When we surf the Internet they inevitably leave traces, both on the websites that are opened and on your computer. In fact, it is sufficient to check the browser history to see all the Internet addresses opened and visited in the last few months.
However, there is not only the history: browsers also store temporary files, general information on the browsing session, the data entered in the search fields, credit card numbers, access credentials and above all cookies, small text files released by some sites to store visits and private information, such as login data and passwords to sites that require authenticated access.
In this guide we will show you how to delete the traces of navigation by emptying the history and deleting all the traces left in the used web browser.
We will show you both the methods integrated in the main browsers and a free program capable of automatically cleaning the tracks on all types of browsers installed on your computer.
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Below we have collected the simplest procedure (within everyone's reach) to immediately delete the traces of navigation on all the main browsers used on PCs with Windows and Macs.
At the end we will also find a chapter with the best program that we can use to immediately clean all traces without manually proceeding on all browsers.
Article Index
- Google Chrome
- Microsoft Edge
- Mozilla Firefox
- Apple Safari
- Programs and apps to clear navigation tracks
Google Chrome
On the most used browser it is possible to delete the navigation tracks by pressing on the keyboard CTRL + H, then click on the item Delete navigation data on the left.In the new window that we will see we click on the Advanced tab, set as All time interval and apply the check mark on all available items: Browsing history, Download history, Cookies and other site data, Images and cached files, Passwords and other access data, Automatic form filling data, Content settings, Hosted app data and Multimedia licenses.
To start erasing the data, click on Clear data at the bottom.
To prevent the data from being deleted also on your synchronized Google account, click on the Exit item at the bottom, present in the small text at the bottom of the window, then proceed as described a little while ago.
To completely delete the associated Google profile, click on the profile icon at the top right, select Manage users, click on the three dots at the top right on the name of the profile to be deleted and click on Remove this person .
If we use Google Chrome for Android and iOS, we can delete the data saved by the sites by selecting the main menu of the app, tapping on the History item and finally selecting the Clear browsing data item.
A menu similar to that seen on the PC browser will open, where you can select the period and the various data to be deleted.
Microsoft Edge
Edge is a widely used browser, being integrated in Windows 10 and always showing itself very fast with any type of web page.To delete all the navigation tracks, press the CTRL + H keys on the keyboard and, in the sidebar that will appear, click on the top on Clear history .
From the new bar that will open select the items: Browsing history, Cookies and website data saved, Cached data and files, Tabs set aside or recently closed, Download history, Automatic data compilation, Password, Multimedia content licenses and website permissions.
To clear all stored data, click on the Clear button.
If we want the browser to perform this cleaning every time it is closed, just activate the Delete always after closing the browser ; if instead we want to know the data synchronized with the Microsoft account, we click on the item Manage everything Microsoft Edge knows about me in the cloud .
Even in the case of Edge it is possible to delete the data saved from sites from mobile, by downloading the browser app for Android and iOS, selecting the menu at the bottom right with the three dots and going to the Settings menu -> Privacy -> Clear data navigation .
The menu that will open is very similar to that seen on Chrome, with the Basic and Advanced screens plus the various items to choose the elements to be deleted and the period to be covered.
Mozilla Firefox
On the free and open source Firefox browser it is possible to delete the traces of navigation using a procedure similar to that seen for Chrome.We open the browser, click on the Settings menu at the top, go to the Library menu -> History -> Clear recent history.
We select All as the time interval, apply the check mark to the items Browsing and download history, Cookies, Accesses made, Cache, Forms and searches, Website preferences and Offline data of the websites, then click the Cancel button now to remove all traces.
If we use Firefox for Android and iOS, deleting the data of the sites is very simple: we open the menu at the top right, select History and finally we open the Delete history item, so we can choose the elements to be deleted.
Apple Safari
If we use a Mac or a MacBook we will use most of the times the Safari browser, included in the operating system.To clear the traces of navigation on this browser, open it by clicking on its icon in the Dock bar, click on the top of the History bar and then on Clear history .
We select the appropriate time period (to do complete cleaning we select All history ), then click on the button Clear history .
This command will clear the history but also all other data associated with the websites, simply and quickly.
If, on the other hand, we use an iPhone or iPad, we can delete the saved data of the sites by opening the Settings > Safari app and tapping Clear websites and history data ; the system will let you choose the period to be deleted.
Programs and apps to clear navigation tracks
To erase all traces of browsers in one go, regardless of the number of browsers installed on our computer, we can use the free CCleaner program.
We download this program on our PC, start it and, in the Cleaning menu, select the Applications tab and make sure that all items related to Web browsers are selected (data, cache, history etc.).
Once all the browsers have been selected, click on Analyze and then on Start cleaning, so as to delete all the web browsing traces of the browsers installed on our system in one fell swoop.
The main advantage of using these tools is the ability to delete traces even from less popular browsers that we may not even remember having or installed in the past.
This program, in addition to the traces of navigation, also allows you to clean the Windows cache and recover space by eliminating unnecessary files, duplicates and traces of old uninstalled programs, so as to clean the system safely and effectively.
If we are interested in using the same app on Android, we can download it from here -> CCleaner - Android Cleaning.
In another article the complete guide to clear the history on Android
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