Why and how to clear what your browser remembers

Your browser keeps a record of every website you visit, every search you make, and every file you download. This history helps your browser suggest sites faster and fill in forms automatically — but it also means anyone who uses your computer can see where you've been. Deleting your history removes that record from your device.

The steps differ slightly between browsers, but the process takes less than a minute on any of them. You can delete everything at once, pick a date range, or choose specific types of data to remove — like just your search history or just your cookies.

Key Takeaways

  • Most browsers store your history, cookies, cached images, and passwords, and you can delete all of it or just certain types.
  • In Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge, you reach the history deletion menu through the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+Delete (Windows) or Command+Shift+Delete (Mac).
  • You can delete everything from the beginning of time, or just the last hour, day, week, or month.
  • Deleting history does not sign you out of websites or remove saved passwords unless you specifically choose to delete those too.
  • Private or incognito browsing modes do not save history at all, so nothing gets recorded in the first place.

Delete history in Chrome

Open Chrome and press Ctrl+Shift+Delete on Windows, or Command+Shift+Delete on Mac. A window titled "Clear browsing data" will open immediately.

At the top, you'll see a dropdown that says "All time" — click it to choose how far back to delete. Your options are "All time," "Last 24 hours," "Last 7 days," "Last 4 weeks," or "Last hour." Below that, checkboxes let you choose what to delete. By default, "Cookies and other site data" and "Cached images and files" are checked. Leave these checked unless you have a reason not to. If you want to delete your passwords too, check the "Passwords" box — but know that this removes saved passwords from Chrome, not from the websites themselves.

Once you've made your choices, click the blue "Clear data" button at the bottom right. Chrome will delete the selected data and close the window. Your history is now gone.

Delete history in Firefox

Open Firefox and press Ctrl+Shift+Delete on Windows, or Command+Shift+Delete on Mac. The "Clear Recent History" window opens.

At the top, a dropdown labeled "Time range to clear" lets you pick how far back to go — "Everything," "Last Hour," "Last 2 Hours," "Last 4 Hours," or "Today." Below that, checkboxes show what Firefox can delete: "Browsing & Download History," "Cookies," "Cache," "Active Logins," "Site Preferences," and "Offline Website Data." The first four are checked by default. Leave them checked unless you want to keep something. Click the "Clear Now" button to finish.

Firefox will delete your data and close the window. If you use Firefox on multiple devices with the same account, this deletion only affects the device you're using right now.

Delete history in Safari

Open Safari and click the History menu at the top of the screen. Near the bottom, you'll see "Clear History..." — click it.

A small window appears asking "Clear history from:" with a dropdown menu. Your choices are "the last hour," "today," "today and yesterday," or "all history." Pick the time range you want, then click the blue "Clear History" button. Safari will delete your browsing history for that period.

Note that Safari's built-in history deletion only removes your browsing history, not cookies or cached data. If you want to delete those too, go to Safari > Settings > Privacy, then click "Manage Website Data" to remove cookies and cached site data manually.

Delete history in Microsoft Edge

Open Edge and press Ctrl+Shift+Delete on Windows, or Command+Shift+Delete on Mac. The "Clear browsing data" panel opens on the right side of your screen.

At the top, a dropdown shows "All time" — click it to choose a different range: "Last hour," "Last 24 hours," "Last 7 days," "Last 4 weeks," or "All time." Below that, checkboxes let you pick what to delete. "Browsing history," "Download history," "Cookies and other site data," and "Cached images and files" are checked by default. Leave these checked. If you also want to remove saved passwords, check that box too. Click the blue "Clear now" button to finish.

What gets deleted and what doesn't

When you clear your history, your browser removes the list of websites you visited and the searches you performed. It also removes cookies (small files that websites use to remember you) and cached data (images and files your browser saved to load pages faster). However, deleting history does not automatically sign you out of websites, and it does not remove passwords you've saved unless you specifically check that box.

If you want to remove a saved password, you have to do that separately. In most browsers, go to Settings, find "Passwords," and delete individual passwords from there. Deleting history will not touch them.

One thing to know: if you've synced your browser to an account (like a Google account in Chrome or a Microsoft account in Edge), deleting history on one device does not delete it from other devices or from your account's cloud backup. You have to delete it on each device separately, or turn off sync before you delete.

Use private or incognito mode to avoid saving history

If you don't want your browser to save history in the first place, use private browsing mode. Every browser has this feature under a different name: Chrome calls it "Incognito," Firefox calls it "Private Window," Safari calls it "Private," and Edge calls it "InPrivate." When you browse in these modes, your browser does not save your history, cookies, or search history — nothing gets recorded.

To open a private window, use these keyboard shortcuts: Ctrl+Shift+N in Chrome or Edge, Ctrl+Shift+P in Firefox, or Command+Shift+N in Safari on Mac. On Windows Safari (which is no longer supported), this feature is not available.

Keep in mind that private mode does not hide your activity from your internet provider, your employer if you're on a work network, or the websites you visit. It only hides your history from other people who use your device.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does deleting history remove my saved passwords?

No. Deleting history removes the list of websites you visited, but not the passwords you've saved. If you want to delete a saved password, you have to do that separately in your browser's password settings. Some browsers offer a checkbox to delete passwords when you clear history, but it's not checked by default.

Will deleting history sign me out of websites?

No. Deleting history and cookies does not automatically sign you out. However, some websites use cookies to keep you logged in, so deleting cookies might sign you out of those sites the next time you visit. You'll just have to log back in.

Can I delete history from just one website?

Most browsers don't have a built-in way to delete history from a single site. Your options are to delete all history from a time range, or to use private browsing mode going forward. Some browsers let you right-click a site in your history and remove just that entry, but this doesn't delete cookies or cached data from that site.

If I delete history on my phone, does it delete on my computer too?

Only if you've turned on sync. If you use the same Google account in Chrome on both devices, or the same Microsoft account in Edge, deleting history on one device will delete it from the other. If you haven't set up sync, deleting history on your phone only affects your phone.

What's the difference between history and cookies?

History is the list of websites you visited. Cookies are small files that websites store on your device to remember things about you — like what's in your shopping cart or that you're logged in. Deleting history removes the list, but cookies stay behind unless you delete them too. Most browsers delete both when you clear browsing data.