Manage and delete browsing data on Microsoft Edge

This guide is only for users running Microsoft Edge browser on Windows operating system.

Microsoft's Edge browser for Windows stores a significant amount of data on the device's hard drive, from the records of previously visited web pages, to frequently used passwords. to access email, banking websites, etc. This information, often stored locally by most browsers, Edge also maintains other sections dedicated to browsing sessions and user preferences such as a list of websites that allow pop-up windows and Digital Rights Management (DRM) data to access certain types of online content on the Web. Some browsing components are even sent to Microsoft servers and stored in the cloud, via the browser just like Cortana.

Although each of these components offers its own convenience and enhanced browsing experience, they are also quite sensitive when it comes to privacy and security - especially if you use the Edge browser. Other computer.

Note this, Microsoft provides the ability to manage and delete this data, individually or all at once, if you want. Before modifying or deleting anything, first, you need to be familiar with each specific component.

This tutorial details the browsing history, cache, cookies and other categories of information that your Edge browser stores on your hard drive as well as how to manipulate and delete it if you need it.

First, open Edge browser. Next, click the More actions menu - indicated by three horizontal dots in the upper right corner of the browser window. When the drop-down menu appears, select the Settings option.

Edge's Settings interface will now be displayed, covering your browser window. Click the Choose what to clear button, located in the Clear browsing data section .

Edge's Clear browsing data window will now be displayed. To specify a specific data component to be deleted, place a checkmark next to its name by clicking the associated check box and vice versa, uncheck it if you do not want to delete it.

Before choosing to delete the data, you should review the details of each data. They are as follows:

1. Browsing history : Each time you visit a Web site, Edge stores its name and URL on the hard drive. This does not happen while Private Browsing mode is active.
2. Cookies and saved website data : Cookies are small text files that can contain login details, user-specific options and other information that the website uses to customize Your personal browsing experience in the next visit. In addition to cookies, this category also includes other web storage components such as HTML5 application cache and locally stored databases.
3. Cached data and files : Each site you visit includes multiple files and source code, all accessed from the server as part of the download process. You may find that this process is sometimes faster in the second or third visit to a page, an improvement can be made by the browser cache including other files and data. Previously stored on the hard drive.
4. Download history : In addition to maintaining a local record of the websites you have visited, Edge also stores information about each file downloaded through the browser. This includes the file name as well as the URL of the download source.
5. Form data : Whether it is online shopping, registering new services, filling out surveys or one of other browser-based activities, one thing is for sure, we have the tendency to enter the same information, such as home address, etc. To reduce the number of times you have to enter this same information, Edge saves this data locally and makes it available whenever that information mentioned by a Web form.
6. Passwords : It seems that everything on the Web today requires a username and password. To remember all login information is not easy and importing them often makes users tired. Similar to the form data component, Edge also provides the ability to save and then prepare the user 's most commonly used usernames and passwords.

To see the rest of the browsing data elements that Edge stores on your hard drive, click the Show more link.

In addition to the browsing components described above, Edge stores the following advanced information (they can also be deleted through this interface):

1. Media licenses : Many websites that stream audio and video content incorporate methods to prevent access to or copy of content without their consent, including the use of Use DRM license (Digital Rights Management). DRM-based sites may choose to store media licenses, unique identifiers and other data on the local hard drive, allowing those sites to know that you have the right to view or download the said content. in future visits.
2. Pop-up exceptions : With Edge you can create a list of sites that are allowed to open pop-ups. Because pop-up blockers are built into Edge, web pages that are not on this list will not be able to open pop-ups.
3. Location permissions : A website may try to gather information about your location, usually by IP address, for a number of reasons that are often related to customizing your personal experience. Depending on your installation, Edge will ask if you want to allow a particular site to perform this behavior. A record of all websites that are authorized to know the user's location will be saved on the hard drive.
4. Full screen permissions : Similar to location permissions, Edge also stores a list of all the websites you have granted automatically open in full screen mode.
5. Compatibility permissions : Although Edge is the default and prominent browser option in Windows 10, Internet Explorer is still installed. For compatibility purposes, you are given the option to allow websites to automatically open in IE instead of Edge. The list of those sites, stored on the device's hard drive, constitutes this browsing component.

When you are satisfied with your choices, click the Clear button to delete browsing data from the device.

1. View and delete browsing history in Microsoft Edge browser

Privacy and services

As mentioned earlier, Edge provides the ability to store common username / password combinations on the hard drive so that users do not have to enter them every time they visit certain websites. The article showed you how to delete all saved passwords, but the browser also lets you view, edit and delete them individually.

To access the Manage passwords interface of Edge, first click the More actions menu - indicated by three horizontal dots in the upper right corner of the browser window. When the menu appears, select the Settings option.

Edge's settings will now be displayed, covering your main browser window. Scroll to the bottom and click the View advanced settings button. Next, scroll down again until you find the Privacy and services section .

You will see the Offer to save passwords option enabled by default. You can turn off this feature at any time by clicking on the accompanying button. To access saved usernames and passwords, click the Manage my saved passwords link .

Password saved

Edge's Manage Passwords interface will be displayed. For each item stored on the hard drive, the website URL and username will be added to the list.

To delete a set of individual logins, simply click ' X ' found on the right in the corresponding row. To modify the username and / or password associated with an entry, click its name once to open the edit dialog.

Cookies

Above, we discussed how to delete all saved cookies at once. Edge also allows you to specify which cookies, if any, are accepted by your device. To change this setting, first go back to the Privacy and services section of the Settings interface in Edge. The bottom of this section is an option named Cookies , accompanied by a drop-down menu containing the following options:

1. Don't block cookies : Default setting, this will instruct Edge to save all cookies sent from the website to the hard drive.
2. Block all cookies : When enabled, no cookies will be stored in the browsing session.
3. Block only third party cookies ( Block third-party cookies only): Third-party cookies are cookies that are associated with domains other than the domain you are currently accessing. These types of cookies may originate from embedded ads, social network sharing buttons or other sources found on the current page. When this setting is enabled, the browser only allows to store cookies from the active domain.

Saved form entry

As we mentioned earlier in this tutorial, Edge can save the information entered into web forms such as addresses and credit card numbers to help you save some typing in browsing sessions. Future. Although this function is enabled by default, you turn off this feature if you do not want data stored on the hard drive.

To do so, go back to the Privacy and services section found in Edge's Settings interface.

You will see that the Save form entries option is enabled by default. You can turn off this feature at any time by clicking on the accompanying button.

Communication license is protected

As mentioned earlier in this tutorial, websites that stream audio and video content sometimes store media licenses and other Digital Rights Management data on the hard drive, to prevent access. Unauthorized and ensure the content you see or hear is actually accessible.

To prevent websites from saving these licenses and related DRM data on the hard drive, first go back to the Privacy and services section of the Settings window. Once you've found this section, scroll down to the end.

You should now see an option called Let sites save protected media licenses on my device . To turn off this feature, just click the accompanying button.

Cortana: Delete browsing data in the cloud

This section only applies to devices that Cortana has enabled.

Cortana, Windows 10's integrated virtual assistant, can be used with a number of applications including the Edge browser.

While using Cortana with Edge, some of the browsing data referenced in this tutorial is sent to Microsoft servers and stored in the cloud for future use. Windows 10 provides the ability to delete this data, as well as the Cortana pane that supports you in the Edge browser.

To delete this data, first navigate to Bing.com in the browser. Next, click the Settings button, located in the left menu of the Web page. The Settings section of Bing will now be displayed. Select Personalization link, found in the title of the page.

With the Personalization settings displayed, scroll down until you find the section that is located in the Other Cortana Data and Personalized Speech, Inking, and Typing section of this section.

You will now be prompted to confirm the decision to delete this data from Microsoft's server. To perform this action, click the Clear button. To cancel, select the Don't clear button.

To prevent Cortana from supporting the Edge browser and thus prevent it from sending any browsing data to the cloud, first go back to the Privacy and services section of Settings in Edge. In this section, there is an option with Have Cortana assist me content in Microsoft Edge . To turn off this function, click the accompanying button until it displays from Off .

Predictive service

Cortana is not the only feature that stores some browsing data on Microsoft servers. Edge's page prediction service, using aggregated data based on rich browsing history, tries to determine which pages you will visit next. To collect this aggregated information, Microsoft retrieves the browsing history from the user's device.

To disable this feature and prevent Microsoft from using your browsing history, first return to the Privacy and services section of the Settings interface on your browser. In this section, there is an option with the content Use page prediction to speed up browsing, improve reading, and make my overall experience better . To turn off this function, click the accompanying button until it appears from Off .

See more:

1. How to use the menu menu to speed up Microsoft Edge browser
2. Microsoft Edge tips on Windows 10 April 2018 Update
3. How to stop installing extensions on Microsoft Edge