While Windows 10 includes Internet Explorer 11, the default web browser is Microsoft Edge.
Edge moves quite a few settings around, so what might have been second nature in Internet Explorer could well be confusing in Edge. If you're completely new to Edge and want a guided tour around, check out our beginner's introduction.
[Read more: How to check your child’s web browser history]
For example, Edge changes the way you manage the browser history and it doesn’t present quite the same detailed view as Internet Explorer. So read on to find out how to access and delete your web browser history in Edge.
If the changes are too much for you, you could always change browser. Read our guide on changing the default browser in Windows 10 here.
Step 1: Open the Edge Hub
Launch Edge and click the Hub icon on the toolbar — it looks like three horizontal lines. A sidebar will open on the right of the window. Click the pushpin icon at the top right of the sidebar to pin it into place and stop it from disappearing. Next click the History icon at the top of the sidebar — it looks like a clock face.
Step 2: View the browser history
You should now see a list of web pages that have been opened recently in Edge. The list is split into three sections — pages opened in Edge in the last hour, pages opened in the last week and pages opened some time before that. Click each section header to expand and contract it as you look through the list.
Step 3: Open a previously visited page
Click an entry in the list to open that page in Edge. Unfortunately, these ‘Last hour’, ‘Last week’ and ‘Older’ options are the only way to view the browser history in Edge. There’s no way to sort pages by site or ‘most visited’, as is possible in Internet Explorer, although this feature may be added in a future update.
[Read more: Get started with Microsoft Edge]
Step 4: Remove individual pages from the browser history
You can remove all web pages from one of the sections in the history by clicking the X at its right side.
Step 5: Clear the whole browser history
To clear the entire browser history in one go, click Clear all history at the top of the History sidebar. You’ll then see options for what you want to clear, with Browsing history, Cookies and saved web site data, and Cached data and files selected by default. If all you want to clear is the browser history, untick the boxes for Cookies and saved web site data and Cached data and files, since clearing these will log you out of any web sites you’re logged into. Click the Clear button to continue.
Step 6: Check the history in other browsers
Don’t forget that just because Edge is the default web browser in Windows 10, it doesn’t mean your child is using it. So be sure to check the web history in Internet Explorer and for any other web browsers that are installed. Check out our story: How to view your web browser’s history to find out more.
Want to get more out of Edge? Check out these 8 tips to get you started.
