Most web browsers do save your browsing data and they keep this data with them until you manually delete it. This data includes the cookies placed by various websites, cache files, form data, and so on. In most cases, this can be useful as it allows you to check out your history and revisit the sites that you have visited last week. However, if you are sharing your computer (or browser) with others and you don’t want others to find out which sites you have been surfing, you may want to set an action that automatically clears data when you quit your browser. Here’s how you can get your Google Chrome and/or Mozilla Firefox to do that.
Automatically Clear Data in Google Chrome
Unfortunately, Chrome doesn’t have an option to clear all the data when you quit it. It only allows you to clear the cookies when you exit the browser. But there is an extension in the Chrome Web Store that aims to fill this missed functionality. Here’s how you can use it:
1. Launch Google Chrome on your computer.
2. Head over to the Click&Clean extension page in the Chrome Web Store and click on “Add to Chrome.” It should add the extension to your browser.
3. A prompt should appear asking if you really wish to add the extension to your browser. Click on “Add” and wait for it to add the extension to your browser.
4. When the extension is added, click on its icon near the Chrome Menu button. Then, click on the “Options…” button and you will be taken to the configuration panel.
5. Scroll down to the “EXTRA” section and you should see an option that says “Delete private data when Chrome closes.” That is the option that you need to tick-mark to make Chrome clear all the data when you exit it.
You are done.
Your browser has been successfully configured to clear all the website data when you exit it.
Automatically Clear Data in Mozilla Firefox
Unlike Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox comes with the functionality to auto clear data when the browser is exited. Here’s how you can set it up:
1. Launch Mozilla Firefox on your computer.
2. Click on the “Firefox” menu in the top-left corner and select “Preferences….” You will be taken to the preferences panel for your browser.
3. Once in the panel, click on the “Privacy” tab and you will be taken to your privacy settings.
4. In the Privacy panel, under the History heading, there is a drop-down menu with a label that says “Firefox will.” Click on the menu and select “Use custom settings for history.”
5. You can now see some more options that you can configure for your browser. One of these options is “Clear history when Firefox closes.” Tick-mark this option as it allows you to clear the website data when you quit the browser.
6. Firefox allows you to select what data you want to be cleared when you quit the browser. To use that function, click on “Settings…” next to the option discussed in the previous step.
7. In the dialog that appears, checkmark all the data options that you wish to be cleared. When you are done, click on “OK” and it will save the settings for you.
You are done.
Firefox will now clear all the data you selected in the above step when you exit the browser.
Conclusion
If there is a queue behind you waiting for you to leave the computer so they can use it, it is a good idea to set up the above functionality. This way, no one will be able to see what you have been doing with various websites on your computer.
