How to Clear Browsing History in Firefox

To clear browsing history in Firefox, open the browser’s history controls, choose the time period and data categories you want to remove, then confirm. The steps differ on desktop, Android, and iPhone or iPad. If you only want to remove one site, Firefox also provides a site-specific option.

Quick guide: On desktop, choose Menu → History → Clear Recent History. On Android, use Menu → Settings → Delete browsing data. On iPhone or iPad, use Menu → History → trash icon. Before confirming, check which categories are selected: history, cookies, cache, downloads, and site settings are separate kinds of data.

Choose what you want to clear

Your goal	Choose	What to keep in mind
Remove the pages you visited	Browsing history	This removes local history entries. It does not necessarily sign you out of sites or delete their stored data.
Remove one site’s history and stored information	Use the site-specific removal option on your platform	On desktop, “Forget About This Site” removes more than the history entry, including cookies, cache, logins, passwords, form data, and site settings for that site.
Sign out of websites or remove remembered site settings	Cookies and site data, active logins, or site preferences, as applicable	Clearing these can sign you out or reset preferences and permissions.
Remove temporary files	Cache or cached images and files	Firefox may need to download page resources again afterward.
Remove downloaded-file records	Download history or downloads	Clearing the browser’s download list is not the same as deleting files saved on your device.

Firefox labels and available choices vary by platform and version. Use the platform-specific steps below and review the confirmation screen before clearing.

Clear history on desktop Firefox

Open the Firefox menu.
Choose History, then Clear Recent History.
Open the When menu and choose a period: the last hour, last two hours, last four hours, the current day, or everything.
Select the data categories you intend to remove.
Choose Clear.

The desktop dialog can include browsing and download history, form and search history, cookies and site data, active logins, cache, offline website data, and site preferences. Select only what you mean to delete. For example, clearing browsing history alone is different from clearing cookies, which can end signed-in sessions or remove remembered site settings.

Remove one site on desktop

Open the Firefox menu and choose History → Manage History.
Find the site in the history list.
Choose Forget About This Site for that site.

This removes that site’s browsing and download history along with its cookies, cache, active logins, passwords, saved form data, and site exceptions or settings. Use it when you want to remove the site’s local Firefox data as well as its history entry; it is broader than deleting a single visit.

Clear selected data when Firefox closes

Open Settings → Privacy & Security → History.
Configure custom history settings.
Enable Clear history when Firefox closes.
Open its settings, select the categories to clear, and save.

Mozilla notes that automatic clearing may not run if Firefox did not shut down normally. If you need to ensure data has been cleared, close Firefox normally and check the relevant category afterward.

Clear history in Firefox for Android

Open the three-dot menu and tap Settings.
Under Privacy and security, tap Delete browsing data.
Select the categories you want to remove.
Tap Delete browsing data to confirm.

Mozilla lists choices that can include open tabs, browsing history and site data, cookies and site data, cached images and files, site permissions, and downloads. Review the selected categories before confirming. If the menu looks different, look in Settings for the named Delete browsing data option; menu placement can vary by app version.

Remove one history entry on Android

Open the menu and tap History.
Tap the X beside the entry you want to remove.

Clear data when quitting on Android

Enable Delete browsing data on quit in Firefox settings, choose the categories, then exit using Firefox’s Quit option. Clearing on quit is tied to using that option to exit.

Clear history in Firefox for iPhone or iPad

Open the Firefox menu. On iPad, the menu is at the top right.
Choose History, then tap the trash icon.
Select Today, Today and Yesterday, or Everything.
Confirm the deletion.

To remove one site from history, swipe right on its entry and tap Delete. Deleting an entry does not also remove that site’s stored data or logins.

Clear website data separately on iOS

To manage site data, open Settings → Data Management → Website Data. You can select an individual site or clear private data. Clearing all private data cannot be undone, so review the selection before confirming.

What each data category means

Browsing history: The list of pages you visited in Firefox.
Download history: Records of downloads shown by the browser. Removing these records does not itself delete downloaded files from device storage.
Form and search history: Saved entries that can appear in form fields or search boxes.
Cookies and site data: Data websites store in Firefox. Cookies can maintain login status and site preferences, so clearing them may sign you out or reset remembered choices.
Active logins: Login state Firefox has stored for sites. Clearing it can require you to sign in again.
Cache: Temporary page and media files that can help pages load faster on later visits. Clearing it may mean those resources need to download again.
Offline website data: Information sites have stored for offline use.
Site preferences or permissions: Settings Firefox has saved for sites, which may include zoom, permissions, or exceptions.

The exact category names and selection controls depend on the Firefox version and platform. If you are unsure, clear only browsing history first; you can manage site data separately if needed.

Or skip the browser setup

If you are clearing history because you need a clean screenshot of a web page, ScreenshotNeo can capture the URL through one API request. It does not clear Firefox history; it provides a separate screenshot workflow. See the ScreenshotNeo API documentation for request options.

curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://stripe.com -o shot.webp

import requests

r = requests.get(
    "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot",
    params={"access_key": "YOUR_API_KEY", "url": "https://stripe.com"},
    timeout=90,
)
open("shot.webp", "wb").write(r.content)

const q = new URLSearchParams({ access_key: 'YOUR_API_KEY', url: 'https://stripe.com' });
const res = await fetch(`https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot?${q}`);
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`Screenshot request failed: ${res.status}`);
const image = Buffer.from(await res.arrayBuffer());
await import('node:fs/promises').then(fs => fs.writeFile('shot.webp', image));

ScreenshotNeo accepts cookie and consent banners like a visitor and removes more than 60 known consent platforms, newsletter popups, and chat widgets before capture; each cleanup step can be turned off. Bot checks, blank pages, timeouts, failed loads, and cache hits are not billed, and the response identifies the page verdict and billing status in headers. Its MCP server lets AI agents use take_screenshot, get_page_info, and capture_pdf. The free plan includes 1,000 screenshots a month with no card; paid plans start at $5 for 3,000.

Learn about ScreenshotNeo, or sign up for 1,000 free screenshots a month with no card.

Troubleshooting

The history option is missing

Menu names and placement differ across desktop, Android, and iOS, and can change between app versions. Follow the section for your device. On Android, look in Settings under Privacy and security for Delete browsing data.

A site still appears after clearing history

Check whether you cleared the right time range and the browsing history category. A bookmark, search suggestion, or data stored by the website or another app is not necessarily a Firefox history entry. To remove a site’s stored information on desktop, use Forget About This Site; on iOS, manage its data under Settings → Data Management → Website Data.

You were signed out or site settings changed

Cookies, active logins, and site preferences were likely included in the selected categories. These can remove login state or remembered preferences. For a future cleanup, leave those categories unchecked if your goal is only to remove history entries.

Firefox did not clear data on exit

On desktop, automatic clearing may not run after an abnormal shutdown. On Android, clearing on quit depends on exiting with Firefox’s Quit option. Review those settings and use the platform’s documented exit flow.

You expected downloaded files to be deleted

Clearing download history removes browser records; it does not mean files saved to your device have been deleted. Find and remove downloaded files using your device’s file manager if that is what you intend.

Privacy limits and reliability

Clearing Firefox history removes selected information stored by Firefox on that device. It does not erase records held by websites, network operators, an internet service provider, or an employer or school managing the network. Private Browsing can reduce what Firefox saves locally for a session, but it does not make browsing anonymous to sites or network operators.

For a reliable one-time cleanup, choose the intended time range, inspect every selected category, and confirm. If you use automatic clearing, close Firefox normally. On mobile, follow the platform’s own menu and exit behavior, since the available categories and controls differ.

Frequently asked questions

Does clearing Firefox history delete bookmarks?

The history-clearing controls described here target selected history and data categories. Bookmarks are managed separately; do not treat clearing history as a way to remove bookmarks.

Can I undo clearing history?

Do not expect to restore deleted history or private data through Firefox’s clear-data controls. Mozilla specifically warns that clearing all private data on iOS cannot be undone.

Will clearing history make websites forget me?

Only if the relevant stored site data is also removed, and even then this affects local browser data. A website or network operator may have its own records.