How to Clear Firefox History on Windows, Android, iPhone & Mac

Why Clear Your Firefox Browser History?

Clearing your Firefox browser history can help protect your privacy, fix website loading issues, and remove saved browsing data from shared or public devices. Firefox lets you delete all history or only certain types of data, such as cookies, cache, downloads, and site data.

Below are simple steps for clearing Firefox history on desktop, Android, and iPhone or iPad.

How to Clear Firefox Browser History on Desktop

Follow these steps if you use Firefox on Windows, Mac, or Linux.

1. Open Firefox Settings

1. Open Firefox.
2. Click the menu button in the top-right corner. It looks like three horizontal lines.
3. Select History.
4. Click Clear recent history.

2. Choose a Time Range

In the Time range to clear dropdown, choose how much history you want to remove:

• Last hour
• Last two hours
• Last four hours
• Today
• Everything

Choose Everything if you want to delete all Firefox browsing history.

3. Select What to Delete

Firefox allows you to choose which data to clear. You may see options such as:

• Browsing & download history
• Cookies
• Cache
• Active logins
• Form & search history
• Site settings
• Offline website data

To clear only your browsing history, select Browsing & download history. If you also want to fix website problems or remove saved site data, select Cookies and Cache as well.

4. Click Clear Now

Once your options are selected, click Clear Now. Firefox will delete the selected data for the time range you chose.

Shortcut: Clear Firefox History Quickly

You can open the Clear Recent History window with a keyboard shortcut:

• Windows or Linux: Press Ctrl + Shift + Delete
• Mac: Press Command + Shift + Delete

Then choose your time range, select the data you want to remove, and confirm.

How to Clear Firefox History on Android

To delete Firefox browsing history on an Android phone or tablet:

1. Open the Firefox app.
2. Tap the three-dot menu.
3. Tap History.
4. Tap Delete history or Clear browsing data.
5. Choose the data you want to delete.
6. Tap Delete browsing data or Clear data.

Firefox menu labels can vary slightly depending on your app version, but the history option is usually found in the main menu.

How to Clear Firefox History on iPhone or iPad

To clear Firefox history on iOS or iPadOS:

1. Open the Firefox app.
2. Tap the menu button.
3. Tap History.
4. Tap Clear Recent History.
5. Choose a time range, such as Today or Everything.
6. Confirm that you want to clear your history.

You can also go to Settings in the Firefox app and look for Data Management or Clear Private Data to remove cookies, cache, and other saved information.

How to Automatically Clear Firefox History When You Close It

If you do not want Firefox to keep your browsing history, you can set it to clear history automatically.

On Desktop

1. Open Firefox.
2. Click the menu button and select Settings.
3. Go to Privacy & Security.
4. Under History, find the Firefox history settings.
5. Choose Use custom settings for history.
6. Check Clear history when Firefox closes.
7. Click Settings next to that option to choose what Firefox should delete automatically.

This is useful if you share a computer or prefer not to store browsing activity.

What Happens When You Clear Firefox History?

When you clear Firefox browser history, Firefox removes the record of websites you visited during the selected time range. Depending on what you choose, it may also remove:

• Saved cookies that keep you logged in to websites
• Cached files used to load websites faster
• Download history, though downloaded files may remain on your device
• Search and form entries
• Site-specific settings

If you clear cookies, you may be signed out of websites. If you clear cache, some websites may load slightly slower the next time you visit them.

Does Clearing Firefox History Delete Bookmarks?

No. Clearing your Firefox history does not delete bookmarks. Your saved bookmarks remain available unless you manually remove them.

Does Private Browsing Save History?

Firefox Private Browsing does not save your browsing history, search history, cookies, or temporary site data after you close the private window. However, downloads and bookmarks you create while using Private Browsing may still remain on your device.

To open a private window on desktop, click the Firefox menu and choose New Private Window. You can also press:

• Windows or Linux: Ctrl + Shift + P
• Mac: Command + Shift + P

Final Tip

If your goal is privacy, clear your browsing history, cookies, and cache, especially on shared devices. If your goal is troubleshooting a website, clearing the cache and cookies for that site is often enough. For regular privacy, consider using Firefox Private Browsing or setting Firefox to clear history automatically when it closes.