Who doesn’t like knowing that their favorite sites are just a few clicks away? Or that they can quickly access a site they closed accidentally, and everything gets back to normal as nothing happened? Web browsers make all these things possible by keeping track of your online activity. This way, you can save your usernames and passwords and never have to reenter them every time you log in.
What to Clear From Your Mozilla Firefox History
Before you learn how to clear your history, you should first understand what information your browser stores and why. Doing so will help you discern files you should do away with from the ones you should keep.
- Browser History
Have you ever wondered how computers can suggest URLs even before you finish typing them? It’s because your laptop saved your browser history. Your browser history refers to the list of pages and sites you’ve visited before. Most people keep their browser history so that they can quickly retrieve pages they’d like to revisit.
- Cookies
Cookies are little data chunks that help websites recognize who you are by storing data on your system. An excellent example of cookies at work is when doing online shopping. When you log out of Amazon with items still in your online shopping cart, you’ll find them waiting for you when you get back to the site. Or, if you had previously searched for restaurants alongside California Beach, your next search will automatically focus on California activities.
- Download History
Did you know that browsers also save your download history? It’s vital to note that download history doesn’t refer to the downloaded files. It refers to the references that you can use to trace a file you had previously downloaded.
- Cache
Cache refers to a small amount of storage and is used to temporarily hold data that your browser is likely to use again. “Cached” data can range anywhere from a few kilobytes to large megabytes. It’s crucial to delete them since they are essentially junk files.
How to Clear Your History on Mozilla Firefox
We are going to delve into two ways you can clear your history: manually and automatically. Although the procedure won’t compromise your privacy, the downside to this is that all your passwords will be deleted.
- The Manual Method
You can use this method on both Mac and PC devices. Begin by opening Firefox and clicking on the Library icon on the upper right-hand-side corner of the screen. This icon shows a group of books stacked alongside each other, with one appearing to fall over. Click on History when the drop-down menu appears, followed by Clear Recent History. A pop-up window will appear. Click on Time range to clear and select Everything on the drop-down menu that follows. This command will remove all your browser history since the last time you cleaned it.
After this, check the boxes you would like to clear (Browsing & Download History, Active Logins, Form & Search History, Cookies, and Cache.) Click on the blue Clear Now button, and you’re good to go!
- The Automatic Method
As you did before, open Firefox on your device. Click on the Menu icon on the upper right-hand-side corner of your screen. It’s indicated by three horizontal lines stacked on each other. Click on Options and then Privacy & Security on the left side of the window. Scroll down to find the History section, click on the drop-down menu next to Firefox will. Select the Use custom settings for history option, and check the box you see next to Clear history when Firefox closes. While here, you can also uncheck the boxes next to Remember browsing and download history. Once you’re done, restart Firefox. Your history will now automatically disappear whenever you close Firefox.
Conclusion
Convenience and privacy are the ultimate goals with a personal computer. However, these two items go straight out of the window if you have to share your PC or a laptop with a sibling, colleague, or you’re at a cyber café. You’ll need to clear your browser history and cookies regularly. By deleting your history every time you log out, you’ll save your private information from any unwanted attention. You should also enable JavaScript to make the most out of your browsing experience. Once you adopt this habit, you can rest easy and enjoy your surfing sessions!