Simply deleting browsing and search histories is not enough to erase traces of your activities on a computer. Also remember to make this simple adjustment to avoid indiscretions and spying.
When we share the same computer at home, or when we temporarily lend it to a loved one, confidentiality can be put to the test. If you don’t take care to define a session for each user, anyone can rummage through other people’s affairs. Also, most of the time, we just clear the content of the web browser history so as not to leave traces of recently visited sites. This is a good first precaution, but your computer, whether a PC or a Mac, can easily reveal your recent activity regarding the software you have used and, above all, the files you have viewed. Text file, photos, videos… nothing is spared. This function, active by default in Windows and macOS, is very practical on a daily basis to avoid you having to search the storage space for a document or any other file opened recently and whose location you do not necessarily remember. . But it’s a double-edged sword since anyone with access to your computer, and to your session, can trace it as easily as you. Fortunately, Microsoft and Apple’s systems make cleaning up this history as easy as cleaning up a web browser.
To regain some privacy on your PC powered by Windows 10 or 11, you can choose to delete all or part of the recently opened items. To hide a few files, just open the menu To start up then right-click the file you want to remove from the list. Then choose Remove from list.
Rest assured, your file will not be deleted but simply deleted from the history. You can push things a little further from Windows settings through the menu Personalization. Here it is possible to no longer display recently added applications, to hide the most used applications and, obviously, to no longer present recently opened files both in the Start menu and in File Explorer. Because yes, the latter can also edit your activity from the shortcut Welcome.
On macOS, it’s all or nothing. Access to files but also to recently opened software and to servers and external disks to which you have connected on the Mac is carried out through the option Recent Items from the menu Apple. At the very bottom of this menu is an option Clear menu. Just click on it and your activity history disappears.
Be careful though. Deleting the history of your activity in the system, whether Windows or macOS, does not prevent a curious person from knowing your actions in applications. This is the case, for example, of Microsoft Office, which by default keeps a history of recently created or opened elements in order to facilitate the opening of the documents on which you are working. For example, if Word is open, a simple right-click on its icon in the Windows taskbar or the macOS Dock immediately reveals the list of the last ten open files. Stay vigilant.