These components offer convenience and an enhanced browsing experience. However, this data can be potentially sensitive to privacy and security, especially when the Edge browser is used on a computer shared by others. You can manage and remove this data, individually or all at once. Before modifying or deleting anything, it is important to understand each type of data.
How to Clear Browsing Data
To clear browsing data from the Microsoft Edge browser, open it and then:
Manage Passwords in Edge
To access the Edge passwords interface: Before choosing which data to remove, review the details of each category. The categories are:
Browsing history: Each time you visit a web page, Edge stores its name and URL on your hard drive. This doesn’t occur while the InPrivate Browsing mode is active. Download history: In addition to maintaining a local record of the websites you visit, Edge stores information about each file downloaded by the browser. This includes the file name and the URL where the download originated. Cookies and other site data: Cookies are small text files that contain login details, user preferences, and other information. Websites use this data to customize your browsing experience. In addition to cookies, this category encompasses other web storage components, including an HTML 5-enabled application cache and locally stored database data. Cached images and files: Web pages consist of multiple files and source code retrieved from a server as part of the loading process. This process is quicker on your second or third visit to a page. This improvement is made by a browser cache that consists of files and other data previously stored on your hard drive.
Manage Individual Cookies
In addition to deleting all saved cookies, you can specify which types of cookies are accepted by your device and delete individual cookies. To modify this setting, return to Settings and more (…) > Settings. Saved passwords are listed in the Saved passwords section. To delete a set of credentials, hover the mouse pointer over the entry to select it and then delete it. You can also modify the username or password associated with an entry in the Saved passwords section. The Never saved section contains sites that you don’t want to have your saved password. Select Site Permissions in the left panel and choose Cookies and site data in the main window. In the Cookies and site data window, you have several options:
Select whether to allow any sites to save and read cookie data.Block or allow third-party cookies.View all existing cookies and site data. Erase entries individually here.Block specific sites from placing cookies.Erase all cookies when you leave a site.Safelist cookies from a specific site.
Manage Saved Payment Entries
Edge can save credit card numbers and addresses to save you some typing in future browsing sessions. While this functionality is enabled by default, you can disable it if you don’t want payment data stored on your hard drive. To do so, go to Settings and more (…) > Settings. Then, select Profiles > Payment info. The option to save form data is enabled by default in the Payment info screen. To disable this, turn off the Save and fill payment info toggle switch.
Additional Site Settings
Additional settings that may apply to your browsing experience are included in the Site Permissions section. Scroll down and select any category to expand it and make any changes to the information it contains.
