How to Cover Your Tracks Online
Avoid Leaving Tracks Online
Even if you don’t use private browsing mode, you can still protect yourself by clearing your browsing history. Depending on which browser you use, the procedure to cover your tracks online may differ.
If you use Firefox
- Click the “Open Application Menu” button.
- Click “History”.
- Option 1: Select “Clear Recent History”. You can then select the time range to be deleted: the last hour, the last two hours or today. Or you can choose to delete everything. But remember that selecting “Everything” will also delete the record of websites that other people have visited. This risks creating a blank history. Confirm your choice by clicking “OK”.
- Option 2: Click “Manage History”. A window opens showing all the sites visited. Right-click on the sites you want to delete and click “Forget About This Site”.
If you use Internet Explorer
- Click the “Tools” button (cog wheel icon, top right corner). A column appears.
- Click “Safety” and select “Delete browsing history”.
- A window opens. Some boxes are ticked by default. Untick them. Leave ticks in the following boxes: “Temporary Internet files and website files”, “Cookies and website data”, “History”, “Download History”, “Form data”. Confirm by clicking “Delete”. But remember that you will also delete the record of websites that other people have visited. This risks creating a blank history.
If you use Google Chrome
- Click “Customize and control Google Chrome” (three horizontal bars, top right corner).
- Click “History”. A tab opens.
- Click “Clear browsing data”. But remember that you will also delete the record of websites that other people have visited. This risks creating a blank history.
- In the list that appears, select the sites you have visited by clicking in the tick-boxes next to them. Next, click “Remove selected items”.
If you use Safari
- In the Safari app on your Mac, choose “History”, then “Clear History”.
- Click the pop-up menu.
- Choose how far back you want your browsing history cleared. But remember that you will also delete the record of websites that other people have visited. This risks creating a blank history.
