Private tabs
A private tab keeps nothing once you're done with it. Use one to sign in to something just this once, or to look something up without it landing in your history.
Open a private tab
- In Browser, open the More menu beside the address.
- Choose New private tab.
You can also choose Private tab on the new tab page. On a phone, open your tabs, switch to Private, then add one.
A private tab is marked Private in the address bar.
What it keeps
Nothing in a private tab is kept: no history, no cookies and no sign-ins. Private tabs open at the same time share one throwaway profile, so signing in to a site in one signs you in to it in the others. When you close the last of them, everything in them is wiped from your server.
A private tab still works like any other tab:
- Trackers and ads are blocked as usual.
- Downloads still go to Files, so delete them there if you don't want to keep them.
- Sites still see your server's internet address.
- It shows on your other devices, under Private in the tabs view on a phone.
Private tabs don't come back when your browser starts again, after it's been stopped for a while or after you change a setting.
Children can't open private tabs.
What an ordinary tab keeps
Outside private tabs, your browser keeps your history, cookies and site data on your server, away from everyone else. Change what it keeps in Settings › Browser, under What's kept:
- Keep history for: a week, a month, 3 months, a year, or always. It starts at 3 months.
- Save passwords keeps the passwords you save in your browser on your server. Passkeys on your phone can't be used in it.
- Clear… clears your history, your cookies and site data (which signs you out of sites), and saved copies of pages and pictures. Choose which, then Clear.
To clear just one site's cookies and data, open About this site from the shield beside the address and choose Clear.