Clear your history in Firefox through the Settings menu in under one minute
Open Firefox and press Ctrl+H on Windows or Command+Y on Mac. A sidebar appears showing your browsing history. At the top of that sidebar, click the trash icon or the three-dot menu and select "Clear Recent History". A window opens with options for what to delete — choose your timeframe (last hour, last two hours, last day, or everything), check the boxes next to the data types you want removed, and click "Clear Now".
If you prefer the Settings route instead, click the menu button (three horizontal lines) in the top right corner, select Settings, then go to Privacy & Security on the left. Scroll down to the History section and click "Clear Data". The same window appears. Both methods reach the same place — the difference is just which door you use to get there.
Key Takeaways
- The fastest way to clear history is pressing Ctrl+H (Windows) or Command+Y (Mac), then clicking the trash icon in the sidebar that appears.
- You can choose to delete only recent history (last hour, day, or two hours) or everything, and you can select which types of data to remove.
- Clearing history removes the list of sites you visited, but does not sign you out of accounts or delete saved passwords unless you specifically check that box.
- Firefox can be set to clear history automatically every time you close the browser if you turn on "Always use private browsing mode" in Settings.
What gets deleted when you clear history
When you clear your browsing history, Firefox removes the list of websites you visited and the dates you visited them. This is the main thing most people mean by "history" — the record that appears when you start typing in the address bar and Firefox suggests sites you have been to before.
By default, clearing history also removes cookies and cached files (temporary copies of images and pages that make sites load faster next time). You can uncheck these boxes if you want to keep them. Saved passwords, bookmarks, and autofill information stay in place unless you specifically check those boxes too — Firefox keeps those separate because most people want to keep them even when clearing history.
The difference between clearing history and private browsing
Clearing history is a one-time action — you do it after the fact, when you want to erase a record of where you have been. Private browsing mode is different. When you open a private window (Ctrl+Shift+P on Windows or Command+Shift+P on Mac), Firefox does not save any history, cookies, or temporary files from that session at all. The moment you close the private window, everything from it disappears automatically.
Private browsing is useful if you know in advance that you do not want a record kept — for example, shopping for a gift on a shared computer, or looking something up that you do not want to see in your suggestions later. Clearing history is what you do when you realize after the fact that you want those records gone.
Set Firefox to clear history automatically when you close it
If you want Firefox to delete your history without you having to do it manually each time, you can turn on automatic clearing. Click the menu button (three lines), go to Settings, then Privacy & Security. Under the History section, find the dropdown that says "Firefox will" and change it from "Remember history" to "Never remember history".
When you select "Never remember history", Firefox switches to a mode similar to private browsing — it stops saving history, cookies, and site data as you browse. Every time you close Firefox completely, all of that information is gone. You can still use bookmarks and saved passwords; those stay because Firefox treats them as intentional, not automatic records.
Clear history from a specific time period
You do not have to delete everything. When you open the Clear Recent History window (Ctrl+H, then the trash icon), the first dropdown lets you choose a timeframe. Select "Last Hour" if you only want to erase the past 60 minutes, "Last 2 Hours" for the past two hours, "Last Day" for the past 24 hours, "Last Week" for the past seven days, or "Everything" to delete your entire history.
This is useful if you browsed something you want to erase but do not want to lose the rest of your history. For example, you might clear just the last hour if you visited a site you do not want in your suggestions, but you want to keep the history from yesterday and earlier so you can still find sites you visit regularly.
What to do if you cannot find the Clear History option
If the keyboard shortcut does not work, your Firefox version might be older or configured differently. The menu route always works: click the three-line menu button in the top right, select Settings, go to Privacy & Security, scroll to History, and click "Clear Data". This opens the same clearing window.
If you have trouble locating the menu button, it is in the very top right corner of the Firefox window, next to the address bar. On some computers it might be hidden — if you do not see it, try right-clicking on the toolbar area and selecting "Customize Toolbar" to make sure the menu button is visible.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does clearing history sign me out of websites?
Clearing history alone does not sign you out. Websites stay logged in because the login information is stored in cookies, and you have to specifically check the "Cookies" box when clearing history for those to be deleted. If you clear history without checking cookies, you will still be logged into your accounts.
Will clearing history delete my saved passwords?
No. Saved passwords are stored separately from history and cookies. They only get deleted if you check the "Passwords" box in the Clear Recent History window. Most people leave that unchecked so they do not have to re-enter passwords for sites they visit regularly.
Can I undo clearing history after I do it?
No, clearing history cannot be undone. Once you click "Clear Now", the data is gone. If you realize you deleted something you needed, you cannot get it back from Firefox. This is why the timeframe dropdown is useful — you can clear just the last hour instead of everything if you are unsure.
What is the difference between clearing history and clearing cache?
History is the list of sites you visited. Cache is the temporary copies of images, videos, and page code that Firefox saved to make those sites load faster next time. Clearing history removes the list; clearing cache removes the stored files. Both options appear in the same Clear Recent History window, and you can check or uncheck them separately.
Does private browsing mode prevent websites from tracking me?
Private browsing stops Firefox from saving your history locally, but websites can still see what you are doing while you are browsing. If you want to prevent websites from tracking you, you need to use Firefox's tracking protection, which is a separate setting in Privacy & Security that blocks many tracking scripts — private browsing does not do this automatically.