Internet browsers serve as gateways to accessing the Internet. However, they are not just a pathway to the Internet – they also offer ways to both increase your online privacy and control your personal information. All common browsers offer in-browser privacy settings, and this document will cover specifics for the most common desktop and mobile browsers. For information about tools beyond browser privacy settings that you can use to increase safety and privacy while online, see Safety Net’s Tools for Safer Browsing resource.

Before We Start: Prioritize Safety

Using these options may increase your privacy and safety. They can also help you have more control over how your personal information is collected and stored when you are online. However, it is important to acknowledge that for many survivors, strengthening browser privacy settings isn’t enough, and can even be dangerous. If an abusive person regularly monitors your devices and accounts, they may know that settings have been changed. They may be able to change settings themselves, or coerce or force you to weaken your privacy settings in other ways. They might become more abusive. In some situations, making changes could also erase evidence.

There isn’t one “right” way to increase your privacy and safety, only ways that do or don’t fit your situation. What works for someone else may not work or be safe for you. Always prioritize safety and trust your instincts. You may find these safety steps useful:

  • Use a safer device. If you think that someone is monitoring your phone, computer, or accounts, use a different device (such as a library computer or a friend’s phone) and account that the person cannot access (and that they have not had access to in the past).

  • Get more information. Navigating violence, abuse, and stalking can be difficult and dangerous. Advocates can help you figure out options and local resources and help you create a plan for your safety. You can contact a national helpline to be connected with local resources.

  • Browser privacy options will not protect you from remote spying or monitoring if an abusive person is using stalkerware. To learn more about stalkerware, and to get other tips about tech safety as a survivor, see Safety Net’s Survivor Resources Toolkit.

This handout discusses various options that can enhance a user’s privacy in the browsers that together are used by the vast majority of US users. For desktop devices, it covers:

For mobile devices such as phones or tablets, it covers:

If you are using a Mac, private browsing and accessing settings work slightly differently than on a PC. The same is true for an iPhone vs an Android. The initial directions in this handout are intended for PC users. For Mac instructions, read the “Accessing Privacy Settings and Private Browsing on a Mac” section.

Privacy While Changing Settings

If you’re worried that someone else is monitoring what you do on your device, some browsers allow you to log in to an account that is connected to other services by the same company. For instance, Chrome allows you to log into a Google account, and Edge allows you to log into a Microsoft account. If you log into your account on a safer device, such as a library or school computer, and change your browser privacy settings there, they will be automatically changed in that browser on every device where you are logged into that account on that browser. This is one possible tactic for having more privacy while changing browser settings. Trust your instincts about safety, and if you use this tactic, remember to log out of your account on each browser once you finish changing your privacy settings.

An Introduction to Browser Privacy Settings

Note: You should generally update to the latest version of whatever browsers you are using. Browser updates often fix security flaws and add functionality.

Browsers offer many tools and options to increase privacy. These include:

  • Controlling activity logs (history) – Your browser logs the webpages you visit, which could be used by an abusive person to monitor your online activity. You can erase part or all of the history for a particular browser. If you erase all of your history, and this is not something you regularly do, an abusive person may suspect that you are doing so to avoid monitoring.

  • Deleting cookies – Cookies are bits of data that websites send to your browser when you access that website, that help the website remember your activity there. Sometimes they track your browsing activity across other websites. Deleting them means that the tracking cookies cannot track you, and that an abusive person who looks at your cookies to monitor your online activity will not see them. However, you will have to log into websites again. If you suddenly have no cookies, an abusive person may realize that you are deleting them.

  • Private browsing – This option allows you to browse the Internet without the browser saving history or cookies after it is closed. This is helpful if you are concerned that someone may be monitoring your browsing history, or if you are concerned about cookies leading to ads popping up later about sensitive topics. Private browsing will not prevent someone from knowing what you’re doing online if they are looking over your shoulder or are monitoring your device in another way. It does not hide your IP address, and does not hide your browsing activity from your Internet Service Provider.

  • Do Not Track – This is a setting that allows users to request to opt out of being tracked across the Internet by the website that you’re visiting. Some sites respect this request while others do not. So even if you have this setting turned on, it is still useful to use a browser extension that blocks trackers. This feature is only for third-party tracking, which often tracks users for behavioral advertising purposes; it doesn’t prevent the website that you’re visiting from collecting information about you.

  • Options to save or not save usernames, passwords, and other personal information – Modern browsers allow you to save usernames, passwords, and sometimes other information like credit cards or addresses. If you are concerned that someone can view and use your browser, or accounts that you have used to create a browser profile (such as your Google account for Chrome or your Microsoft account for Edge), you may not want to save this kind of information in your browser, since then the other person could access it. If you are not concerned about this, it may be a helpful way to remember your passwords so that you can create strong unique ones for every login (which you can also do with a third-party password manager). You can read more about passwords and how to manage them, including the risks and benefits of different types of password managers, in our resource on increasing password safety.

  • Other browser-specific settings that we’ll discuss later.

The rest of this document discusses options available in different browsers, and how to access them.

Google Chrome

Deleting History and Cookies in Chrome

Return to the Privacy and Safety section of Chrome settings as described above. Select “Clear browsing data.”

Chrome Settings with "Privacy and security" selected, and "Clear browsing data" highlighted to show that the mouse cursor is over it

Once you select “Clear browsing data,” you will see a popup that lets you choose what data you want to delete, and from what range of time. Make your selections, then click “Clear data.”

"Clear browsing data" popup superimposed on "Privacy and security" menu. Tabs for Basic and Advanced, with Basic selected. There is a drop-down menu for time range, and check boxes for browsing history, cookies and other site data, and cached images

Private Browsing: Incognito Mode

Search for the Chrome app and select “New Incognito window” as shown below (or if you prefer, open Chrome and then choose “New Incognito window” from the menu that comes up when you click the three vertical dots in the upper right-hand corner). You will remain in incognito mode until you close this browser window.

Search in Windows home screen search bar for "chro" brings up Google Chrome, with options for "Open," "New window," and "New Incognito window." New Incognito window is highlighted to indicate that the mouse cursor is over it.

Do Not Track

Click on the Menu icon in the top right corner and choose “Settings.”

Image of the upper right corner of a Google Chrome incognito window. The three vertical dots have been selected and there are several menu options. "Settings" is highlighted to indicate that the mouse cursor is over it.

Click on “Privacy and Safety.” Toggle the switch labeled “Send a ‘Do Not Track’ request with your browsing traffic” so that the setting is on, as shown below.

Chrome Settings screen. Privacy and security is selected from the menu at the left. On the right there are "Cookies and other site data" settings. "Send a 'Do Not Track' request with your browsing traffic" has been toggled to the "on" position.

Additionally, Google uses “Protect My Choices,” which installs opt-out, site-specific cookies on your computer. This requires installation of an extension instead of just a change in settings. It also doesn’t stop websites from collecting information about your activity; it just stops them from showing you targeted ads. If you want to use Protect My Choices:

Additional Privacy Options for Chrome

Click on the Menu icon in the top right corner and choose “Settings.” (You can also navigate to the “Settings” section from the History page.) Then click on “Show advanced settings” at the bottom of the page. Here you can determine whether Chrome can (1) enable phishing and malware protection, (2) use a prediction service to help complete searches and URLs typed, (3) offer to save your passwords (see “An Introduction to Browser Privacy Settings” earlier in this document for more information on the risks and benefits of this), and (4) use Autofill for webforms.

Privacy Checkup

Google offers a service called Privacy Checkup that allows you to review your privacy settings of any Google products you use, such as YouTube. Visit the Privacy Checkup website for more information.

Microsoft Edge

Deleting History and Cookies in Edge

Return to the Privacy, search, and services section of Edge settings as described above. Select “Clear browsing data.” You will see a popup like the one below asking you which data you want to clear and for what time period.

"Clear browsing data" popup superimposed on gray "Privacy, search, and services" menu. There is a drop-down menu for time range, and check boxes for browsing history, download history, cookies and other site data, and cached images and files.

Private Browsing: InPrivate Window

Search for the Edge app and select “New InPrivate window” as shown below. A new window will open with an explanation of InPrivate Browsing. You will remain in this mode until you close this browser window.

"Clear browsing data" popup superimposed on gray "Privacy, search, and services" menu. There is a drop-down menu for time range, and check boxes for browsing history, download history, cookies and other site data, and cached images and files.

Do Not Track

In a new window, open Settings and click on the “Privacy, search, and services” menu at the left. Scroll down to “Privacy” and toggle the “Send ‘Do Not Track’ requests” switch to the “on” position. Edge will show you a popup explaining the limitations of Do Not Track. Click the “Send Request” button.

Edge Settings screen. Privacy, search, and services is selected. At right are "Cookies and other site data" settings. "Send a 'Do Not Track' request with your browsing traffic" has a pop-up stating that compliance with DNT is voluntary & varied

Additional Privacy Options for Edge

Go to the “Privacy, search, and services” setting in the same way that you did to access other privacy options. Scroll down to “Personalization & advertising” and “Security.” Turn off “Personalization & advertising” so that Edge is not showing you content based on your browsing activity (which could alert an abusive person that you were visiting particular types of sites). Make sure that security settings are set in the way that you want them.

"Personalization & advertising" and "Security" sections of Edge privacy settings. Personalization & advertising is turned off. Various security settings are turned on.

Scroll down to “Services” and turn options on or off according to your preferences.

"Services" section of Edge privacy settings, with some services turned on and others off.

If you click on “Address bar and search” under “Services,” you will see another menu. Turn off both options, as seen in the image below, for the maximum level of privacy in your searching. You can also choose a search engine other than Bing as your default search engine, if you would prefer a different one. While there are many ways to increase browsing privacy regardless of what search engine you use and many reasons to use any given search engine, DuckDuckGo is designed as a privacy-centric search engine, which may make it appealing for some survivors.

"Address bar and search" submenu of Edge's privacy settings. "Show me search and site suggestions using my typed characters" and "Show me suggestions from history, favorites and other data on this device using my typed characters" are turned off.

Mozilla Firefox

Deleting History and Cookies in Firefox

Under the same Privacy & Security section of Settings, you can choose to have Firefox to clear all cookies and site data, clear some of them (you can choose from which sites), or to delete cookies and site data any time you close Firefox (with the option for exceptions set by you).

A menu of "General," "Home," "Search," "Privacy & Security," and "Sync," with Privacy & Security in blue as the current section. At right, "Cookies and Site Data" has options to clear data, manage data, delete cookies/site data when Firefox is closed

Private Browsing

Search for the Firefox app and select “Firefox Private Browsing” or “Firefox” and then “New private window” as shown below.

Windows home screen search bar for "fire" brings up Firefox, with options for "Open," "Open new tab," "Open new window," and "New private window," as well as a separate "Firefox Private Bowsing" app option. Mouse cursor over New private window

A new window will appear, displaying the Firefox Private browsing icon instead of the regular Firefox icon, explaining Firefox’s Private Browsing option. You will remain in this mode until you close this browser window.

Do Not Track

In a new window, click the icon with three horizontal lines in the upper right corner, and select “Settings” from the menu that pops up. Under “Privacy & Security,” select the “Always” option for “Send websites a Do Not Track signal that you don’t want to be tracked.”

On the left, a menu of "General," "Home," "Search," and "Privacy & Security." To the right, "Send websites a Do Not Track signal that you don't want to be tracked" with options for "Always" and "Only when Firefox is set to block known trackers."

Additional Privacy Options

Firefox has numerous other privacy options within Settings. Most significantly, you can see which websites have permissions to interact with your computer in certain ways (such as use of your camera or microphone), and add or remove websites from those permissions lists. You can also ask Firefox to block pop-up windows and/or warn you if websites try to install add-ons to your browser.

At left, menu of "General," "Home," "Search," "Privacy & Security," "Sync," and "More from Mozilla," with Privacy & Security in blue as the current section. At right, options to view/change permissions for ways websites can interact with your device

Accessing Privacy Settings and Private Browsing on a Mac

Google Chrome

You can find the app’s menu is in the upper-left-hand corner, where the Chrome settings will be listed as “Preferences.”

Partial view of an open Chrome browser on a Mac. "Chrome" is selected from options at the top of a Mac, and "Preferences" is highlighted in the drop-down menu

You can erase your browsing history directly from the Chrome menu as well.

Partial view of an open Chrome browser on a Mac. "Chrome" is selected from options at the top of a Mac, and "Clear Browsing Data" is highlighted in the drop-down menu

To open a private browsing window in Chrome on a Mac, open the File menu at the top of the screen and select “New Incognito Window.”

Partial view of an open Chrome browser on a Mac. "File" is selected from options at the top of a Mac, and "New Incognito Window" is highlighted in the drop-down menu

Safari

Safari, a browser made by Apple, comes on Macs and is a popular choice for Mac users. To access settings in Safari, open Safari, click on the app name in the upper left-hand corner of your screen, and click “Preferences” in the drop-down menu. You can also clear your browsing history in Safari directly from the drop-down menu by clicking “Clear History,” which is circled in brown in the below image.

Partial view of an open Safari browser on a Mac. "Safari" is selected from options at the top of a Mac, and "Preferences" is highlighted in the drop-down menu. "Clear History" is circled in brown in the drop-down menu.

Within Preferences, select the “Privacy” tab to view and adjust basic privacy settings. Safari has strong privacy options, including the ability to hide your IP address from trackers that track your online activity across websites.

Settings panel of Safari on a Mac. The "Privacy" tab is selected. There are options to prevent cross-site tracking, hide one's IP address from trackers, block all cookies, and allow measurement of ad effectiveness.

Like other browsers, Safari has a private browsing option, which you can activate by selecting “New Private Window” from the “File” drop-down menu in the upper-left corner of your screen once you have started Safari.

Partial view of an open Safari browser on a Mac. "File" is selected from options at the top of a Mac, and "New Private Window" is highlighted in the drop-down menu.

As with other browsers, if you are concerned about someone being able to access your device or browser either physically or remotely, you may not want Safari to be able to autofill webforms.

Settings panel of Safari on a Mac. The "AutoFill" tab is selected. There are options to allow or disallow the autofilling of information from the user's contacts, usernames and passwords, credit cards, or other forms.

If you would like to see information on how websites track your browsing activity, and how much of it Safari has blocked, the drop-down app menu for Safari also has an option called “Privacy Report,” which will provide you with a report as shown below.

Privacy report panel of Safari on a Mac. States "Safari prevents trackers from following you across websites." Below it states that the user has not browsed enough in Safari over the last 30 days to generate statistics, but to visit the report later

Mozilla Firefox

In Firefox, you can clear your recent browsing history through the “History” drop-down menu, which also has an option to see (and clear) all of your browsing history.

Partial view of an open Firefox browser on a Mac. "History" is selected from options at the top of a Mac, and "Clear Recent History..." is highlighted in the drop-down menu.

As with Chrome and Safari, the settings panel on Firefox for Mac is called “Preferences” and is in the drop-down app menu.

Partial view of an open Firefox browser on a Mac. "Firefox" is selected from options at the top of a Mac, and "Preferences" is highlighted in the drop-down menu.

And just as with Chrome and Safari, private browsing can be started from the “File” drop-down menu.

Partial view of an open Firefox browser on a Mac. "File" is selected from options at the top of a Mac, and "New Private Window" is highlighted in the drop-down menu.

Microsoft Edge

If you are using Microsoft Edge on a Mac, adjusting settings works similarly to other browsers on a Mac, in that you can access settings (“Preferences”) from the app drop-down menu, and private browsing (“New InPrivate Window”) from the “File” drop-down menu.

Partial view of an open Edge browser on a Mac. "Microsoft Edge" is selected from options at the top of a Mac, and "Preferences..." is highlighted in the drop-down menu.
Partial view of an open Edge browser on a Mac. "File" is selected from options at the top of a Mac, and "New InPrivate Window" is the second option in the drop-down menu.

There is no instant shortcut to delete browsing history in Edge, but you can delete or otherwise manage it by selecting “Manage History” from the “History” drop-down menu.

Partial view of an open Edge browser on a Mac. "History" is selected from options at the top of a Mac, and "Manage History" is highlighted in the drop-down menu.

Mobile Versions of Browsers

Google Chrome for Android

The version of Chrome for mobile devices has similar privacy settings to the desktop version (and you can access them similarly). However, there are a few extra considerations in the mobile version.

The mobile version makes it easy to synchronize data across all devices (mobile or desktop) on which you use Chrome. This can be a useful feature if you want to update something in your Chrome account from a safer device and have the changes apply to other devices. However, it can also be a privacy risk if an abusive person has your Google account password, because they will be able to access your Chrome account data and settings from all the synchronized devices. As always, trust your instincts and do what makes sense for your situation.

Settings screen for the mobile version of Google Chrome. Personal info is redacted. There is a button to turn on sync, with the description "Sync to get your passwords, bookmarks, and more on your other devices. Sync is turned off.

Similarly, Google makes it easy to use a phone that is linked to your Google account as a security key to make it simpler to log in. If you are concerned that there are devices linked to your account that shouldn’t be, and you feel that it’s safe to do so, you can instantly unlink all other devices from your Google account with a single button click, as shown below.

"Phone as a security key" submenu of mobile Google Chrome. Text saying when signed into the same Google account, other devices can use the phone as a security key. Button to remove all linked devices.

Chrome on mobile now has a Safety Check feature that allows you to easily keep it updated and protect your device from malicious websites as you browse. Keeping apps updated is good cybersecurity practice. Safety Check also allows you to store passwords. See “An Introduction to Browser Privacy Settings” earlier in this document for more information on the risks and benefits of this – you  may prefer to use a third-party password manager, rather than Chrome’s built-in one, to store passwords. For more information about passwords and password managers, see our resource on password security.

Safety check submenu of mobile Google Chrome. There is text reading "Chrome can help keep you safe from data breaches, unsafe websites, and more." Below that there are items for Updates, Passwords, and Safe Browsing.

Google Chrome for iOS (iPhone, iPad)

If you are using Chrome on iOS, you can find both private browsing and the Settings display in the menu that appears when you press the three horizontal dots in the corner of your browser window.

Google Chrome launch screen for iPhone. "New Incognito Tab," the third option from the top, is circled in red. "Settings," the bottom option, is circled in brown.

Within “Settings,” there is a “Privacy” tab which allows you to clear browsing data easily. There is also a link labeled “Sync and Google Services,” which will take you to another tab. Syncing your activity works the same on iOS devices as it does on Android devices.

Left: Privacy options. "Clear Browsing Data" is the first option. Right: Google Services options in Google Chrome for iPhone. Options include "Sign in to Chrome," Autocomplete Searches and URLs" (off), and "Safe Browsing" (on)

Chrome for iOS has a “Safety Check” feature just like Chrome for Android. This feature is in “Settings,” just above “Privacy.”

Left: Google Chrome for iPhone settings menu. Right: Safety Check features include "Updates (Keep Chrome up to date)," "Passwords (Check for compromised passwords)," and "Safe Browsing (Stay protected from dangerous websites)"

Mozilla Firefox for Android

In the mobile version of Firefox, you can modify privacy settings so that all links you click will open in private browsing tabs, and Firefox will not save the information that you visited those pages. You can access privacy settings in the mobile version of Firefox by pressing the three vertical dots in the upper right corner of the screen and selecting “Settings.” From there, press “Private browsing” and toggle “Open links in a private tab” to the “on” position.

Private browsing settings for Firefox mobile. "Open links in a private tab" is switched on.

If you want to launch a private browsing tab yourself, you can do so by pressing the number in the upper right-hand corner of the app, pressing the mask icon, and then pressing the “+ Private” button, as shown below.

A screen with three emojis at the top. The mask one in the center is a different color to indicate that it is selected. In the middle, text reads "Your private tabs will be shown here." In the bottom right-hand corner there is a button "+ Private"

If you are concerned about someone having access to your device, you may not want Firefox to store or autofill your usernames and passwords for your accounts, since then the person with access to your device could access your accounts. You can disable them by pressing “Logins and passwords” in Settings, turning off Autofill, and pressing “Save logins and passwords” to choose “Never save.”

Logins and passwords screen for Firefox. "Save logins and passwords" is set to "Never save" and "Autofill in Firefox" is turned off.

Similarly, if you are concerned about someone having access, either remotely or physically, to your device, you may not want Firefox to autofill your address or credit card information. You can turn these features off by pressing “Autofill” to display the Autofill menu, and then toggling them to the off position.

Autofill menu of Firefox settings. "Save and autofill addresses" and "Save and autofill cards" are turned off.

Finally, to avoid (even if you are not using private browsing) targeted ads that may provide clues regarding your browsing history, and companies having and possibly selling information regarding your online activity, you can press “Enhanced Tracking Protection” and select the “Strict” setting.

Enhanced Tracking Protection menu of Firefox. There is an option to turn on Enhanced Tracking Protection, and it is set to on. There are three options: Standard (default), Strict, and Custom. Strict is selected.

Samsung Internet (Android)

Samsung Internet is a browser that is pre-installed on phones manufactured by Samsung. Accessing its settings, which include its privacy dashboard, an option to manage and clear personal browsing history, and permissions, requires pressing a button at the bottom of the screen and then pressing the “Settings” icon.

Left: Panel on an image of a phone. The panel has a number of options, including "Settings" near the bottom right corner. Right: Partial view of the "Internet settings" panel on a Samsung Android phone. It has several options.

“Personal browsing data” allows you to clear your history, and to choose whether you want Samsung Internet to be able to autofill forms and store usernames and passwords. If you are concerned about someone having access to your device, you may want to turn these features off. “Secret mode” is Samsung Internet’s version of private browsing, which can be password-protected. “Secret mode settings” allows you to set a password for secret mode.

Left: View of "Personal browsing data" on a Samsung Android phone. Several options, including "Delete browsing data," "Autofill forms," "Usernames and passwords," "Secret mode settings." Right: View of "Secret mode settings" with Use Password option

Secret mode itself can be turned on from the new-tab launcher at the bottom of the screen.

Partial view of the tab launcher in Samsung Internet. It has options to turn on secret mode or launch a new tab.

Safari (iOS)

On iOS mobile devices, you can access Safari’s menu by pressing the puzzle piece icon circled in red in the image below, which gives you options including a privacy report (similar to that of the desktop version of Safari for Macs) and a panel through which you can adjust settings for specific websites.

Partial view of the Safari mobile menu on an iOS device. It has several options, including "Privacy Report" (which shows 4 trackers prevented) and "Website Settings." The puzzle piece icon at bottom left of the screen, to launch menu, circled in red

Website settings allow you to set whether a given website has permission to use your phone’s camera or microphone or access its location (below left image). Pressing the book emoji at the bottom of the screen allows you to view and clear your history, by pressing the clock icon and then “clear” at the bottom right-hand corner (below right image).

Left: Website settings for google.com using Safari on iOS, including google.com's ability to access the device's camera, mic, and location. Right: "History" panel in Safari on iOS, which shows browsing history. Blue "clear" button bottom right

WebView (Android)

WebView is a feature for Android that allows applications (such as Instagram or Gmail) to open links without leaving the app. This means that your data is not being shared between that app and a “regular” browser. It does not have the features of most browsers, but it is fast and can be used as a standalone browser. It is the default browser that comes with many Android tablet devices.

As WebView is primarily intended as a feature for other apps to use, it does not have a settings menu. If you are using it as a standalone browser, pressing the button with three vertical dots in its top right-hand corner, as shown in the below screenshot from a tablet device, gives you the option to destroy this particular WebView and create a new WebView, which will also erase any data that WebView had stored while you were browsing.

Display for WebView Browser Tester 74.0.3729.186. The button with three vertical dots in the upper right-hand corner has been pressed and there is a drop-down menu with the first option being "Destroy and create new WebView."