Clearing your browser history is a good way to maintain personal security and privacy on your devices -- especially if you haven't been using incognito mode for your more risqué browsing. Clearing your history won't completely protect you against prying eyes -- try a VPN for that -- but if you've got something to hide (and who doesn't?) then this is a great first step.
Whatever browser you've been using for whatever, here's how to clear your browser history in just a few steps.
How to clear your browser history in Chrome
Google's Chrome is by far the most popular web browser, so if you're hear to learn how to clear your browser history, this is probably the steps you'll follow. For other browser options, keep scrolling down.
Step 1: Open the Chrome browser and select the three-dot menu in the top-right, then select Settings at the bottom of the drop-down menu.
Step 2: Select Privacy and Security from the left-hand menu.
Step 3: Select Delete browsing history.
Step 4: In the Delete browsing history window that appears, you'll have a bunch of options you can select from to customize how much of what you delete. To delete your browsing history, make sure that box it ticked, but also consider if you want to delete Cookies and other data as well as Caching images and files. You can also use the Time range drop down to customize whether you just erase the last hour of browsing history, or anything up to your entire history.
For additional options, select the Advanced menu, and you can be more specific about what it deletes, including autofill form data, and file download history.
When you've selected everything you want to delete and how much of your history to remove, select the Delete data button.
How to delete browsing history in Firefox
Step 1: Open Firefox and select the three-line "Hamburger" menu icon in the top-right, followed by Settings.
Step 2: Select the Privacy and Security tab on the left-hand menu.
Step 3: Scroll down to "Cookies and Site Data," and select the Clear data button.
Step 4: Make sure that the "History" box is ticked. Then use the drop-down menu to select how long you want the history to clear for. Just an hour, a few days, or its entirety -- it's up to you.
Choose if you want to also clear Cookies and site data, Temporary cache files, and/or Site settings. Tick the respective boxes.
When you're ready, select the Clear button to clear your history.
How to clear your browser history in Edge
Step 1: Open an Edge browser window and select the three-dot menu icon in the top-right. Then select Settings from the drop-down menu.
Step 2: Select Privacy, search, and services from the left-hand menu.
Step 3: Scroll down to find "Delete browsing data," and select Choose what to clear.
Step 4: Make sure Browsing history is ticked and tick any other boxes of other content you want to delete: Download history, cookies and other site data, etc.
Use the drop-down menu to choose the time range of the history you want to delete.
When ready, select Clear now to clear your browser history in Edge.
