How to Turn On or Off Clear Browsing Data on Close in Microsoft Edge Chromium


Microsoft has adopted the Chromium open source project in the development of Microsoft Edge on the desktop to create better web compatibility. This new Microsoft Edge runs on the same Chromium web engine as the Google Chrome browser, offering you best in class web compatibility and performance.

The new Chromium based Microsoft Edge is supported on all versions of Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, Windows Server (2016 and above), Windows Server (2008 R2 to 2012 R2), and macOS.

Each profile in Microsoft Edge will have its own browsing data.

Browsing data includes your browsing history, download history, cookies and other site data, cached images and files, passwords, autofill form data, site permissions, and hosted app data.

In addition to manually clearing browsing data in Microsoft Edge, you can also choose specific browsing data to automatically clear every time you close Microsoft Edge.

Browsing data you can delete in the browser

Types of info	What gets deleted	Where it's stored
Browsing history	The URLs of sites you've visited, and the dates and times of each visit.	On your device (or if sync is turned on, across your synced devices)
Download history	The list of files you've downloaded from the web. This only deletes the list, not the actual files that you've downloaded.	On your device
Cookies and other site data	Info that sites store on your device to remember your preferences, such as sign-in info or your location and media licenses.	On your device
Cached images and files	Copies of pages, images, and other media content stored on your device. The browser uses these copies to load content faster the next time you visit those sites.	On your device
Passwords	Site passwords that you've saved.	On your device (or if sync is turned on, across your synced devices)
Autofill form data (includes forms and cards)	Info that you've entered into forms, such as your email, credit card, or a shipping address.	On your device (or if sync is turned on, across your synced devices)
Site permissions	Go to Settings and more > Settings > Site permissions to see a list for each website, including location, cookies, pop-ups, and media autoplay.	On your device
Hosted app data	Info web apps store on your device. This includes data from the Microsoft Store. To see the apps saved to Microsoft Edge, go to Settings and more > Apps > Manage apps.	On your device

See also:

• View and delete browser history in Microsoft Edge | Microsoft Edge Support
• Microsoft Edge, browsing data, and privacy | Microsoft Edge Privacy Support

This tutorial will show you how to turn on or off clear browsing data on close in the Chromium based Microsoft Edge.

If you enable (force) this ClearBrowsingDataOnExit policy, it will take precedence and deletes all data when Microsoft Edge closes, regardless of how the AllowDeletingBrowserHistory policy is configured.

Contents

• Option One: Turn On or Off Clear Browsing Data on Close in Microsoft Edge
• Option Two: Force Clear Browsing Data on Close in Microsoft Edge for All Users

OPTION ONE

Turn On or Off Clear Browsing Data on Close in Microsoft Edge

This option will only apply to the profile in Microsoft Edge that turned on or off this setting.

1 Open Microsoft Edge.

2 Click/tap on the Settings and more (Alt+F) 3 dots menu icon, and click/tap on Settings. (see screenshot below)

3 Click/tap on Privacy and services in the left pane, and click/tap on the Choose what to clear every time you close the browser link under Clear browsing data on the right side. (see screenshot below)

If you do not see a left pane, then either click/tap on the 3 bars menu button towards the top left OR widen the horizontal borders of the Microsoft Edge window until you do.

4 Turn on or off (default) Browsing history, Download history, Cookies and other site data, Cached images and files, Passwords, Autofill form data (includes forms and cards), Site permissions, and/or Hosted app data for what you want. (see screenshot below)

Cookies and other site data is only available starting with the Microsoft Edge Canary 83.0.470.0 version.

You can click/tap on the Add button to add sites to exclude and not clear Cookies and other site data on close of Microsoft Edge.

You can Edit and Remove added sites on the Cookies and other site data exclusion list.

5 You can now close the Settings tab if you like.

OPTION TWO

Force Clear Browsing Data on Close in Microsoft Edge for All Users

You must be signed in as an administrator to do this option.

This option uses the ClearBrowsingDataOnExit policy to apply to all users on the computer.

The downloadable .reg files below will add and modify the DWORD value in the registry key below.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge

ClearBrowsingDataOnExit DWORD

(delete) = Default - user choice
1 = Force

1 Do step 2 (force) or step 3 (default) below for what you would like to do.

2 To Force Clear Browsing Data on Close in Microsoft Edge for All Users

This step will force to clear browsing data on exit of Microsoft Edge for all users on the computer, and will gray out and prevent users from using Option One.

A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4 below.

Force_clear_browsing_data_on_exit_in_Microsoft_Edge_for_all_users.reg

Download

3 To Undo Force Clear Browsing Data on Close in Microsoft Edge for All Users

This is the default setting, and will allow users to use Option One.

A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4 below.

Default_user_choice_clear_browsing_data_on_exit_in_Microsoft_Edge.reg

Download

4 Save the .reg file to your desktop.

5 Double click/tap on the downloaded .reg file to merge it.

6 When prompted, click/tap on Run, Yes (UAC), Yes, and OK to approve the merge.

7 If Microsoft Edge is currently open, then close and reopen Microsoft Edge to apply.

8 You can now delete the downloaded .reg file if you like.

That's it,
Shawn

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• How to Clear Browsing Data in Microsoft Edge Chromium
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• How to Completely Reset Microsoft Edge Chromium to Default in Windows
• How to Delete Saved Passwords for Sites in Microsoft Edge Chromium
• How to Add or Remove History Button on Toolbar in Microsoft Edge Chromium
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