To delete all past web activity, you can delete Chrome browsing history in Windows en mass. Here are the steps you should follow.
Like any other web browser, Google Chrome browser logs every website you visit and stores it on the history page. This history page is very useful as it allows you to see and access your past web activity and even automatically fill the omnibar while typing the website URL.
Along with the upsides, there are also a few downsides to having an active log of your web activity. The prime being the ability for others, like Google and installed extensions, be able to create a behavior chart based on your browsing activities. On the other hand, the browsing history is so easily accessible that anyone with access to your browser can see all your past browsing activity without any difficulty whatsoever. Not to mention, depending on the browsing history size, under certain circumstances, it can slow down Chrome significantly. This is especially true in terms of application launch time, website loading time, and general navigation.
Fortunately, the Google Chrome browser in Windows gives you the option to clear the browsing history. All you have to do is select the timeframe and click the “Clear” button. I always delete Chrome browsing history from time to time.
In this quick guide, let me take you through the procedure of deleting Chrome browsing history in Windows.
Note: The steps shown below will work in Windows 7 and 8 too.
Steps to Delete Chrome Browsing History in Windows
To clear Chrome browsing history in Windows, follow the steps shown below.
- Open the Chrome in Windows.
- Type “chrome://settings” in the URL bar and press Enter.
- Select “Privacy and Security”.
- Click on “Clear browsing data” option.
- Select “All time” in Time Range.
- Select “Browsing history” checkbox.
- Uncheck other checkboxes.
- Click on the “Clear data” button.
- Close the Chrome browser.
Detailed Steps:
1. First, open the Google Chrome browser. You can either search for it in the Start menu or double-click on the desktop shortcut.
2. In the browser, click on the “three vertical dots” icon to the top-right corner of the window. This is called as the menu icon.
3. Click on the “Settings” option from the menu list.
4. In the Settings page, click on the “Privacy & Secuirty” option on the sidebar.
5. To delete Chrome browsing history, click on the “Clear browsing data” option.
6. Now, select the “All time” option from the Time Range drop-down menu. Choosing this option will clear all the data. Alternatively, you can select any time range you want from the dropdown menu.
7. Select the “Browsing history” checkbox. Since we only want to clear the browsing history, uncheck all the other checkboxes.
8. Click on the “Clear data” button.
As soon as you click the button, Chrome will delete the full browsing hisotry provided that you selected “All time” as the Time Range. You can verify that by going to the History page. To open the history page, type “chrome://history” in the URL bar and press Enter. You should see a blank page.
One think to keep mind is that you are only clearing the browsing history of this specific browser. If you are logged into Chrome on some other machine, that browsing history will not be cleared.
That is all. I hope that helps. If you are stuck or need some help, comment below and I will try to help as much as possible.
