The Missing Browsing Data
Microsoft Edge, the default web browser in Windows 11, includes several privacy-focused features designed to keep your browsing habits secure, especially on shared computers. One of these features allows Edge to automatically delete your browsing history, cookies, cached images, and even passwords every single time you close the browser window. While this “Clear on exit” feature is fantastic for maintaining a pristine, private state (similar to permanently using InPrivate mode), it can be incredibly frustrating if you rely on your history to find previously visited pages or depend on active login sessions to stay signed into your favourite websites.
Disabling ‘Clear Browsing Data on Exit’
To retain your browsing history and active logins, you need to stop Windows 11’s default browser from automatically deleting this data upon closure by modifying the Edge privacy settings.
Open Microsoft Edge. Click the three-dot menu icon (Settings and more) in the top-right corner of the browser window and select Settings from the drop-down menu. In the left-hand sidebar, click on Privacy, search, and services. Scroll down the main pane until you find the section labeled Clear browsing data. Within this section, click on the option that says Choose what to clear every time you close the browser. You will be presented with a list of data types (Browsing history, Download history, Cookies and other site data, etc.), each with a toggle switch next to it. To stop Edge from deleting your history, ensure the toggle next to Browsing history is flipped to the Off position (the toggle will be greyed out, not blue). Review the other toggles on this page; if you want to stay logged into websites, ensure “Cookies and other site data” is also turned off. Edge will now preserve your data between sessions.