Clearing Browsing Data on Close

[Elliot Kirk]

Clearing Browsing Data on Close

Instead of manually clearing your browsing data, you can schedule Microsoft Edge to automatically delete it from the browser when you close all windows. This feature allows you to schedule the same data that can be manually cleared.

Here’s how you do it: 

1. Select Settings and more (…) and then Settings
2. Select Privacy and services and then click on “Choose what to clear every time you close the browser”
3. Toggle on or off each data type that you’d like to be cleared when all instances of your profile are closed.

   Privacy and services / Clear browsing data.

The next time you launch your browser, the data you selected will be cleared. This can be verified by returning to the same page inside settings and observing if you have any data remaining for the toggles you have enabled. You may also visit edge://history to verify your history has been cleared.

If your data has not been cleared, please Send Feedback and include a description of what was supposed to be cleared, if you have any extensions installed, and the amount of data (e.g . 96 Browsing history items) that should be cleared.

Some things to consider:

• This setting will only clear data from your local device unless sync is enabled for that data type, to clear your data associated with a Microsoft account please visit the Microsoft Privacy Dashboard,
• This setting is profile specific and will only affect data from the Profile that you enabled the setting in.
• The automatic deletion will only happen once all windows of a specific profile are closed, this includes any PWAs that may be running. Having the app pinned to the taskbar does not affect this.
• If you have toggle on “Cookies and site data” and have enabled the “Continue where you left off” setting inside Settings > On startup, the same tabs will remain open in your next browsing session but you may be signed out of some sites since your cookies were cleared.

[#2]

@Elliot Kirk 

I've configured the group policy settings to clear Browsing Data on Close but it's not granular enough for me. I'd like to be able to clear all Browsing Data except browsing and download history. 

Is it possible to get that change ?

Regards.

Michel

[#3]

@Le_Michel 

My concern wasn't that I couldn't delete browsing data - as you say it can be configured to delete on close-down. I was concerned whether that browsing data was being securely deleted, and if so, to what standard.

[#4]

@Paul_H_UK I think you're asking whether browsing data is obliterated (rendered unrecoverable against forensic tools). As far as I know, the answer is no. Depending on your threat model, use of full disk encryption (e.g. BitLocker) may be useful to you.

Obliterating browsing data is difficult in the modern world of SSDs, where there's no guarantee that overwriting a particular piece of data will actually write in the same location on the underlying storage. Obliteration requires overwriting ALL available storage on the disk (which causes wear issues) and still is not guaranteed to be effective.

[#5]

@Eric_Lawrence 

You are correct re your assumption and when I next replace our office PCs encryption will be my way to go. In the meantime, was hoping that there would be at least some level of secure deletion but it seems that that is not the case.

All our PC's have CCleaner Pro running on them which alleviates the problem somewhat - it just seems odd to me that in this day and age of "privacy" that not even basic secure deletion is available through browsers.

I hadn't thought about the SSD issue as none of our machines use them; I was going to put one in a Dell laptop that needs a new hard drive so that is something to think about.

[#6]

@Paul_H_UK 

@Elliot Kirk 

I understand your concern but my own concern is to create a policy setting to delete browsing data on exit while preserving browsing history.
The goal is to remove potentially malicious files at browser exit.

[#7]

@Elliot Kirk  The feature is really great. My suggestion is a button to select all items should be added. In case someone wants to clear all the available items on exit this will make it much easier. 

[#8]

@Elliot Kirk 

Opera on Android (sorry to mention it hear) has two ways of closing, 

1. Simply close (X in the right top corner),

which is not the same as

2. File > Exit with an optional pop-up, offering to close all tabs and clearing browsing data and history, both matters being optional as well.

This way users have maximum flexibility on what(not) to keep.

Maybe something to consider?

[#9]

@Eric_Lawrence I think we're all agreed that having a way to delete browsing data is required, as always the devil is in the detail. Back in July I requested the ability to completely obliterate the cruft from a tab when its closed, not EVERY tab. These days even the most basic web pages are polluted with Google / doubleclick tracking data. I work hard to keep Larry & Sergei off my machine.

I visited one page the other day - just a couple of nice images of birds and some text. I F12'ed , and nearly coughed my coffee over the keyboard -  nearly a Megabyte of html, javascript, and the obligatory GDPR notice, If I deny all targeted marketing, obviously it drops a cookie to say I don't want targeted marketing (still useful information). For each of the ad beacons.

On Firefox, I have the EFF's Privacy Badger, it works pretty well. Maybe we could have that in Edge?

Best to stop the pollution at source, rather than try to clear it up afterwards.

[#10]

Ah cool - I see the EFF have a version of Privacy Badger for edge now. 

https://microsoftedge.microsoft.com/addons/detail/mkejgcgkdlddbggjhhflekkondicpnop

and the panopticlick research project looks interesting.

https://panopticlick.eff.org/about

I'll definitely be visiting that site more often.

[#11]

In Internet Explorer, there is feature which you could set time like clear all data after 20 days. I believe this functionality would be interesting and also add the following options:

1) Delete files related to website if the website hasn't been visited in … days
2) Delete all data for website which you have been visited in … days ago
3) Delete data for all websites every … day/month

[#12]

@LegacyOfherot  Thanks for the reply. Well, it was just an idea only and one might consider it.

Personally, what I like this method because it is simple, i.e.  just File>Exit.

That's it. No special settings, no extra clicks, no nothing. I can't think of a more user-friendly way.

I am sure there are many more good ways to take care of browser data, many of them may have been suggested in this thread. The only reason for suggesting this option is because of its simplicity.

Anyway, thanks again.

[#13]

This feature works well on desktop edge, but it doesn't work on mobile edge at all.

[#14]

Yes, be careful about clearing Password option. It will remove all your stored passwords from the Microsoft Wallet. Make sure to export them out first. I thought this option would only clear out the passwords in cache.