This tutorial shows you how to clear browsing history on exit in Chrome and Edge browsers.
Chrome and Edge browsers automatically save your browsing history so that you can revisit your favorite website without typing the full URL in the address bar. While useful, it can be a privacy issue under certain circumstances. For example, if you are sharing your browser with others or using a public computer, you might not want others to see your online activities such as the websites you visit. In such cases, you can configure Chrome and Edge browsers to automatically clear the browsing history on exit. i.e., as soon as you close the browser window.
In this quick and easy tutorial let me show you where to find and configure the option to clear browsing data on exit in Chrome and Edge browsers.
Clear browsing history on exit in Chrome
To automatically clear browsing history on exit in Chrome, you have to create and modify a couple of registry keys. You cannot do it with built-in Chrome options. It’s pretty easy to do. Here’s how.
Step 1: Press Win + R, type regedit, and press Ok to open the Registry Editor.
Step 2: Go to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies folder in the registry.
Step 3: Right-click on the Policies folder and select New > Key.
Step 4: Use Google as the folder name.
Step 5: Right-click on the Google folder and choose New > Key.
Step 6: Set the folder name as Chrome.
Step 7: Again, right-click on the Chrome folder and choose New > Key.
Step 8: Set ClearBrowsingDataOnExitList as the folder name.
Step 9: Right-click on the ClearBrowsingDataOnExitList folder and select New > String Value.
Step 10: Give the string value 1 as its name.
Step 11: Double-click on the newly created string value and set its value data to browsing_history and click Ok.
Step 12: (Optional) You can also clear the download history and cookies by creating and setting the below string values.
| String Value | Value Data |
|---|---|
| 2 | download_history |
| 3 | cookies_and_other_site_data |
Step 13: Close the Registry window.
Step 14: Restart your computer.
That’s it. From now on, Chrome will automatically delete your browsing history on closing the browser window. With the registry changes you just made, Chrome will show “Managed by your organization” in the menu. Don’t worry about it.
To stop Chrome from deleting your history automatically, delete the browsing_history value under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome\ClearBrowsingDataOnExitList in the Registry Editor.
I hope this simple and easy tutorial helped you.
If you are stuck or need help, send an email, and I will try to help as much as possible.
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