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Why such limited options in clearing recent history?

  • 8 பதிலளிப்புகள்
  • 0 இந்த பிரச்னைகள் உள்ளது
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  • Last reply by jscher2000 - Support Volunteer

When I go to clear the cache, browsing history, cookies, etc. the only options we have are "Today", a few even smaller time periods (1, 2, 4 hours), or "Everything"! What's up with that? Every other browser offers at least the option of "past 7 days" or some other time period that goes further back than one day, without having to clear "Everything", don't others find this to be arbitrarily limited? I can't even delete cache from yesterday, much less a few days earlier...

When I go to clear the cache, browsing history, cookies, etc. the only options we have are "Today", a few even smaller time periods (1, 2, 4 hours), or "Everything"! What's up with that? Every other browser offers at least the option of "past 7 days" or some other time period that goes further back than one day, without having to clear "Everything", don't others find this to be arbitrarily limited? I can't even delete cache from yesterday, much less a few days earlier...

All Replies (8)

The purpose of "Clear Recent History" is to have Firefox "forget" some recent activity on the browser. It also contains Everything if you need it to forget across all time.

There are add-ons that allow for other types of history deletion. However, I don't know whether there are other tools to clear only portions of the web content cache. Why not just clear the whole cache using the "Clear Data" button? That doesn't disturb browsing and download history (URL memory), and you can opt in or out of clearing cookies there. See: How to clear the Firefox cache.

To advocate for more options within Firefox itself:

Mozilla has a product suggestion site at https://connect.mozilla.org/. I think if you have time, it would be a good idea to post this request there to get into the current feedback stream. Use the "Ideas" section of the site.

I don't think you can clear the cache partly, clearing the cache was always all or nothing, unless this has changed recently.

You can reload webpage(s) and bypass the cache to refresh possibly outdated or corrupted files.

  • hold down the Shift key and left-click the Reload button
  • press "Ctrl + F5" or press "Ctrl + Shift + R" (Windows,Linux)
  • press "Command + Shift + R" (Mac)

The library (ctl+shft+h) enables you to clear other periods of browsing history by selecting the period you want to clear in the left pane.

First of all, I"m not asking how to clear just some of the cache, as I always want that cleared. I'm talking about the very limited time frames. I know of no other browser, that only offers to clear history/cookies/cache for only up to one day, or "everything". Today, last 4, 2, or 1 hour is hardly much of a choice. What if I just want to clear stuff from yesterday, or just the past week? Sure, I can open all history, and manually select how far back to go, but why not just offer more options, as every other browser does, why just 4,2,1 hr or Today only? It just makes no sense to me.

The options available for clearing recent history in web browsers, including Firefox, are designed to strike a balance between usability and privacy. While some users may desire more granular control over which specific data to delete, providing too many options can make the feature overwhelming and confusing for many users.

Here are some reasons why web browsers may offer limited options for clearing recent history:

1. Simplicity for Most Users: Browsers aim to be user-friendly for a broad audience. Offering a few straightforward options simplifies the process of clearing browsing data for most users who just want a quick way to clear their recent history without diving into complex settings.

2. Most Commonly Needed Data: The available options cover the most commonly needed data elements that users may want to clear, such as browsing history, cookies, cache, and form data. These are the primary components that can affect privacy, site preferences, and storage on a user's device.

3. Avoiding Accidental Deletion: Too many options could lead to users accidentally deleting data they wanted to keep. By offering a limited set of options, browsers reduce the chances of users inadvertently deleting important information.

jimmy.wick90 said

The options available for clearing recent history in web browsers, including Firefox, are designed to strike a balance between usability and privacy. While some users may desire more granular control over which specific data to delete, providing too many options can make the feature overwhelming and confusing for many users.

I think ChatGPT is in the house. It likes to talk, but it rarely solves a real problem.

As previously mentioned, suggestions for product changes are best directed to https://connect.mozilla.org/. Use the "Ideas" section of the site to get into the product workflow.

First, why can't I address a specific person's comments with a reply? And I don't see how to include a quote of someone's comment, either. When did this happen? There seems to be a lot of response tools missing... And I have gone to Connect, but while I was able to sign in, it wouldn't let me post any comments, saying some nonsense about maybe I didn't verify my email address (which I've been using for the last 25 years), and then seeing to click on . . . and then it cut off!! Leaving me with zero options! Firefox used to make more sense, now it's become a bit of a wack mess.

StevenCee said

First, why can't I address a specific person's comments with a reply? And I don't see how to include a quote of someone's comment, either.

This forum is not threaded, but you can quote a post: use the menu button (3 dots in a vertical stack) to the right of their username at the right edge of the post.