This quick guide explains how to clear your Galaxy S8 browser history and hide recent internet activity. Whether you just bought it or have been enjoying it for about two years, you probably have a lot of history to clear. What we do online is nobody’s business, it’s our business. Whether you’re trying to hide recent holiday and birthday purchases online, or just want more privacy, this is an easy first step.
Every website and Google search result you visit is saved on your device and Google account. Just like on a computer, this information is easy to find in the browser history. However, erasing any traces of it is just as easy.
Privacy is a growing concern these days, and one way to get some peace of mind is to clear your entire web browser history. This removes internet activity, clears cache, cookies, site data and even logins or passwords.
How to Clear Your Galaxy S8 Browser History
There are several different web browsers available for Android smartphones. Therefore, you will want to clear your history for the browser you use the most. Devices like the Galaxy S8 come with Samsung’s own “Internet” web browser. We’ll start with that, then we’ll explain how to clear your browser history in Google Chrome.
If you don’t change anything, this will instantly clear all your web browsing history, cache, cookies and site data. As you can see from our screenshots above, this does NOT delete your username or login information for your favorite sites or services. This means that the browser will continue to remember your Amazon name and password or any other sites you have saved for ease of use.
Passwords and autofill data are not deleted unless you personally select them from the popup shown above. This is ideal because no one wants to retype their login credentials every time they visit a website. Or for every website they go to. The browser saves this information for you. Check all the boxes and press to clear everything.
How to Clear Browsing History in Google Chrome
The steps detailed above are pretty much the same for any Android web browser. Whether you use Google Chrome, Firefox, Opera or something else. Chrome is one of the most popular, so here’s how to clear your browser history as well.
Before cleaning everything, Google gives you the option to clean websites or Google searches one by one. So you can clear some of your history, but not all of it. That way, it doesn’t look like you’re actually trying to hide something. It’s a nice touch and something anyone can appreciate. Read on to delete them all.
Like Samsung, Google shows the three key parts most users want to trash. These are browsing activity and a few other things. If you want to delete everything, hit Advanced and select everything from the list. We also like that Google gives us options on how much we actually delete. Choose to clear your web browsing activity for the last hour, 24 hours, a few weeks, or by the end of time to clear everything out.
Notice the images above when in Google Chrome. Basically, make sure you tap the dropdown that says “time range” and choose a time length. If you don’t change this, it will only delete the last hour of your browser history. If you need to subtract more than that, change the length and do it again.
Also, we would like to remind you that all browsers have a “Private Window” or “Incognito Mode” that never saves your browsing history. In fact, it doesn’t save anything in this mode. Use this if you don’t want to worry about leaving your past behind. Open Google Chrome, tap the + sign and open a new Incognito mode. In addition to these, Download InBrowseruses the 24/7 privacy mode and deletes everything when you’re done. Then we expect more controls and features with the upcoming Galaxy Android Pie update. While you’re here, take a look at these 20 common Galaxy S8 problems and their fixes.
