Most people don’t even care about their browsing history, and this is not at all surprising. It’s all because they are unaware of the dangers posed by their browsing history. Your browsing history can expose much of the information about your online activities. Even your ISP or anyone snooping on your network can track you via your browsing activities. All this puts your digital privacy at significant risk.
If you want to secure and hide your browsing experience, finding practical solutions for hiding your browsing activities is essential. This article delves deep into the best ways to hide your browsing history and enhance your online security and privacy over the internet. So, let’s get started with this.
Quick Tip
No matter where you live or what device and network you use, there are thousands of surveillance, monitoring, tracking, and restrictions on the Internet. Sometimes it is implemented by ISP, WiFi owners, office employers,s and others. Here is a quick way to bypass restrictions and make your device anonymous by using the fastest and strongest VPN. It will hide browser history, activity, and geo-blocking quickly.
Why Do You Need to Hide Your Browsing History?
The web browser you use knows everything about your browsing activities. When you visit any website, the browser saves a lot of information about your online activities. If you are using regular browsers like Google, Microsoft Edge, or Safari, you are susceptible to online tracking. These browsers use cookies and trackers to store your sensitive information about you and put your privacy at risk. The exposed data can be your:
- Autofill information
- Browsing history
- Cookies and trackers
- Login credentials
The primary purpose behind browsers gathering your online data is to sell it to a third party to generate revenue. Moreover, sometimes the browser itself has some serious issues or flaws that can have more catastrophic impacts on your online privacy. For this reason, it’s better to stay ahead of these privacy invaders and look for effective solutions for hiding browsing history.
How To Hide Browsing Activities/History
With online privacy has become a serious issue, people are now more concerned about remaining private while browsing the web. They are currently looking for ways to hide their browsing history, as this will provide them more anonymity and control over their browsing data. The following mentioned below are the best ways to hide your browsing history from all snooping eyes:
Use VPN: (best to hide data from ISP)
The first and most effective way to hide your browsing activities is to use a reliable VPN provider. A VPN is the perfect anonymity tool for providing maximum security and online protection. By obscuring your IP address and location, a VPN prevents prying eyes from monitoring your browsing activities.
Moreover, it also encrypts the data into deeply encrypted packets routed through remote servers located in some private locations. If anyone tries to monitor your network, they can only see scrambled data and can’t detect your online activities.
Use Private Browsers: (To hide browsing history from ISP)
Mainstream web browsers work as data-collecting tools for advertising companies. It is time to start using the best private browsers to hide your browsing activities.
These browsers keep your activities anonymous and maintain your privacy by blocking ads, cookies, trackers, and malware and protecting against browser fingerprinting. Here’s a quick overview of some of the best browsers for privacy:
- Tor Browser: It uses layered encryption to hide your IP address and ensure online anonymity. Also, it uses HTTPS Everywhere and NoScript extensions that further enhance your privacy and prevent trackbacks. www.tor.com
- Brave Browser: It automatically deletes your browser sessions and blocks malicious scripts using HTTPS Everywhere and NoScript. Also, the Brave Shield feature prevents pop-up ads from ruining your browsing experience.
- DuckDuckGo: Using the Smarter Encryption Technology automatically upgrades your connection. This allows you to use the encrypted version of the websites and gain more anonymity over the web. Also, the fire tab button enables the users to clear their browsing data and makes their browsing activities private.
The issue with these private browsers is that they don’t provide actual data encryption with a VPN. Without encryption, all your data and activities are still visible to your ISP, third parties, or anyone monitoring your network.
Use Private Search Engines: (hide Search activities or History)
A private search engine is the most reliable tool to protect your search history. They are non-traceable and have special private servers designed to hide your search history from anyone monitoring your network. These search engines ensure that your data remains secure and protected by blocking trackers, hiding your IP address, and routing the data through remote servers.
Some of the best private search engines include:
- StartPage: It is a Netherland-based search engine that provides robust security and online protection to users. For providing top-notch protection, the search engine received the European Privacy Seal award in 2008, 2011, 2013, and 2015.
- DuckDuckGo: One of the most popular search engines that use the Tor network to boost your online privacy and protect your search history from all prying eyes.
- Search Encrypt: A private company in Cyprus founded this search engine in 2016 to provide maximum online protection. It uses AES-256-bit encryption and SSL encryption to prevent any snooping from spying on your search history.
- Swisscows: A Switzerland-based company founded it for not collecting user IP addresses and other sensitive information. It uses encryption technology to hide your search history, IP address, and location. Furthermore, it also uses artificial intelligence and machine learning technology to analyze the user search context.
- Searx.me: It is an open-source browser that allows anyone to alter their code to gain ultimate security and privacy over the web. It uses a proxy option to protect your identity when you visit any website.
These search engines use site-to-site encryption and thus don’t completely encrypt your data, which concerns privacy-conscious people.
Use Browser Extensions: (to avoid tracking script)
A browser extension is an extended software that helps you gain maximum online security and privacy within your browsers. These extensions prevent monitoring and tracking and allow users to browse the web more privately.
The internet is full of a browser extension that helps in attaining the desired online protection. However, not all browser extensions are worth using. Some of the best browser extensions you can trust are as follows:
- Privacy Badger: Developed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, that automatically detects and blocks trackers and intrusive pop-up ads.
- uBlock Origin: A browser-based content blocker that hides your browsing history by blocking ads and trackers.
- HTTPS Everywhere: It was also developed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), enabling websites to use more secure HTTPS-encrypted connections.
- uMatrix: It allows the users to switch from every kind of connection and blocks cookies to ensure a safe and secure browsing experience.
- NoScript: If you’re on an untrusted site, this extension prevents Javascript, Java, Flash, and other plugins from running into it.
Be careful when you use any of the browser extensions. It’s because many extensions on the Google Play Store or Apple Store, despite having high ratings, still function as data-collecting tools and can infect your device with malware.
Use HTTPS Websites: (to visit encrypted websites only)
The Hypertext transfer protocol is secure, or HTTPS is a more secure version of HTTP. It uses the SSL/TLS protocol to encrypt your communication and thus prevents the website from leaking your details. The primary protocol transfers data between the browser and a website and ensures no one can monitor your online activities.
Unlike regular HTTP sites, it is encrypted when the data is transferred via HTTPS sites. Even if someone tries to intercept the data, they only see scrambled data.
Besides this, it also protects your data from phishing, breaches, malware, and MITM attacks. Whenever you visit any site, check if it is HTTPS secured; if it isn’t, try not to use it.
Use Private / Incognito Mode: (provide some level of protection)
Another best way to hide your browsing activities is to activate the private/incognito mode from the browser’s toolbar.
Using the browser in private/incognito mode means that all your data won’t be stored on your device or Google accounts. It blocks the third-party cookies that track you when you visit different websites. Also, it keeps your browsing history private by deleting the temporary browsing data after each session. This prevents anyone from knowing about your browsing activities and provides you with online anonymity.
However, the biggest drawback of the private/incognito mode is that it only provides surface-level security. It means that despite deleting your cookies and browsing history, your IP address is still visible, and you can be tracked back. This makes you vulnerable to online spying and hacking.
Configure Your Privacy Settings
If you’re using any social networking site like Facebook, it logs your browsing history and keeps track of your online activities. The collected data is later shared with the third companies that target you with ads and generate revenue. Besides this, Facebook algorithms also keep gathering helpful information about you. By configuring your privacy settings, you can minimize some of the risks of getting tracked by Facebook.
Ensure that when you use such sites, turn off your GPS, avoid giving much of your personal information, and disable the tracking option from the settings menu. The steps for it are as follows:
- Access to the settings menu > Privacy > Tracking > Disable Apps to track you.
You should also turn off your Facebook activity as it will further prevent tracking, and by doing so, you will be able to delete all your previous past activities. The steps for disabling this feature are as follows:
- Go to the settings menu > Settings & Privacy > Permissions > Off-Facebook activity > Clear History
You can disable the tracking feature if you’re using Google and don’t want your device to be tracked. The steps for it are as follows:
- Go to https://myactivity.google.com/ > Activity Controls > Select the activities you want to turn off.
However, if users change their privacy settings, they can still see ads. It’s because Google depends on advertisements to make revenue; it can’t stop tracking your online activities. Hence, use encryption software along with changing your privacy settings.
How to Hide Your Browsing History From ISP?
Your ISP tracks gather more and more information about you and your browsing activities. The worst thing about ISP tracking is that they do it without users’ consent.
The ISP tracks you for several different reasons, such as:
- To sell your browsing data to third parties and earn money
- P2P Monitoring
- To implement data retention laws
- Bandwidth throttling
- To enforce censorship
No matter the reason, ISP tracking risks your online security and privacy. Also, from the user’s perspective, it is a violation of individual rights to online privacy. Thus you need to do something to prevent it. The best way to hide your browsing history from ISP is to use a VPN. It masks your IP address and encrypts the data traffic making your activities anonymous from the ISPs.
How to Hide Your Browsing History From Employers?
Employers monitor their employees’ browsing activities, and it has a purpose. Firstly, it is done due to compliance with security regulations. Companies enforce such rules to monitor their internal networks and prevent hacking or any fraudulent activities.
Another reason is the lack of trust in their employees. Employers want to keep track of their employees’ productivity by monitoring their internet usage. Thus, they track the websites they visit, their time spent online, their downloading history, and other browsing data. An employee doesn’t feel private or secure in such situations.
The best way to hide the browsing history from employers is to use a combination of a VPN and incognito/private mode. A reliable VPN not just keeps your internet activities private from your employer but also encrypts the data traffic and routes it to a remote server. At the same time, an incognito/private mode will also delete the cookies and browsing history files once you close the browser. Hence, it keeps your browsing history clean all the time.
How to Hide Your Browsing History from Wi-Fi Router?
To hide your browsing history from your Wi-Fi Router, encrypt it. You can either encrypt it manually or by using a VPN.
Here are the steps for manually encrypting the Wi-Fi router:
- Open the wireless security settings on your router configuration page.
- Select the type of security you want. You’ve to choose from three options, i.e., WPA, WPA2, and WEP. Among all, WPA2 is the most secure, so choose it.
- Access the network by entering a passphrase.
That’s it! Your Wi-Fi router is now encrypted; you can surf the web anonymously. Your Wi-Fi router knows your IP address, so it can also track you through it. By hiding your IP address with a VPN, you can easily hide your browsing history from the ISP. Furthermore, another added benefit of using a VPN is that it encrypts your data traffic and makes you utterly anonymous over the web.
How to Hide Your Browsing History on iPhone?
Many people believe that using an iPhone is more secure than Android smartphones. However, it isn’t. The Apple built-in privacy browser Safari has severe compatibility and software update issues.
If you think using a private mode might help you, then again, sorry, it won’t. The Safari browser has been found collecting user browsing history, even in private mode, and selling it to third parties. Also, malicious pop-up ads, trackers, and browser fingerprinting are enough to weaken your online privacy.
Moreover, the tricks and sophisticated tools used by hackers today can comprise any device and account. This is why it has become vital to hide browsing history.
The best way an iPhone user should use a combination of private browsers and some browser extensions is to browse anonymously. A private browser and privacy extensions block ads, cookies, and trackers and help them attain maximum digital privacy.
With all this, they can use a legitimate VPN provider that can guarantee anonymity and online protection by obscuring the IP address and providing encryption. You can hide your browsing activities on an iPhone with all these measures.
How to Hide Your Browsing History on Android?
The global popularity of Android smartphones makes them an easy target for hackers and other potential threats and vulnerabilities. Moreover, ever since Google acquired Android, it has tracked users and thus made it more difficult for them to browse the web anonymously.
You can hide your search history on Android phones by using privacy browsers and some privacy extensions such as HTTPS Everywhere and NoScript. They ensure your privacy by blocking intrusive ads, cookies, trackers, and other browser privacy issues. Besides this, you can also use the best private search engines like SearchEncrypt and DuckDuckGo that don’t track your online searches and make you private on the internet.
Along with a private browser and search engine, it is also good if you use a reliable VPN provider. It provides actual data encryption and hides your IP address for maximum online anonymity.
You can even turn off your Recent Search History to protect your search history on your Android phone. Here are the steps for it:
- Go to System Settings > Tap on the Google button under the Accounts options.
- Tap on Search > Privacy & Accounts > Show Recent Searches > Uncheck the box next to it.
Now, no one can see your recent searches on your Android device.
How to Hide Browsing History From Google?
The mainstream browsers, primarily Google, are advertising companies’ most prominent data collection tools. It uses cookies to track your online behavior, record your activities, and make money by targeting you with advertisements. Google also tracks you through your searches, location, preferences, and information you upload online.
Sadly, using the Google browser alone in incognito or private mode might not hide your IP address. Also, Google in the past, was fined $5 billion for monitoring user activities in Incognito mode.
To hide your browsing history from Google
- Use a legitimate VPN provider
- Browse in private/incognito mode or use private browsers
- Log out from all your accounts
- Share as much minimum information about yourself
- Switch off your GPS
Another easiest way to hide browsing history from Google is to delete your search history. Here are the steps for wiping out your Google Chrome search history:
- Open Google Chrome > Click on More menu > Tap on the three dots on your browser’s top right side.
- Go to the History menu > Tap on the History option > Click on Clear browsing data to delete your entire search history at once. (If you want to delete individual searches, select the boxes to the left of different search listings and click on Delete).
By following all these steps you can gain more anonymity over the web.
FAQs
Here’s some more information regarding hiding your browsing history from all snooping eyes:
There are various methods you can adopt to hide your internet searches. You can use private search engines instead of using regular search engines. They are more secure and reliable to use because they keep no track of your searches, browsing history, and other data logs. You can also use only HTTPS-secured websites and different secure browser add-ons and extensions. Additionally, using a VPN with them will further increase your anonymity over the web.
Yes, a VPN is the best privacy tool for hiding your browsing history. A VPN masks your IP address, encrypts your data traffic, routes it via a remote server, and makes it impossible for anyone to monitor what you are doing online.
Yes. Your (ISP) can potentially see your browsing history unless you take steps to hide it through the use of a virtual private network (VPN) or other privacy tools. While ISPs may have policies against sharing or selling user data, they may still collect and analyze your browsing activity for various purposes, such as network management or targeted advertising.
It is possible that your Internet Service Provider (ISP) may be able to see some of your deleted browsing histories. While clearing your browsing history may remove the data from your device, it may not completely erase it from the ISP’s records. The extent to which deleted history is visible to the ISP depends on various factors, such as the specific browsing activity and the methods used to delete it.
If you are using a reliable Virtual Private Network (VPN), your Internet Service Provider (ISP) will not be able to see your browsing activities. When you connect to a VPN, your data is encrypted and routed through the VPN server, so your ISP can only see that you are connected to a VPN and the amount of data being transmitted.
Yes, If you are connected to someone else’s Wi-Fi network, the owner of the network may potentially be able to see some of your browsing activity, such as the websites you visit and the content you access.
It is possible for someone to see your browsing history after you delete it, depending on various factors such as the type of device, browser, and operating system you are using. Even after you clear your browsing history, certain data, such as cookies or cached files, may still be present on your device, which could potentially be used to reconstruct your browsing history. Additionally, if your browsing activity was recorded or stored on a remote server, such as a cloud backup service, it may still be accessible even after you delete it from your local device.
Yes, it is possible for your employer to see your browsing history on incognito mode or private browsing mode. While these modes can help to prevent your browsing history from being stored on your device, they do not provide complete privacy or anonymity. Your employer may still be able to monitor your network activity and track the websites you visit, especially if you are using a work computer or network. It is important to be aware of your employer’s policies regarding internet usage and to use caution when accessing sensitive or inappropriate content on work devices or networks.
Final Thoughts
You can easily track whatever you do online via your IP address, cookies, trackers, and browsing history. Anyone can track or monitor you via your browsing activities. It has become imperative to protect your browsing activities from your ISPs, employer, Wi-Fi, the device, and the browser you use. To achieve the utmost security and protection at all times, you should look out for some effective tips.
The tips mentioned above deal best with hiding your browsing activities. Follow them and surf the web safely and anonymously.
I am leaving a more reliable link in case you would like to educate yourself about the SearchEncrypt malware website listed in your privacy guide too.
https://blog.malwarebytes.com/detections/adware-searchencrypt/
I Will update shorlty, thanks