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Hiding Your Tracks

Home Hiding Your Tracks

Hiding Your Tracks

In today’s digital world, every click, search, and visit to a website can leave behind a trail. For many, this is harmless. But for those navigating unsafe or controlling relationships, these digital footprints can pose serious risks. This page is designed to help you understand how web browsers work, what your browsing history reveals, and how you can take steps to protect your privacy—especially when safety is a concern. Whether you’re planning your next move or simply trying to stay under the radar, knowing how to manage your online activity is a powerful tool.

What Is a Web Browser?

A web browser is basically a digital portal through which a user accesses the internet. Whenever you use a program where you need to enter in a web address to access a website (like www.google.com), you’re using a web browser. There’s a surprisingly high number of different web browsers out in the wild, but some of the most popular include Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Safari.

The Potential Benefits and Risks of Deleting Your Web Browser History

Deleting your browser history can be helpful if you find yourself in one of the following situations:

  • You suspect your partner is tracking your online activity, perhaps because they somehow know specific details you never told them yourself or they somehow knew you’d be at an event you signed up for online
  • You’re planning to leave your abusive partner and you’re using the internet to coordinate your escape plan (looking up information, communicating with friends/family, purchasing supplies, making hotel reservations, etc.)
  • You’ve escaped an abusive situation but you’re worried your abuser has installed something on your phone or laptop which allows them to monitor your activity remotely

It’s important to note that deleting your web browser history also carries with it certain risks. If you weren’t deleting your browser history before, your abuser might become suspicious if they notice your browsing history is suddenly empty. An alternative option might be to start using ‘Incognito Mode’ where you can stop your web browser from tracking the sites you visit without having to delete your history (we cover how to enable Incognito Mode in our general tech safety tips blog post).

Clearing Your History in Specific Browsers

Google chrome

  1. Open the Chrome Browser
  2. Click the Menu icon located near the top-right side of the browser window
  3. Move your mouse over More tools and select Clear browsing data
  4. Select how far back in your history you want to delete. You can choose from the past hour, the past day, the past week, the last four weeks, and the beginning of time
  5. Select the types of history you would like to delete by checking or unchecking boxes on this list
  6. Click the Clear browsing data button to delete the selected history for the chosen period.

Google chrome on android phone or tablet

  1. Open the Google Chrome browser on your Android phone or tablet.
  2. Tap the More menu icon in the top-right corner of the screen next to the address bar.
  3. In the drop-down menu, tap History.
  4. Tap Clear browsing data… at the bottom of the screen.
  5. Select the appropriate boxes.
  6. Tap the Clear browsing data button.

Google Chrome on iPhone or iPad

  1. Open the Google Chrome browser on your iPhone or iPad.
  2. Tap the More menu icon in the top-right corner of the screen next to the address bar.
  3. In the drop-down menu, tap History.
  4. Tap Clear browsing data… at the bottom of the screen.
  5. Select the appropriate boxes.
  6. Tap the Clear browsing data button.

Mozilla Firefox

  1. Open the Firefox browser
  2. Click Menu in the top right-hand corner of the screen
  3. Click the History button
  4. Click the Clear Recent History option
  5. Select an option for Time Range to clear
  6. Click the arrow for Details and select the options to have cleared
  7. Click the Clear Now button

Safari

  1. Open the Show All History view.
  2. To delete individual history items, right-click them and select Delete, or press Delete to clear selected history items.
  3. To clear everything, click Clear History.
  4. Use the drop-down menu to choose how far back to delete your history.
  5. Click Clear History

Safari on iPhone or iPad

  1. Open the Safari browser on your mobile device.
  2. Scroll up until you see the address bar at the top of the screen and a toolbar on the bottom.
  3. On the toolbar at the bottom, tap the fourth icon from the left that looks like a book.
  4. Tap the History icon, which looks like a clock.
  5. Tap Clear in the lower-right corner of the screen.

Microsoft Edge

  1. Open the Microsoft Edge browser.
  2. Click the Settings and more icon in the upper-right corner of the browser window.
  3. In the drop-down menu, near the bottom, select Settings.
  4. Under the Settings section on the left, click Privacy, Search, and Services.
  5. Near the top of the Privacy, search, and services window, under the Clear browsing data section, click the Choose what to clear button.
  6. In the prompt that appears, make sure the box next to Browser history is checked, then click the Clear now button.

Microsoft Internet Explorer 7

  1. Open the Microsoft Internet Explorer browser
  2. Click Tools in the upper right-hand corner
  3. Select Internet Options from the dropdown menu
  4. On the General tab, in the Browsing history section, click the Delete button.
  5. Check the boxes of the data you would like to clear.
  6. Click Delete.