How to Clear Your Internet Browser History

Please follow the instructions below for deleting your history on different internet browsers.

Google Chrome

1. Click on three parallel lines in the upper right-hand corner of the page (known as the ‘hamburger menu’). From the drop down menu select ‘Settings’.
2. Select ‘History’ from the left-hand side menu.
3. You will see your browser’s history. You can delete your entire history by selecting ‘Clear Browser Data’, or you can clear a specific website by ticking the box beside it on the left-hand side of the screen and then clicking ‘Remove Selected Item’.

Internet Explorer

Follow these steps to delete your entire browsing history:

1. Select ‘Tools’ from the top menu
2. Select ‘Delete Browsing History’
3. Tick ‘History’
4. Select ‘Delete’ button.

Mozilla Firefox

To delete your entire browser history:

1. Select ‘Tools’ from the top menu
2. Click ‘Options’
3. Click ‘Privacy’. You can then select to clear your entire recent history.

To clear a single website from your browser history:

1. Click the three parallel lines in the upper right-hand corner of the page (known as the ‘hamburger menu’)
2. Select ‘Settings’
3. Select ‘Show All History’ (link at the bottom of the list)
4. In the ‘Search History’ field, enter the name of the website you want to delete then press enter. Once you have located the site, right click on it and select ‘Forget About This Site’.
5. Close the window.

Safari (Apple Mac, iPhone, iPad)

Resetting Safari will clear your entire history, empty the cache, remove all cookies and clear all downloads. Be aware that resetting Safari will also clear any saved passwords or usernames.

To reset Safari:

1. Click on the Safari menu in the left-hand corner of the screen.
2. Select ‘Reset Safari’.
3. Click ‘Reset’.

What is Private Browsing and how does it help?

Private browsing is when your browser (e.g. Firefox or Google) does not save any history, cookies or temporary files whilst the session is open.

It is good to use if you want to visit a site in private but don’t have the time, or often forget to delete your history afterwards. It covers your tracks whilst you browse instead of you having to delete everything afterwards.
Please remember, if you want to download any files or create bookmarks, make sure you clear your history as well, as these could be still saved. 

How do I use Private Browsing?

Firefox

1. Before you visit the website, click on Tools in the menu bar.
2. Select ‘Start Private Browsing’ from the list. You can also do this quickly by pressing Ctrl+Shift+P on your keyboard.

To stop Private Browsing, select Tools again and then ‘Stop Private Browsing’ or you can close Firefox. Pressing Ctrl + Shift + P will also stop it.

Google Chrome
In Google chrome private browsing is known as using incognito mode.

1. Click the spanner icon on the browser toolbar.
2. Select ‘New incognito window’ from the list or you can press Ctrl+Shift+N on your keyboard.
3. A new window will open with a ‘secret agent’ icon in the corner. You can continue browsing as normal in this new window.
4. Once you have finished your session, close the window and this will automatically erase any browsing information.<

 

Internet Explorer 8 and 9

1. Click on the ‘gear’ icon on the browser toolbar.
2. Select ‘Safety’ then click on ‘InPrivate Browsing’. You can also do this by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+P on your keyboard.
3. A new window will open with an ‘InPrivate’ indicator. You can continue browsing as normal in this new window.
4. Once you have finished your session, close the window and this will automatically delete any browsing information.

 

Internet Explorer

If you’re still using Internet Explorer 6 or 7, there isn’t a built-in tool for private browsing. However, you can search for a free add-on program which will help you keep your online activity hidden.

 I am not sure which version of Internet Explorer I have, how do I find out?

In the menu bar, select ‘Help’ and then ‘About Internet Explorer’. This should show you what version you have.