Deleting Browser History & Cookies Is A Great Idea. Here’s Why
Do you use your browser regularly for accessing different things on the Internet? You might be using the browser for scrolling through your Facebook feed, online purchases, or online banking. The browser you are using will hold onto the data, and it might cause problems later on.
It is always recommended to clear out the browser history, cache, and cookies regularly. By clearing these, you are enhancing the privacy of your browser. Before explaining why it is a great idea to delete browser history and cookies, here’s how to delete them.
Clearing browser history and cookies on popular web browsers
- Google Chrome
Open Chrome and click the three dots found in the top right corner. The three dots indicate the settings menu. Click More Tools > select Clear Browsing Data. Once you click this, a dialog box will open to delete your download history and browsing history, cached titles and images, cookies, saved passwords, etc. You need to choose the time frame and click Clear Data. Then, close the browser and reopen it.
- Microsoft Edge
Open Microsoft Edge and click on the three dots to choose Settings. When the hamburger menu opens, choose Privacy, search, and services. Select Choose What to Clear under the Clear Browsing Data option. Choose the appropriate time frame and select Clear Now. Quit the browser and relaunch it.
- Firefox
Launch Firefox and click the menu bar in the upper right-hand corner. Select the Privacy and Security option and scroll down to the History option. Select the Clear History option and choose the time frame. Also, select the items you wish to clear and click OK. Exit the browser and relaunch it.
- Safari
If you wonder how to clear search history on Safari and cookies, you need to launch Safari and choose Preferences from the dropdown menu. You need to click on Privacy > click on Manage Website Data > select Remove all.
Why delete web browsing history and cookies?
Now that you know how to remove cookies and browser history from your web browser, turn your attention to why deleting them is critical. While such information might save you from having to provide your login credentials every time you visit your favorite eCommerce website, there’s always the risk of such sensitive information falling into the wrong hands. Continue reading to understand the importance of deleting browser history and cookies.
- You want to prevent websites from tracking you
You like to browse the Internet but do you want all those visited websites to track your activity? Nobody wants third parties to follow them around across the Internet and see all the websites they are visiting or all the activities they are engaging in.
You can make it challenging for websites to track your activities or recognize your identity by deleting the browser history and cookies.
- You have logged into your accounts on a public Wi-Fi or computer
There might come a time when you need to browse the Internet or log into your accounts from a public computer. Or, you might be using a public Wi-Fi network to log into your email or other accounts. When you do this, the last thing you would want is the browser to remember your login credentials and keep a copy of the sites you have visited. It would be best to remain anonymous by deleting the history and cookies. You need to safeguard your crucial information.
- When trying to browse a website, you have encountered bugs
When files are stored in a cache, they represent a snapshot of the websites or web pages you’ve visited. These files can prove problematic if the website owners introduce any update or new feature that impacts the way the website functions.
You may face buggy behavior when you try to visit the website the next time. Therefore, it is best to clear the cache, cookies, and browser history so that you are accessing the updated version every time you visit the website.
- Your web browser has become sluggish
Browsers typically save cookies as files to your device’s hard drive. They are quite small in size, but they can accumulate a lot of files with time. If there’s a large volume of these files stored on your computer, your browser might use a lot of computing power to load the saved web pages. Therefore, your browser sessions will become sluggish. It is good to frequently delete the browser history and cookies to speed up your browsing experience. Also, removing these files means clearing space on your hard drive.
- The login credentials have been changed
There might come times when you choose to change your password. It might be a problem if you don’t clear the browser history and cookies. Failing to do so will prevent the website from authenticating you for their service. You can delete the cookies and cache to sign in with your updated credentials.
So, this is why you must regularly delete browser history and cookies. Don’t
