Delete your browsing history in Firefox in three steps

Open Firefox and press Ctrl+H on Windows or Command+Y on Mac to open the History sidebar. At the top of that sidebar, click Clear Recent History. A window will appear asking what time range you want to clear — choose Everything if you want to wipe your entire history, or pick a specific range like "Last Hour" or "Last 24 Hours". Then click Clear Now.

That single action removes the list of websites you have visited from Firefox's memory. Your browser will no longer suggest those sites when you start typing in the address bar, and the pages will not appear in your history sidebar. The process takes a few seconds and requires no restart.

If you want Firefox to stop recording history altogether going forward, you can set it to never remember sites. This is different from deleting what is already recorded, and the section below explains how to do both.

Key Takeaways

  • Press Ctrl+H (Windows) or Command+Y (Mac), click Clear Recent History, choose your time range, and click Clear Now to delete browsing history.
  • You can clear everything at once or select a specific time period like the last hour, day, or week.
  • Clearing history removes visited websites from the sidebar and address bar suggestions, but does not delete saved passwords or bookmarks unless you specifically choose to.
  • To prevent Firefox from recording history in the future, go to Settings, choose Privacy & Security, and select "Never remember history" under History.
  • Private browsing windows do not record history at all, so opening a private window is another way to browse without creating a record.

What gets deleted when you clear history

When you clear your browsing history in Firefox, you are removing the record of which websites you visited and when. This stops those sites from appearing in your history sidebar, your address bar suggestions, and Firefox's internal list of recently visited pages.

History deletion does not automatically delete cookies, cached files, or saved passwords — those are separate. If you want to remove those as well, the Clear Recent History window gives you checkboxes for each one. By default, only "Browsing & read History" is checked, so passwords and bookmarks stay put unless you check their boxes too.

If you are concerned about what data Firefox is storing beyond history, the same Clear Recent History window lets you remove cookies (which track you across sites), cached images and files (which speed up page loading), and site data (which includes login information for some sites). Unchecking these boxes before you clear means they stay on your computer.

Clear history for a specific time period

When you click Clear Recent History, Firefox shows you a dropdown menu labeled "Time range for clearing". The default is "Everything", which wipes your entire history. But you can instead choose Last Hour, Last 2 Hours, Last 4 Hours, Last 24 Hours, Last 7 Days, or Last 30 Days.

This is useful if you only want to remove recent browsing. For example, if you visited a site you do not want in your history but want to keep older records, select "Last Hour" and clear only that window. Firefox will delete only the sites you visited in the past hour and leave everything else untouched.

After you pick your time range, the checkboxes below it show what will be deleted. Make sure "Browsing & read History" is checked, then click Clear Now. The deletion happens when ready.

Stop Firefox from recording history going forward

If you want Firefox to stop keeping a history record at all, you can change your history settings. Click the menu button (three horizontal lines) in the top right corner of Firefox, then select Settings. On the left sidebar, click Privacy & Security.

Under the "History" section, you will see a dropdown that says "Firefox will" followed by options. Click that dropdown and select Never remember history. Firefox will now discard your browsing history automatically — nothing will be saved to the history sidebar or address bar suggestions.

Be aware that this setting affects your entire Firefox profile. Every site you visit will be forgotten when ready. If you want to keep history for most browsing but hide specific sessions, private browsing windows are a better choice — they do not record history for that window alone, while your regular history setting stays unchanged.

Use private browsing to avoid recording history

Private browsing windows in Firefox do not record your history, cookies, or site data for that session. When you close the private window, Firefox forgets everything you did in it. This is useful if you want to browse without leaving a record but do not want to change your overall history settings.

To open a private window, press Ctrl+Shift+P on Windows or Command+Shift+P on Mac. A new window will open with a purple mask icon in the top left, indicating it is private. Browse normally — nothing you do in this window will appear in your history, address bar suggestions, or read list when you close it.

Private windows are separate from your regular Firefox windows. You can have both open at the same time. Regular windows will still record history as usual, while private windows stay invisible to your history record.

Recover deleted history

Once you clear your browsing history in Firefox, it cannot be recovered through Firefox itself. The browser does not keep a backup of deleted history, and there is no undo button.

If you need to remember a site you visited, try searching your email for confirmation messages from that site, checking your bank or credit card statements if you made a purchase, or asking someone you were with at the time. If you deleted history by accident and want to restore your entire Firefox profile, you can look in your computer's file system for Firefox backup files, but this is technical and not recommended for most users.

The best approach is to be careful when clearing history. Use the time range dropdown to clear only recent history if you are unsure, rather than selecting "Everything".

Frequently Asked Questions

Does clearing history delete my saved passwords?

No, not by default. When you clear history, only "Browsing & read History" is checked. Your saved passwords stay in Firefox's password manager. If you want to delete passwords too, you must check the "Passwords" box in the Clear Recent History window before clicking Clear Now.

Will clearing history speed up Firefox?

Clearing history may free up a small amount of disk space, but it will not noticeably speed up Firefox's performance. History is stored separately from the files that affect browsing speed. If Firefox feels slow, the issue is usually too many open tabs, heavy websites, or outdated hardware rather than history buildup.

Can my internet provider see my browsing history if I clear it in Firefox?

No. Clearing your Firefox history only removes the record from your computer. Your internet provider can still see the websites you visit because that data passes through their network. To hide your browsing from your provider, you would need to use a VPN, which is a separate tool outside Firefox.

What is the difference between clearing history and using private browsing?

Clearing history removes past records from your computer. Private browsing prevents Firefox from recording anything in the first place — when you close a private window, nothing from that session is saved. Use clearing history to remove old records, and use private browsing to avoid creating new records.

If I clear history, will websites still recognize me when I visit again?

Websites may still recognize you if you are logged in or if they use cookies. Clearing history does not automatically delete cookies unless you check that box in the Clear Recent History window. If you want websites to forget you completely, you need to log out of accounts and clear cookies as well as history.