Understand what your browser remembers.

Begin with a specific question

Privacy settings work best when you know what you want them to change. Are you keeping a temporary session out of your usual browser history, limiting a site’s permissions, or deciding whether an extension needs access to every page? These are different tasks with different controls.

Review a small number of settings at a time and keep the effect in view. A setting that removes local data does not necessarily remove information already held by a website or other service.

Private browsing has a boundary

A private window separates a browsing session from your usual cookies and history in useful ways, but it does not make you invisible to the websites you use or to every organization handling your network connection. Downloads, bookmarks, and activity tied to a signed-in account need separate consideration.

Read what private browsing hides and what it does not. Google’s official Incognito guide explains the behavior in Chrome.

Clear the data that relates to the problem

Cookies and cached files have different jobs. Deleting cookies can change a site’s remembered session or preferences; clearing cached resources can cause the browser to fetch them again. Neither action is a universal repair for every website issue.

Start with our cookies and cache guide before selecting everything in a browser-data dialog. Save unfinished work and understand what the selected option includes.

Give extensions a clear job

Consider the publisher, the requested access, and whether a built-in feature can handle the task. Review extensions you already have, especially after their purpose or permissions change. A familiar-looking listing is not enough to justify broad access.

Use the browser extension checklist to make the review concrete. Keep software current and follow your organization’s requirements on managed devices.