How to Delete Internet Browser History

Clearing Internet Explorer history. First, follow this pathway: Tools > Internet Options > General > Browsing history. Click the "Delete" button and a pop-up window will appear with a bunch of options asking what you want to delete. You might want to uncheck the "Passwords" box unless you are 100 percent sure you know all of your passwords or have them written down somewhere. It's the curse of the autofill. Another option is to check the box at the top which preserves some information for sites which you visit often. Now press the "Delete" button in this window. If you go back to "General Settings" and look in the "Browsing history" area, you will see a "Settings" button. Click on that. At the bottom of the resulting pop-up, you have the option to choose the amount of time browsing history is saved (e.g. 2 days, 7 days, etc.).

Clearing Firefox history. First, follow this pathway: PC: Tools > Options > Privacy; Mac: Firefox > Preferences > Privacy. The pop-up window should read, "History Firefox will:" followed by pulldown menu with the following options: remember history, never remember history, use custom settings for history. I would suggest using a custom setting, as it allows you a lot more freedom. It also will bring you to a checkbox based menu where you can choose to have your history deleted after every use or keep it forever, amongst other things. To clear your history, go to: Tools > Clear Recent History. Select the appropriate checkboxes for your usage, and press "clear now." Please take note that this will delete all of your autofill passwords, too, so I hope you have them saved elsewhere.

Clearing Google Chrome history. First, follow this pathway: PC: Tool icon > Options > Under the hood; Mac: Chrome > Clear Browsing Data. The pop-up box will have a list of checkboxes for you to select. Decide what browsing information you would like to clear, check the appropriate box, and push the "Clear Browsing Data" button. Alternately, you can follow this path: History > show full history > edit items. This should open up a new tab with a list of your previously viewed sites. You can select which ones you would like to get rid of by checking the adjacent box, and then pressing the "Remove selected items" button. You could also just press the "Clear all browsing data..." button to get rid of everything.

Clearing Safari history. First, follow this pathway: History > Clear History... A pop-up will ask, "Are you sure you want to clear history?" Press the "Clear" button to finish the job. You should also change some settings in your preferences. Follow this pathway: Safari > Preferences > General > Remove History Items. Here you can choose an amount of time to keep your history around. Next, switch from the "General" preferences tab to the "Autofill" tab. Decide if you want form information for various sites to be filled in automatically or not. All I'm saying is that this could prevent some embarrassment.

Clearing Opera history. First, follow this pathway: PC: Menu > Settings > Delete private data > detailed options; Mac: Tools > Delete private data > Detailed options. The pop-up window will offer you a variety of checkbox options, all of which you should look over before pressing the "Delete" button. Remember that all autofill names and stored passwords will be deleted, so make sure you haven't forgotten them before deletion takes place. Now, follow this pathway: Opera > Preferences > Advanced > History. From here, choose whether or not to allow the browser to "Remember visited addresses for history and autocompletion." Choose "0" from the pulldown menu, uncheck the box underneath it, and press the "Clear" button.

Delete Search History

A handy design feature that browsers have is called AutoComplete or AutoFill. When you type a word, it guesses which word you are typing based upon previous form entries. This can be helpful, but it also runs the risk of telling everyone what you look for late at night or when you're supposed to be working. Thankfully, there is a way to clear that data, and prevent it from coming back.

Clearing AutoComplete Forms

• Mozilla Firefox: Tools > Clear recent history > Everything > Check form and search history > Clear now
• Google Chrome:
  • Mac: Chrome > Clear browsing data > Check "clear saved data"
  • PC: Tool icon > Tools > Clear browsing data
• Safari: Safari > Clear cache
• Internet Explorer: Safety > Delete Browsing History > History > Delete

Preventing AutoComplete Forms

• Mozilla Firefox:
  • Mac: Firefox > Preferences > Privacy > Use custom settings > Uncheck "remember search and form history"
  • PC: Tools > Options > Privacy > Use custom settings > Uncheck "remember search and form history" You could also use Private Browsing under Tools > Start private browsing
• Google Chrome:
  • Mac: Chrome > Preferences > Personal stuff > Autofill preferences
  • PC: Tool icon > Options > Personal stuff > Autofill options
  • You can also use Incognito mode by going to the Tool icon (File on Mac) > New incognito window
• Safari: Safari > Preferences > Autofill > Other forms
  • You can also use Private Browsing by going to Safari > Private browsing
• Internet Explorer: Tools > Internet Options > Content > AutoComplete Settings
  • You can also use InPrivate Browsing by selecting Tools > InPrivate browsing