The fastest way to clear Firefox history

Open Firefox and press Ctrl+H on Windows or Cmd+Y on Mac. A sidebar opens showing your recent history. At the top, click Clear Recent History. A window appears with options for what to delete — by default it selects everything from the last hour, but you can change that to "Everything" using the dropdown menu. Check the boxes next to the data types you want removed (browsing history is checked by default), then click Clear Now.

That single action clears your browsing history, cookies, cached files, and other data in seconds. If you want to clear history without opening that menu each time, you can set Firefox to clear everything automatically when you close the browser — this happens in the background without you doing anything.

Key Takeaways

  • Press Ctrl+H (Windows) or Cmd+Y (Mac), click Clear Recent History, and choose what time period and data types to remove.
  • You can clear just browsing history, or also remove cookies, cached images, passwords, and other stored data at the same time.
  • Firefox can automatically clear your history every time you close the browser if you turn on that setting in Preferences.
  • Clearing history removes what Firefox has recorded, but does not hide your activity from your internet provider or network administrator.

What gets deleted when you clear history

When you click Clear Now, Firefox removes the list of websites you visited, the dates and times you visited them, and any search terms you typed into the address bar. But the Clear Recent History window also offers checkboxes for other data: Cookies and Site Data (which logs you out of websites), Cached Web Content (temporary files that speed up page loading), Download History, Active Logins, and Site Preferences (like zoom levels you set for specific sites).

You do not have to clear all of these at once. If you only want to remove your browsing history and leave yourself logged into websites, uncheck the Cookies box before clicking Clear Now. This is useful if you share a computer but want to keep your own login sessions active.

Clearing history for a specific website only

If you want to remove history for just one site instead of everything, right-click on that site's name in your history sidebar (Ctrl+H or Cmd+Y) and select Forget About This Site. Firefox removes all history, cookies, and cached data for that domain. This is faster than clearing everything when you only need to hide a few visits.

Be aware that "Forget About This Site" is permanent and cannot be undone. Firefox will not remember you visited that site, so you will lose any saved passwords for it as well.

Setting Firefox to clear history automatically

To make Firefox clear your history every time you close it, open the menu (three horizontal lines in the top right), click Settings, then go to Privacy & Security on the left. Under the History section, find the dropdown that says "Firefox will" and select Use custom settings for history. A new set of options appears.

Check the box labeled Clear history when Firefox closes. Below that, click Settings to choose what data gets cleared — you can select browsing history, cookies, cache, and more. Once you save these settings, Firefox automatically deletes everything you selected every single time you close the browser, without asking you to confirm.

This is useful if you share a computer or use a public device. The downside is that Firefox will not remember any of your browsing history, so you cannot use the history sidebar to find a site you visited yesterday. Your saved passwords and bookmarks remain untouched unless you specifically check those boxes.

The difference between clearing history and private browsing

Firefox also offers Private Browsing mode, which you can open by pressing Ctrl+Shift+P (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+P (Mac). In Private Browsing, Firefox does not save your history, cookies, or cached files at all — nothing is recorded from the moment you open a private window until you close it. When you close the window, there is nothing to clear because nothing was saved.

The difference matters: clearing history removes what Firefox already recorded, while Private Browsing prevents Firefox from recording anything in the first place. If you know you want privacy before you start browsing, Private Browsing is simpler. If you realize after the fact that you want to remove your history, use the Clear Recent History option.

Neither method hides your activity from your internet service provider, your employer's network, or the websites you visit. Those entities can still see what you are doing. Clearing Firefox history only removes the record from your own computer.

Clearing history on mobile Firefox

On Firefox for Android, tap the three-dot menu at the bottom right, scroll down to Settings, then tap Delete browsing data. On Firefox for iOS, tap the menu icon (three horizontal lines), go to Settings, and select Clear Private Data. Both versions let you choose what time period to clear and which data types to remove, just like the desktop version.

Mobile Firefox also supports automatic clearing. In Settings, look for an option like Clear private data on exit or Clear browsing data and turn it on. After that, your history clears automatically when you close the app.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does clearing history delete my saved passwords?

Not by default. When you clear history, Firefox removes your browsing history, cookies, and cache, but leaves your saved passwords alone. If you want to delete passwords too, you must check that box separately in the Clear Recent History window. Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Logins and Passwords if you want to manage or delete specific saved passwords.

Can I recover history after I clear it?

No. Once you clear history in Firefox, it is gone permanently. Firefox does not keep a backup of deleted history. If you need to find a website you visited, you can check your internet provider's records (if you have access to your router's logs) or search your email for confirmations from sites you visited, but Firefox itself cannot recover the deleted history.

Will clearing Firefox history hide my activity from my internet provider?

No. Your internet provider can see every website you visit regardless of whether you clear Firefox history, because that information travels through their network. Clearing history only removes the record from your own computer. If you want to hide your activity from your provider, you would need to use a VPN, which is a separate tool.

What is the difference between clearing history and clearing cache?

History is the list of websites you visited. Cache is the temporary files (images, scripts, stylesheets) that Firefox downloaded and stored to make those websites load faster next time. Clearing history removes the list of sites; clearing cache removes the stored files. The Clear Recent History window lets you remove both at the same time by checking both boxes.

Does Firefox clear history automatically if I do not set it up?

No. By default, Firefox saves your entire browsing history until you manually clear it. If you want automatic clearing, you must turn on the "Clear history when Firefox closes" setting in Privacy & Security. Without that setting enabled, your history stays on your computer indefinitely.