How to Disable Deleting Browsing and Download History in Microsoft Edge?

Wondering how to disable deleting browsing and download history in Microsoft Edge?

Deleting your browser’s history might seem like a reasonable option in a lot of cases. However, sometimes you may want to do things the other way around.

Web browsers allow you to disable deleting browsing and download history just the way they allow you to remove it. Disabling the removing feature can be helpful in several instances, like when your PC is used by multiple users and you want to keep a track of their search history. 

If you are looking for easy ways to do so in Microsoft Edge, you are in the right place.

In this guide, we will walk you through the steps of disabling deleting browsing and download history in Microsoft Edge in detail. 

Let’s jump right in!

1. Modify Windows Registry.

In case you have ever wanted to control and customize each feature of your operating system, Windows Registry is something you should know about. 

Windows Registry is a database that contains low-level information about Windows programs and processes. Windows refers to this information while performing relevant functions, which makes the Registry an important part of our operating system. 

If you wish to disable deleting browsing and download history in Microsoft Edge, then the easiest way to do it is via Windows Registry. However, we recommend being very careful while performing the steps mentioned in this method since even a minor error can wreak havoc in your PC. 

Here is what you need to do:

  1. Open a Run dialogue box by pressing Windows + R keys simultaneously. 
  2. Inside the text field of the dialogue box, type ‘regedit‘ and hit Enter. Doing so will launch Windows Registry on your computer. 
  3. In the newly launched window, navigate to the location mentioned below. 
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge
  1. If you cannot locate the Edge key, right-click on the Microsoft key and select the New > Key option. 
  2. Name this newly created key as Edge
  3. Now double-click on the Edge key and right-click anywhere in the right pane. 
  4. Select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value option and name this value as AllowDeletingBrowserHistory
  5. Double-click on AllowDeletingBrowserHistory and under Value data, type 0
How to Disable Deleting Browsing and Download History in Microsoft Edge
  1. Finally, restart your PC to save the changes. 

That’s it. This should disable deleting browsing and download history in Microsoft Edge. To enable it back, replace the 0 under Value data with 1.

2. Try Using CleanMyPC.

There is a high probability that your system is infected with a virus or malware if you fail to perform the desired action by following the instructions in this article. In this case, you may wish to delete junk files first, and then proceed with the steps mentioned in this guide.

To accomplish this, we recommend using a reliable PC cleaner. If you are having trouble finding one, we recommend CleanMyPC

Install CleanMyPC on your PC

With CleanMyPC, you will find everything you need to keep your computer functioning smoothly. It comes with a straightforward interface, which means you can work on it relatively easily. Moreover, CleanMyPC features a variety of tools to perform other PC-related tasks as well, such as boosting the speed and performance of your system.

Install CleanMyPC now to get your PC up and running like new!


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3. Use Group Policy Editor. 

If performing the task in question with the Registry Editor seems complicated, then try using Group Policy Editor instead. 

Like the Registry Editor, Group Policy Editor too is an administrative-level tool that allows the users to tweak Windows operations according to their own preferences. 

Here is what you need to do:

  1. Visit Microsoft’s official website
  2. Scroll down the window and select the version details of your Microsoft Edge. 
  3. Click the GET POLICY FILES button to download the policy files and once the download is complete, extract the downloaded file.
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  1. Now open the extracted file and navigate to the location mentioned below.
MicrosoftEdgePolicyTemplates\windows\admx
  1. Copy the msedge.admx and msedge.adml files and paste them in the C:\Windows\PolicyDefinitions folder. If you cannot locate the msedge.adml file, check them in the en-US folder.
  2. Once you have pasted the files, restart your PC. 
  3. Upon reboot, open a Run dialogue box by pressing Windows + R keys on your keyboard simultaneously. 
  4. Inside the text field of the dialogue box, type ‘gpedit.msc‘ and hit Enter to launch the Group Policy Editor on your PC. 
  5. In the Group Policy Editor window, navigate to the location mentioned below. 
Computer Configuration\ Administrative Templates\ Microsoft Edge
  1. In the right pane, locate Enable deleting browser and download history and double-click on it. 
How to Disable Deleting Browsing and Download History in Microsoft Edge
  1. Select Disabled and click Apply to save the changes. 

As simple as that!

In case you want to enable this feature in the future, follow the steps mentioned above and in the 11th step, choose Enabled.

This brings us to the end of our guide on disabling deleting browsing and download history in Microsoft Edge. We hope that one of the methods did the trick for you but if you still have any questions, please let us know in the comment section below.

If this guide helped you, please share it. 🙂

Author

  • Zainab Falak is a staff writer for Saint and an expert in Microsoft Windows, having authored more than 200 posts. She has a Bachelors in Actuarial Sciences and her passion for computers extends to exploring various aspects, from UI customization to the Windows registry and exploring error codes. Twitter LinkedIn

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