Like any other well-known browser, the Bing search engine can keep track of your search history when you use it to look up information. Unfortunately, this information suggests that, whether or not you are logged in, third parties may target you with pertinent adverts. Read on to learn the three quickest ways to remove any evidence of your previous searches on Bing and how protecting your security online can give you peace of mind.
Why Is It Important To Clear Your Bing Search History?
Most search engines, like Bing, utilise your search history to adapt results to your needs and can store personal information from your search. This can include the login information for any services you used while searching, your IP address and location, and the cookies’ anonymous identifiers. It means that if you do not routinely clear your search history, such as at least once or twice a month, hackers will have easier access to your data and can steal your identity and perpetrate fraud. Several records of a person’s previous searches can also cause a device to slow down. This means regularly removing your Bing search history records will help your browsing experience load more quickly.
Three Main Ways You Can Get Rid Of Your Bing History
Follow The Relevant Microsoft Support Steps Online Whether You Are Logged In Or Not
To start clearing your Bing search history, check whether you are logged into a Microsoft account. Next, go to your Search History page if you are not logged in and only want to remove one item from your Bing search results. Then, on this page, look for the “Activity” subheading and click the “X” next to any search you want to get rid of. On the other hand, you can click the Search History page again and select the box labeled “clear” under the subheading “Clear your search history” to remove your Bing search history entirely.
Consequently, you must go to your Microsoft privacy dashboard when logged into a personal Microsoft account to access Bing. First, go to the “Settings and Privacy” tab in the menu on the left side of the account page to access this dashboard. Next, select the heading ‘Privacy’ on the page after clicking this sub-header. Then, under the main heading of “Data Options,” choose the Microsoft search history option. Finally, press the “clear history” button. Your Bing search history linked to your Microsoft account will be removed due to this action.
Go Incognito
The first thing you can do if you want to conceal the results of your Bing search is to do the search through Microsoft Edge while using the private or incognito browsing mode. Since none of these results are saved as part of your search, using this function will automatically hide how your browser. After you have finished, you can remove cookies, browsing results, passwords, and site data by closing all of the inPrivate windows in Microsoft Edge.
To start this incognito process, you can launch a search in an InPrivate Window by performing either of the following three methods:
Adopt A VPN To Maintain Privacy Online
Surprisingly, when you clear your Bing history, your previous searches will only be purged from the devices you used. If your Internet Service Provider (ISP) has a record of your previous searches before you took this step, you cannot remove this from their system. An ISP is a company that provides you with internet access and keeps track of everything you do online, including your searches, the content you download, and the websites you visit. Your ISP may also save and share your browsing data with third parties per the data retention regulations of a country.
Additionally, your ISP can track that you have visited websites that prioritize anonymity, such as DuckDuckGo. Because DuckDuckGo is known for providing access to the dark web, your ISP may keep a record of your use of the software, which increases the likelihood that your government will monitor your online activity. Your ISP may also slow down your access to the internet if they target certain activities, such as gaming, streaming, or peer-to-peer file sharing.
As a result, clearing your Bing search history is one of many things you need to do to have a quicker and more private experience when you’re online; there are other options you need to investigate. A Virtual Private Network, also known as a VPN, can help you achieve this objective by hiding your online activity, even from your internet service provider.
In the first place, it can help you hide your IP address by making it look like the traffic is coming from the VPN server’s IP address rather than your IP address. This is particularly helpful for peer-to-peer file sharing and torrenting, as the ISP will then try to slow down the VPN’s IP address rather than your own, which is hidden behind the VPN.
Secondly, using a VPN might provide the impression that your primary location is somewhere other than where it is. For example, even in another country, you might still use a VPN to watch a television show on Amazon Prime in the United States. Since a VPN can encrypt your traffic, your Internet service provider cannot trace this activity back to you.
However, using a VPN is not a technique to achieve perfect anonymity while surfing the web. This is because it cannot stop ISPs and advertisers from spying on what you look at online. A virtual private network (VPN) simply prevents this activity from being traced back to you. Therefore, clearing your search history regularly is highly recommended if you want the information to stay in the right hands.
Next, it cannot delete cookies associated with your browsing experience as this is not linked to your IP address. So, you will still need to clear your cookies and cached data as part of the process to delete your search history. You can also conceal your cookies by browsing in a private session.
Most importantly, a VPN cannot clear your Bing searches from your ISP’s search history records or cover up the fact that you are connected to the VPN.
Lastly, a VPN is not a foolproof method to completely protect you online from all security risks, which means that you could still visit a website prone to viruses or download a harmful app. Because of this, you will still need to purchase additional security for your device against ransomware, malware, and viruses.
Clearing your search history on Bing is an excellent way to protect your privacy while searching online and make your browsing faster and easier. Using a virtual private network (VPN) after this change can help protect your privacy by keeping you from being mass-surveyed, watched by your Internet service provider (ISP), tracked, and illegally given personal information for advertising purposes. However, you should keep in mind the potential dangers of the internet anytime you surf it because no programme can guarantee your anonymity while you are using the internet.
