How to Enable or Disable Clear Browsing Data When Microsoft Edge Closes in Windows 11 By default, Microsoft Edge stores browsing history, cache, cookies, and other session data until user manually clears it. But in secure or compliance-driven environments, you may want this data automatically deleted whenever the browser closes. Before we begin, be sure to subscribe to NinjaOne’s IT video hub for more tech content like this. How to Clear Browsing Data When Microsoft Edge Closes Method 1: Configure in Edge Settings This is the simplest approach and doesn't require admin rights, but it only affects the signed-in user’s profile. Here are the steps: Open Microsoft Edge. Click the three-dot menu in the upper-right and select Settings. Navigate to Privacy, search, and services. Under Clear browsing data, click Choose what to clear every time you close the browser. Toggle the categories you want—such as browsing history, cookies, cached files, or download history. Close Edge, and from now on, that data will be cleared automatically each time you exit. Method 2: Registry Editor For system-wide enforcement, or when Group Policy isn’t available, the Registry Editor is your tool. This is especially useful on Windows 11 Home. This method enforces the behavior for all users on the system, making it more suitable for shared or multi-user environments. A quick word of caution: Misconfigurations in the registry can cause system issues. So back it up first. Press Win + R, type regedit, and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter. Navigate to this path. If the Edge key doesn’t exist, create it. Then inside this key, create or edit a DWORD (32-bit) Value called ClearBrowsingDataOnExit. Set the value data to: 1 = Automatically clear data when Edge closes. 0 = Data persists between sessions. Reboot to apply the changes. Method 3: Local Group Policy Editor For organizations where consistency and administrative control matter most, Group Policy is the best route. While this only enforces the policy locally, you can scale it across an Organizational Unit using the Group Policy Management Console in Active Directory. Press Win + R, type gpedit.msc, and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter. Navigate to Computer Configuration Administrative Templates > Microsoft Edge. Locate Clear browsing data when Microsoft Edge closes. Double-click it and set the policy to Enabled. To undo, set it to Disabled or Not Configured. Once configured, press Apply and OK. You can force an update with gpupdate /force, then restart Edge to confirm the policy takes effect. Automatically clearing browsing data in Edge helps maintain compliance, security, and user privacy, whether you’re managing a personal device, a fleet of shared PCs, or an enterprise environment. For more information, check out our official blog post on how to enable or disable “Clear browsing data when Microsoft Edge closes” in Windows 11 Linked in the description below.