“As you browse the web, various websites install cookie files on your computer that remember certain websites that you’ve visited and some of what you did while there.”īrowsing history. “Many browsers automatically record and store the search terms that you use.”Ĭookie files. There is a lot of local data stored on your computer or device, Santanen said, such as : “ Specific protocols and data structures will vary across devices, but the basics remain fairly similar,” he said. Santanen offered up the example of somebody using a Windows operating system. How can I clear the browser? Is it really that hard? How complex, exactly? Let’s just say that one hypothetical afternoon I was typing, “Why is my boss a moron?” in the search engine on my work computer. “As web browser software becomes more sophisticated over time, the steps required to protect your privacy by attempting to clean up after yourself become increasingly complex,” he added. “You can remove the files that contain your browser’s search history from your computer, but it requires specific knowledge, takes significant effort, and the results obtained will depend on the specific combination of hardware and software you are using,” Santanen said - such as a desktop, a tablet or a phone, as well as your particular operating system and web browser. You will likely need to hire a computer technician instead. If I want to really, truly delete my web browser’s search history from my computer or device, how do I do it? OK, well, fortunately, I don’t think anybody will be that interested in my browsing history. “And the user will never know that these requests have been made or that they have been fulfilled, due to various nondisclosure agreements that are forced upon the search provider by the court systems,” he added. So if somebody had a really good reason to see what you’ve been searching for, “it is available through court orders” to most search engines, Santanen said. “Their business model does not include hoarding, analyzing or selling your search history,” he said. Santanen added that DuckDuckGo is a notable exception. “Other search engines tend to retain similar sets of data for analysis and sale to other organizations.” “ For example, if you are logged into a Google account and perform a web search, Google will retain a list of all searches you have performed,” he said. So just because you’ve made your own browser look above reproach, that doesn’t mean your search queries aren’t still available elsewhere, Santanen said. The problem, though, is that you’ve probably already visited other websites or search engines. On your computer or device, “you can really, truly delete your web browser’s search history files,” said Eric Santanen, an associate professor at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania who studies online privacy. Well, you can delete your browser’s history, but traces of what you were searching for are probably just lurking somewhere else. Well, you can, but there is a good chance that your search history isn’t truly gone for good. (Hopefully - no offense.) All right, now for the fun stuff: Can you ever really, truly delete your browser’s search history for good? If your life has turned really dark, and a police department’s forensic team is searching through your computer or phone, they’ll probably turn something up anyway. Tap “Clear browsing data.”īut still, your browsing history may not be gone for good. If you have an Android, select Settings in your browser, and then choose the Privacy and Security option. If you have an iPhone, go to Settings and then tap the Safari option, followed by “Clear History and Website Data.” But typically, it involves going to your browser’s drop-down menu, choosing the History setting and then clearing the data. If you have a Mac, you’ll want to follow your individual browser’s instructions. On a Windows PC, press Ctrl+Shift+Delete, and then you’ll be given a choice to “Cancel” or “Clear data.” If you want to delete your browser’s history, you would generally do this: First, here’s the easy way to delete your browser’s search history.
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