Clear Your Search Histories

GRAPHIC: Erasing Your Online Presence By Clearing Cache

Did you know your online activity — including the sites you visit, places you view on Google Maps, videos you watch, and more — is tracked and stored? Companies, both legitimate and malicious, use cookies to learn what you do online. How?  Companies keep records of your online activity by using a Third-Party cookie, which links the activity from your browser back to the profile they have of you. From there, your information could become compromised and shared with groups interested in stealing your personal information or compromising your university.

Regularly clearing your cookies can help limit this surveillance because doing so breaks the link that companies rely on to identify you. Clearing cookies is easy! If you use Google Chrome, first open your browser, then → Open the “Options” menu located near the top right corner of the window → Select “More Tools” → Select “Clear Browsing Data” → To delete everything select “All Time” → and then “Clear Data.” That’s it!  The steps can vary slightly depending on the device and browser used, so visit this page for information on how to clear cookies in your preferred browser.

Learn more ways to keep your personal data private by visiting UF’s Information Security Office website.