The Blank Slate
Google Chrome saves a history of every website you visit, making it easy to find that recipe you looked at last Tuesday or quickly auto-complete URLs in the address bar. However, some users find that their browsing history is completely wiped clean every single time they close the browser. While this is excellent for privacy on a shared public computer, on a personal machine, it forces you to constantly log back into sites and prevents you from easily retracing your steps. This happens because Chrome has been configured to automatically purge local data upon exit.
Disabling ‘Clear on Exit’ Settings
To retain your browsing record and stop Google Chrome from automatically deleting your history when you close the application, you must disable the setting that clears data upon exit.
Open Google Chrome. Click the three vertical dots in the top-right corner and select Settings. In the left-hand menu, click on Privacy and security. Next, click on Site settings. Scroll down to the “Content” section and click on Additional content settings, then select On-device site data. Ensure the primary setting is not set to “Delete data sites have saved to your device when you close all windows.”
Furthermore, return to the main Privacy and security page and click Clear browsing data. Ensure that you haven’t accidentally set up an automated script or a third-party extension (like a privacy cleaner) that is hijacking this function, as Chrome’s native “Clear browsing data” menu only executes manually, while the “Site settings” menu handles the automated deletion upon closing.