⋯) at the bottom center.
Select “Settings” from the menu, tap on “Privacy and security” and then click on the “Clear browsing data”.
Choose Data Types and Time Range you wish to delete (e.g., Browsing history, Cookies and site data, Cached images and files).
Select the desired Time range, tap on the “Clear data” button, finally confirm by tapping “Clear” when prompted.
For iOS Devices (iPhone/iPad)
Firstly, launch the Microsoft Edge browser on your device. Tap on the three horizontal dots (⋯) at the bottom center.
Now, select “Settings” from the menu., navigate to “Privacy Settings:” and tap on it.
Click on “Clear browsing data” and select Data Types and desired Time Range.
Tap on the “Clear data” button and finally confirm by tapping “Clear” when prompted.
For Firefox Browser
Next, we have Firefox. Firefox is relatively new, but millions of people have flocked to it for its design and the fact that it is a major competitor to Chrome.
Method 1: Using Firefox Settings
Open Firefox browser on your PC, click the three horizontal lines (☰) in the top-right corner of the browser window.
Navigate to “History” in the dropdown menu and then select “Clear Recent History”.
In the dialog box that appears, select the “Time range to clear” dropdown. Now choose the desired time frame (e.g., last hour, last two hours, last four hours, Today, or Everything).
Now, click the arrow next to “Details” to expand the list of data types and check the boxes for the data you wish to delete:
- Browsing & Download History
- Cookies
- Cache
- Active Logins
- Form & Search History
- Site Preferences
Once you’ve selected the data types to remove, finally click on the “Clear Now” button.
For Android Devices
Open Firefox App to launch the browser and tap the three vertical dots (⋮) in the top-right corner.
Select “Settings” from the dropdown menu and navigate to Privacy Settings.
Scroll down and tap on “Delete browsing data” under the Privacy and security section.
Now, select the data types you wish to delete:
- Browsing history and site data
- Cookies and site data
- Cached images and files
- Open tabs
- Downloads
- Site permissions
Next, tap on the “Delete browsing data” button and confirm by tapping “Delete” when prompted.
Note: You can also set Firefox to automatically delete your browsing data every time you quit the app by enabling “Delete browsing data on quit” in the Privacy and security settings.
For iOS Devices (iPhone/iPad)
Open Firefox browser on your iPhone and tap the three horizontal lines (☰) at the bottom-right corner.
Now, select “Settings” from the menu., then navigate to Data Management.
Under the Privacy section, tap on “Data Management”, toggle on the data types you wish to delete.
- Browsing History
- Cache
- Cookies
- Offline Website Data
- Saved Logins
Then, tap on “Clear Private Data” at the bottom and finally confirm by tapping “OK” when prompted.
For Safari Browser
Finally, we have Safari, Apple’s beloved browser used on Macs, iPhones, and iPads all over the world. Now, this is going to be slightly different because macOS is nothing like Windows or Android systems, as you probably already know.
Method 1: Using Safari Menu
Launch the Safari browser on your Mac, click on “History” in the top menu bar.
Select “Clear History” from the dropdown menu and choose Time Range.
In the dialog box, select the desired time range (e.g., Last hour, Today, Today and yesterday, or All history) and finally click on the “Clear History” button to confirm.
Note: This action will remove your browsing history, cookies, and other website data.
Method 2: Using Safari Preferences
Open Safari browser on your Mac, then click on “Safari” in the top menu bar.
Now, select “Preferences” from the dropdown menu and navigate to Privacy Settings.
In the Preferences window, click on the “Privacy” tab and then on the “Manage Website Data” button.
To remove all website data, click on “Remove All” and confirm by clicking “Remove Now” in the dialog box.
Note: This method allows you to remove cookies and cached data without clearing your browsing history.
Using Safari App
Open Safari app on your iPhone or iPad and tap the Bookmarks icon (open book) at the bottom of the screen.
Click on the History tab (clock icon) and Tap “Clear” at the bottom right corner.
Now, choose the desired time range “The last hour, Today, Today and yesterday, or All time”.
Finally, confirm by tapping “Clear History”.
Using Settings App
Open “Settings” App on your device, navigate to “Safari Settings“.
Scroll down and tap on “Safari” and then click on the “Clear History and Data” in the dialog box.
Note: If the option is grayed out, it may be due to restrictions set under Screen Time or no browsing data present.
Tips to Keep In Mind
The process will be the same for almost every browser, as we said earlier. Keep in mind that you do not have to go through this process at all if you use Private Browsing or Incognito mode that modern browsers come with.
These modes do not store your cached data like sign-ins, images, autofill, history, and more. In other browsers, find the setting that says something like Clear cache after quitting. This will clear all of your cached information each time you shut down your browser.
It is important not to leave digital footprints behind or lying around on your computer. Someone who has never cleared their cache or browsing history may have years worth of data about them on their device or computer.
Aside from the obvious issues there, a hacker program downloaded by mistake (for example from a malicious website or scam email) can vacuum all of this information and use it for malicious purposes!
You should use a quality, pro-privacy, and pro-security browser instead of the run-of-the-mill browser that comes with your operating system.
This is for the simple reason that specialized browsers are simply better at filtering dangerous cached information, keeping your digital footprint as anonymous as possible, and warding off potentially malicious websites. For full anonymity, take a look at the Tor browser.
Nothing matches it for sheer security and privacy. However, it is very slow. An ideal browser for users, in general, would be something like the Brave browser or Mozilla Firefox Nightly (which has a ton of anonymity settings).
