Today, we use our web browsers daily to access various websites and web pages on the internet, like social media, online banking, marketplace platforms, etc. In fact, our browsers tend to hold onto information. Over time, that can lead to problems with logging in to or loading web pages. It is always a good idea to delete history on a regular basis. Plus, your privacy is secure and your browser works better after history deletion. This guide shows you how-to for major browsers on various platforms.

Part 1. Importance of Clearing History

Every time you visit a website on your computer or mobile device, your browser saves a copy of every page that you visit. Your browser keeps track of where you have been and a history of what you have seen. According to browser providers, browser history can help you return the websites that you have visited quickly and make your online experience easy.

Every piece of browser history falls into one of seven categories:

1. Active Logins. When you log into a website or online service, the web browser keeps your credentials. Sometimes, the browser asks you whether you intend to save the login information. The next time you visit the website, active logins occur automatically due to browser history.

2. Browsing and Download History. Browsing history is the collection of web destinations stored in your browser account or local disk. Download history refers to all files, photos, videos, installer files, and more that you downloaded from the internet while using your browser. It's a good move to delete downloads on Mac or Windows because most of them are useless after you open them.

3. Cache. These are the temporary files for optimizing the online experience. It is faster to load a saved web page than to load a new page.

4. Cookies. It is a small file to track your preferences through your online activities.

5. Form and Search Bar Data. This type of history refers to all the information you have typed into forms on web pages as well as the search history.

6. Offline Website Data. When you store information from a browser on your device, your browser holds on it as well.

7. Preferences. This type of history refers to the pop-up blocker usage, character encoding, zoom level, and more.

As you can see, browser history covers almost everything when you use a web browser. Therefore, it is important to clear browser history regularly:

1. Protect your information. When you browse the web using a public computer or you share your computer with your family, you’d better delete all history to protect your online footprints.

2. Prevent websites from tracking you. Everyone likes to surf the web, but none of them wish these websites to remember who they are.

3. Fix bugs when loading a website. The browser history may save a copy of websites that you have visited. Even if some pages have been updated, your browser may load the old copy. That may lead to loading bugs.

4. Enhance experience. The purpose of browser history is experience optimization. However, the data can become larger and larger as time goes by. As a result, your browser slows down. Clearing history can accelerate your browser response.

5. Protect your privacy. Your logins and form data include lots of personal information, like your email address, credit card password, social ID, and more. It is dangerous to put the information in others’ hands.

Part 2. How to Delete History on Various Platforms

How to Clear History in Safari

As the native browser, Safari is widely used by Apple customers on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Fortunately, you can manage and delete history with one tap or click or remove specific items quickly.

On iPhone or iPad

Step 1. Open the Settings app from your home screen.

Step 2. Choose the Safari option, and press Privacy or Privacy & Security.

Step 3. Here you have two ways to clear history from the browser:

If you want to clear all Safari history, tap Clear History and Website Data. Then set a timeframe, and press Clear History.

If you want to delete specific items, tap Advanced, and press Website Data. Tap the Edit button at the top right corner, press the Minus button next to the desired item, and tap Delete to confirm it.

On Mac

Step 1. Open your Safari browser on macOS.

Step 2. Go to the History menu on the top menu bar.

Step 3. Now, you have two options to delete history:

If you intend to delete all Safari history, choose Clear History on the list. Then choose a time frame from the drop-down list, and click the Clear History button.

If you intend to delete a piece of history, choose Show All History on the list. Then right-click on an entry, and choose Delete.

Note: If you want to remove Safari history automatically, go to the Safari menu in your browser, and choose Preferences. Then set the time range next to Remove history items.

How to Delete History in Chrome

As one of the most popular browsers, Google Chrome is available on Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android. It collects your browsing history and other data. At the same time, it allows you to clear browsing history in Chrome.

On Mobile

Step 1. Open your Google Chrome app

Step 2. Tap the Google Menu button with a three-dot icon, and choose History.

Step 3. Here you can press the Delete button next to an unwanted entry. To delete all history in Chrome, press the Clear browsing data.

Step 4. Tap the Time range option and choose a time frame. Then select Browsing history and other data types on the list. Once selected, you should see the checkmark on the entry. At last, tap the Clear Browsing Data or Clear data button. Next, press Clear on the confirmation dialog.

On Desktop

Step 1. Run the Chrome browser on your desktop.

Step 2. Click the Google Menu button with a three-dot icon at the upper right corner. Expand History, and choose History on the context menu.

Step 3. Now, you can delete history in Chrome in two ways:

If you wish to delete specific items, check the boxes next to them, and click the Delete button.

If you wish to delete all history during a period, click Clear browsing data. Pull down the Time range and pick a time frame. Next, tick the checkboxes next to Browsing history and other unwanted categories. Click the Clear data button to confirm the action.

How to Erase History in Firefox

Due to the open-source design, Firefox is completely free to use. Some people prefer this browser partly because of its excellent performance. Regularly erasing history in Firefox can improve the performance too.

On Mobile

Step 1. Open your Firefox app.

Step 2. Tap the Hamburger button, and choose the History option.

Step 3. To remove one website from the list, tap it, swipe left, and press Delete. If you hope to delete all history, tap the Trash button.

Step 4. Next, select a period on the pop-up dialog, and confirm history deletion in the mobile browser.

Note: The process may be a bit different on iOS and Android.

On Desktop

Step 1. Click the Hamburger button at the top right corner.

Step 2. Navigate to Library, History, and Clear Recent History.

Step 3. Expand the Time range to clear option, and pick a time frame.

Step 4. Next, select the Browsing & Download History option and other unwanted entries. If you are ready, click on the Clear Now button.

If you wish to automatically delete history in Firefox, click the Hamburger button, choose Settings, and go to the Privacy & Security tab. Locate the History section, pick Use custom settings for history from the Firefox will option, and select Clear history when Firefox closes.

How to Clean History in Microsoft Edge

Edge is the web browser developed by Microsoft. However, it is not only available on Windows, there are apps for iOS and Android. Both the Edge browser and apps allow you to clean history quickly.

On Mobile

Step 1. Run your MS Edge app on your iPhone or Android phone.

Step 2. Click the Hamburger button. If you want to view and delete surfing history one by one, choose History. To delete all history, choose Settings, pick Privacy, and tap Clear browsing data.

Step 3. Next, set the Time range, check the boxes next to Browsing history and other categories that you want to remove, and tap Clear browsing data.

On Desktop

Step 1. Click the Edge Menu button with a three-dot icon, and choose Settings.

Step 2. Go to the Privacy and services or Privacy, Search, and Services tab. Or enter edge://settings/privacy into the address bar to open the page directly.

Step 3. Now, you have two options:

To manually clean history in Edge, click Choose What to Clear next to Clear browsing data now. Then set the Time range, select Browsing history, and hit Clear Now.

If you wish to automatically clean history, press Choose what to clear every time you close the browser, toggle on Browsing history, Download History, and other categories.

Bonus: Best History Eraser for Mac

According to our research, most people use multiple web browsers on their laptops or computers. It is not convenient to delete the surfing history for each Mac browser. From this point, we recommend Apeaksoft Mac Cleaner. It scans all history for every browser on your device and cleans them with a single click.

Step 1. Launch the best history cleaner for Mac after you install it on your Mac machine. Choose the ToolKit option in the home interface, and pick Privacy. Click the Scan button to begin looking for browser data on your device. When it is done, click the View button to move on.

Step 2. Select one browser, and choose the unwanted history categories, like Search History, Visit History, and more. Finally, click on the Clean button at the bottom right corner. Then delete history for another browser. You can also clear caches on your Mac.

Related Articles