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How to clear your browser history

It is possible for someone to see the websites you have visited by looking through your web browser's history on a computer or mobile device. If you are concerned someone may be monitoring your activity, you can take steps to clear your history and empty the cache of saved information.

The safest way to completely hide your online activity from someone who has access to your computer, laptop, or mobile device is to visit websites on someone else’s devices. You may wish to ask a friend or relative, or use devices at work or in a library.

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Clearing your browser on…

Google Chrome

Android mobile – follow the steps below to clear your history:

  • open the Chrome app
  • at the top right, tap ‘…’
  • click ‘History’
  • tap ‘Clear browsing data…’
  • next to ‘Time range’ select how much history you want to delete
  • check ‘Browsing ’ Check any other data you want to delete
  • tap ‘Clear data’

IOS mobile – follow the steps below to clear your history:

  • open the Chrome app
  • click ‘…’
  • select ‘History’
  • click ‘Clear browsing data’
  • next to ‘Time range’ select how much
  • history you want to delete
  • click ‘Clear browsing data’

Windows computer – follow the steps below to clear your history:

  • open Chrome
  • click ‘…’ top right of browser
  • select ‘More tools’
  • ‘More Settings’
  • click ‘Clear browsing data’
  • choose a time range, such as last 24 hours or last 7 days
  • select the types of information you want to remove
  • click ‘Clear data’

Mac – follow the steps below to clear your history:

  • open Chrome
  • click ‘…’ top right
  • select ‘ History’
  • click ‘Clear browsing data’
  • choose a time range, such as last 24 hours or last 7 days
  • select the types of information you want to remove
  • click ‘Clear data’
Safari

Mac – follow the steps below to clear your history:

  • open Safari
  • click on ‘History’ in toolbar
  • select ‘Clear History…’
  • choose a time range, such as the last hour, today or all history
  • click ‘Clear History’

IOS – follow the steps below to clear your history:

  • open Safari
  • select book icon from bottom menu
  • press ‘clear’
Internet Explorer

If you’re using Internet Explorer on a computer, follow the steps below to clear your history:

  • click on the Tools menu (in the row at the top of the browser)
  • select Internet Options from the drop down menu; you should now be on a tab that says ‘General’ – if not, select ‘General’; under the title, ‘Temporary Internet Files’
  • click on ‘Delete Files’. You can also check the box that says ‘delete all offline content’
  • under ‘History’ click on ‘Clear History’
  • click OK, to accept the changes
Firefox

If you’re using Firefox on a computer, follow the steps below to clear your history:

  • click the menu button, choose ‘History’, and then ‘Clear Recent History’
  • select how much history you want to clear: click the drop-down menu next to ‘Time Range’ to choose how much of your history Firefox will clear
  • finally, click ‘Clear Now’
Incognito browsing (private browsing)

In Incognito, none of your browsing history, cookies and site data, or information entered in forms are saved on your device. This means your activity doesn’t show up in your Chrome browser history, so people who also use your device won’t see your activity.

To use incognito browsing:

  • open Chrome
  • click ‘…’
  • select ‘New incognito window/tab’How to clear

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