# How to clear Browser History in Internet Explorer When it comes to [web browsers](https://www.ionos.ca/digitalguide/hosting/technical-matters/the-best-browsers-for-windows-and-mac/ "The best browsers for Windows and Mac"), Internet Explorer has definitely had its day. Microsoft released **version 11**, the last official release of the **web browser** in 2013. For years, Internet Explorer struggled to win the browser wars with competitors like Netscape and Firefox. --- ### Note Internet Explorer is **not recommended** as a web browser for personal use because it is **no longer being developed**. Use the new Edge browser instead, or try other alternatives like Firefox, Chrome or Safari. --- Though Internet Explorer is no longer a good choice for personal use, many companies still rely on it for running an [intranet](https://www.ionos.ca/digitalguide/startup/productivity/intranet-secure-internal-data-exchange/ "Intranet – secure data exchange") application, even though it no longer meets the security standards common to other modern browsers. That means you have to be **all the more careful** when using it: Among other things, you should clear your history in Internet Explorer on a regular basis. We’ll show you how. ## How to clear history in Internet Explorer: A quick guide (including shortcut) It can be useful to clear your Internet Explorer history not only for security reasons, but also for space reasons: The more pages Internet Explorer **stores in your cache**, the more **space** they take up on your device. Here’s the quickest way to clear your history: 1. Open Internet Explorer. 2. Go to the **Tools** menu (gear icon) and click **Internet Options**. Alternatively, you can use the keyboard shortcut **\[Alt\]** + **\[X\]** + **\[T\]**. 3. Open the **General** tab if it isn’t open already. 4. In the “Browsing History” section, click the **Delete** button. 5. Select the “History” checkbox and choose **Delete** again. --- ### Tip If there are certain websites that you regularly open using the autocomplete feature, we recommend **saving these addresses as favorites** before you clear your browsing history in Internet Explorer, especially if you don’t know the domain addresses by heart. --- ## How to clear history in Internet Explorer: A step-by-step guide As you can see from the brief summary above, clearing history in Internet Explorer isn’t too complicated. But we’d also like to address a few other options in Internet Explorer that can be very useful when it comes to maintaining your history over longer periods. For example, you can also specify **how long** you want to save the list of websites you’ve visited. Or you can have the browser **automatically delete your history when you exit Internet Explorer**. The following sections explain the steps of the process in a little more detail to better illustrate the different options. Once you’ve launched Internet Explorer, the first step in the deletion process is to open the **Tools** menu. To do this, click the gear icon next to the address bar at the top right: [![Image: Internet Explorer 11: Menu area](https://www.ionos.ca/digitalguide/fileadmin/_processed_/7/c/csm_Internet-Explorer-11-Menu-area_727faa8246.webp "Internet Explorer 11: Menu area")](https://www.ionos.ca/digitalguide/fileadmin/DigitalGuide/Screenshots_2020/Internet-Explorer-11-Menu-area.png) Then select **Internet Options** to display the Internet Options menu: [![Image: “Tools” menu in Internet Explorer 11](https://www.ionos.ca/digitalguide/fileadmin/_processed_/5/d/csm_Tools-menu-in-Internet-Explorer-11_f05c289c7c.webp "“Tools” menu in Internet Explorer 11")](https://www.ionos.ca/digitalguide/fileadmin/DigitalGuide/Screenshots_2020/Tools-menu-in-Internet-Explorer-11.png) Navigate to the **General** tab, where you can make two important settings in the “Browser History” section before proceeding with the process of clearing your history in Internet Explorer: 1. Select the **delete browser history on exit** checkbox if you want to automatically clear the list of web pages you’ve visited when you close the browser. 2. Click the **settings** button, go to the **History** tab and specify how many **days** Internet Explorer should keep pages in your browsing history. Regardless of whether you use either of these options, continue the deletion process by clicking the **delete** button: [![Image: Internet Explorer 11: Internet Options](https://www.ionos.ca/digitalguide/fileadmin/_processed_/7/8/csm_Internet-Explorer-11-Internet-Options_4bbaa96d7c.webp "Internet Explorer 11: Internet Options")](https://www.ionos.ca/digitalguide/fileadmin/DigitalGuide/Screenshots_2020/Internet-Explorer-11-Internet-Options.png) In the dialog box that opens, you can choose to delete the following **data** along with the history: - Cookies and website data - Download history - Form data - Passwords - Tracking protection data --- ### Note If you also want to delete cookies and website data, you have to select these checkboxes and uncheck the appropriate checkbox next to **Preserve Favorites website data**. --- Once you’ve selected all the data you want to clear, just click **Delete** to delete your history in Internet Explorer (including all other selected information): [![Image: Internet Explorer: “Delete Browsing History” dialog](https://www.ionos.ca/digitalguide/fileadmin/_processed_/d/e/csm_Internet-Explorer-Delete-Browsing-History-dialog_99fcadebe3.webp "Internet Explorer: “Delete Browsing History” dialog")](https://www.ionos.ca/digitalguide/fileadmin/DigitalGuide/Screenshots_2020/Internet-Explorer-Delete-Browsing-History-dialog.png) This is a markdown version of: [https://www.ionos.ca/digitalguide/websites/web-development/how-to-clear-history-in-internet-explorer/](https://www.ionos.ca/digitalguide/websites/web-development/how-to-clear-history-in-internet-explorer/) for AI/LLM consumption.