How to recover deleted history

Recover deleted history: When we browse the Internet, all the sites we visit are recorded in the browsing history. It is quite common for many users to regularly delete this file, in order to preserve their privacy and that no prying eyes can access it. But sometimes it happens that we want to see something that we have erased. We explain here how to recover deleted history.

In this post we number all the ways we have to retrieve this information (although in some cases it is impossible, as we will see). The methods vary depending on the browser we usually use.

Recover Chrome history

First of all, let’s discuss how to recover deleted history in today’s most popular browser – Chrome. There are several methods available:

from Windows

In Windows, the DNS cache of the system is the one in charge of storing information about all the web pages that we visit. Therefore, it is the place to which we must go to try to recover. These are the steps to follow:

1. We will use the key combination Windows + R to launch the run window.
2. In it we write the cmd command and press “OK”.
3. Next, in the Command Prompt box we write: ipconfig /displaydns.
4. Finally, we press “Enter” , which will bring up a list with all the history saved in the system’s DNS cache.

This method has some drawbacks : it will not work if we have previously turned off the computer: on the other hand, the list will only show the address of the main page of the site we have visited.

How to Turn on “Enhanced Safe Browsing” in Google Chrome

Via google

If we have a Google account, our chances of recovering lost history are greatly increased thanks to the “My Activity” service. This is how to proceed:

1. We go to “My Activity” of Google.
2. Once there, we log in with our Google account.
3. Below are all the pages we’ve viewed in chronological order, from newest to oldest.

For this method to work, make sure that the “Activity on the Web and in Apps” option is activated beforehand, as shown in the image above.

On a mobile phone

It is also possible to recover the chrome history with an Android mobile phone. The system is the same as the one in the previous section (the «My Google Activity» service), but with some small differences:

1. First we open the “Settings” of our device.
2. There we go to Google and select our own account.
3. Then we select the “Data and personalization” tab.
4. In this section, we click on the “My activity” option , where we will find the history of websites visited.

Recover Firefox history

If your preferred browser is Mozilla Firefox , we will have two methods to recover the deleted history. The first is the same as we have already seen for Chrome: querying the DNS cache. The second is the backup method . We show you how to do it:

1. We go to “Start” and use the Find option to open the “Tools” folder.
2. There, in “Folder Options” click on “View” and then open the option “Show hidden files and folders”.
3. Within this folder we proceed to deactivate the following options:
   • “Hide extensions for known file types.”
   • “Hide protected operating system files.”
4. Then we go to “All files and folders” and in the search bar we write: index.dat.
5. Press «Search» .*
6. Finally, we click on the Firefox browsing history that we want to restore by clicking “Restore”.

(*) Before reaching this step, we must make sure we have the index.dat file reader installed on our computer.

Recover Safari history

Mac users (Safari browser) have an easy method to recover deleted internet browsing history: Time Machine.

In order to use this method, the first thing we must do is make sure that the function is activated in the “Systems” menu of the main menu. Once the checks are done, simply do the following:

1. We access Time Machine.
2. In the menu that is displayed, we select “Enter Time Machine” to go directly to the folder where the backups are archived.
3. Once the copy is located, we use the “Recover” option.

External tools to recover a browsing history

Sometimes the native tools are not enough and you have no choice but to resort to external programs. And, although there are many, we have selected here only two, which are undoubtedly among the best.

• For Windows: Recuva . This is a very easy-to-use CCleaner tool that, in addition to helping us recover our history, can also be used to rescue photos, videos, and other files.
• For MacOS: Recoverit , a software capable of performing a deep scan of our computer in search of “lost” data and files. Perfect for recovering an accidentally deleted browsing history with all its content.