Google Chrome collects your browsing history for a variety of reasons, including improving user experience by quickly suggesting a website they want to visit, storing site data like cache and forms so they can be accessed faster, and tracking user behavior in general to improve the product.
However, the same data is also be used to create a persona for targeted advertising. This poses a concern for a number of users. The more data they have, the more accurately they can target you.
That’s why you probably want to regularly or automatically clean your browsing history to limit your privacy exposure. On top of that, this is also a recommended practice for someone who uses a shared computer.
There are a few methods to delete your Chrome history automatically. Some of these methods require a specific extension.
Table of Contents
Auto-delete Chrome history when starting the browser
1. Visit the History & Cache Cleaner extension page, and hit Add to Chrome.
2. Select Add extension.
3. After that, go to the Extension menu and Pin the extension. This will make it easier to access.
4. Click the extension icon and navigate to Settings.
5. Make sure to include History as the data to remove. You may include other data if needed.
6. Then, select which data period to be automatically deleted.
7. Lastly, under Automatic Data Remove, you can select Clear When Chrome Start. This will make sure the Chrome history is cleared every time the browser opens.
Auto-delete Chrome history after a specific time
1. Go to the Auto Clear Browsing Data page and click Add to Chrome to install the extension.
2. Select Add extension.
3. You may Pin the extension so it would be easier to access later.
4. Click the extension icon and Add a new task.
5. Name the new task with a descriptive identifier.
6. Set the time interval of how often this task should be running. If you select 5 minutes, the browser history will be cleared every 5 minutes.
7. Make sure The browser’s history is selected.
8. Tick the box that says Execute when extension is initialized.
9. Click Add.
10. Now, click Apply changes and reload extension. This action would make the task start running.
Try using the Incognito window instead
The Incognito window on Chrome won’t store your browsing history, cookies and site data, and information entered in forms. You may consider browsing on this window mode instead if you don’t want any of your activity stored.
To open the Incognito window, navigate to the three-dot icon on the top right corner and select New Incognito window. Alternatively, press Ctrl + Shift + N.
I have made a tutorial on how to create an Incognito shortcut to your desktop so it can be opened quicker.
Anyway, that’s how you can delete Chrome history automatically. I hope that helps!
