Browser tips: 3 important (yet ignored) things you should do after using a browser

Hey there! Today I’m going to share with you three important (yet ignored) things you should do after using a browser.

These are simple steps that can make a big difference in your online security and privacy.

Trust me, you don’t want to skip them!

Log out signed in accounts

This one is pretty obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people forget to do it. If you’re using a browser on a public or shared computer, such as at a library, school, or office, you should always log out of any accounts you signed in to.

This includes email, social media, online banking, shopping, and any other websites that require a login.

Why? Because if you don’t, the next person who uses that computer can access your accounts and see your personal information.

Read: 9 red flags of phishing emails.

They can also change your settings, send messages on your behalf, make purchases with your credit card, and do other nasty things. Not cool, right?

To avoid this, make sure you log out of every account before you close the browser.

Also, remember not to save your passwords in the browser’s password manager.

This is a feature that automatically fills in your username and password when you visit a website.

It can be convenient, but it can also be risky. If someone else uses the same browser, they can easily see and use your passwords.

To prevent this, go to the browser’s settings and disable the password manager option. Or better yet, use a third-party password manager app that encrypts your passwords and requires a master password to access them.

Read more on password security here.

Close all open tabs

Another thing you should do after using a browser is to close all the tabs you opened.

This may seem like a minor thing, but it can actually have some benefits. For one thing, it can free up some memory and speed up your computer.

Having too many tabs open can slow down your browser and make it crash more often. It can also drain your battery faster if you’re using a laptop or mobile device.

However, the most salient reason close all the tabs (in this respect) is to protect your privacy.

Some websites may track your browsing activity even after you leave them. They may use cookies, web beacons, or other methods to collect information about what you do online.

This information can be used to target you with ads, personalize content, or even sell it to third parties.

If you don’t want this to happen, you should close the tabs as soon as you’re done with them.

To close all the tabs at once, you can use a keyboard shortcut or a browser extension.

For example, in Chrome, you can press Ctrl+Shift+W (or Cmd+Shift+W on Mac) to close all the tabs in the current window.

Or you can install an extension like OneTab that lets you close all the tabs with one click and save them for later.

Clear history

The last thing you should do after using a browser is to clear your history.

This is the record of all the websites you visited and the actions you performed on them.

It can include things like search queries, form data, downloads, bookmarks, and more.

Your history can be useful for finding something you saw before or revisiting a website you liked.

But it can also expose your personal information and preferences to others who use the same browser or device.

For example, if someone looks at your history, they can see what you searched for on Google, what products you bought on Amazon, what videos you watched on YouTube, and so on.

They can also see any sensitive or embarrassing websites you visited, such as adult sites, health sites, or political sites.

This can compromise your privacy and security, as well as cause awkwardness or conflict.

To avoid this, you should clear your history regularly or use the private browsing mode (incognito mode) of your browser.

The private browsing mode lets you browse the web without saving any history or cookies on your device.

It’s also known as incognito mode in Chrome, private window in Firefox, or InPrivate window in Edge.

To activate it, just press Ctrl+Shift+N (or Cmd+Shift+N on Mac) in any browser.

To clear your history manually, go to the browser’s settings and look for the option to delete browsing data.

You can choose what type of data to delete and how far back to go.

For example, in Chrome, you can go to Settings > Privacy and security > Clear browsing data and select what you want to erase from the last hour, day, week, month, or all time.

Conclusion on browser tips

So there you have it: three important (yet ignored) things you should do after using a browser:

• By logging out of accounts,
• closing tabs, and
• clearing history,

You can improve your online security and privacy and enjoy a better browsing experience.

I hope you found this article helpful and interesting. If you did, please share it with your friends and leave a comment below.

Thanks for reading and happy browsing!