How to Delete Favorites and History From Internet Explorer

Protect your privacy by deleting your Favorites and history data from Internet Explorer.

The Microsoft Internet Explorer Web browser automatically tracks the title and URL of every page you open, along with the time and date at which you viewed the page. It stores this information in a history file that anyone with access to your browser can view. Internet Explorer also lets you save links to commonly-used Web pages by storing them as Favorites. If you no longer plan to use the browser on your computer and want to prevent future users from accessing your history and Favorites, Internet Explorer allows you to clear them using a few basic menu commands.

Instructions

Delete Favorites

1. Open an Internet Explorer browser window.

2. Click the "Favorites" button at the top-left corner of the window.

3. Click the arrow next to the "Add to Favorites" button in the resulting menu and select "Organize Favorites."

4. Right-click the name of a Favorite or the name of a folder and select "Delete." Depending on your system configuration, you may need to confirm your choice or provide the administrator username and password. Repeat this step for each Favorite or folder in the Organize Favorites window.

5. Click "Close" after deleting all of your Favorites to return to the main browser window.

Delete History

1. Click the "Safety" button at the top-right corner of the window and select "Delete Browsing History."

2. Check all of the boxes except for the "Preserve Favorites website data" box.

3. Click the "Delete" button to remove all of your Internet Explorer history.

References

• Microsoft Windows: How to Delete Your Browsing History in Internet Explorer 9
• Microsoft Windows: Managing Your Internet Explorer Favorites