There are many reasons why you might want to switch on the private browsing mode offered up by your browser, especially when you’re on a shared computer or borrowing someone else’s laptop. If you forget to activate the private mode before you go surfing then the latest version of Firefox has a feature that can help you out.
It’s called, appropriately enough, Forget — it’s part of several new features added to the browser to celebrate Firefox’s 10th anniversary. You’re going to need to have the latest version of the software to find the tool, so make sure your copy is right up to date or download it from the Firefox website.
When you’re up and running, you’ll be taken on a tour of the new Firefox features and you can click Add it now to put the Forget button right on your toolbar; to add it later, right-click on the toolbar, choose Customise and then drag the Forget icon to the location of your choice.
“Forget gives you an easy way to tell Firefox to clear out some of your recent activity. Instead of asking a lot of complex technical questions, Forget asks you only one: how much do you want to forget?” explains Johnathan Nightingale, Vice President of Firefox, in a blog post. “Many of our users share a computer with friends or family, and it’s easy to forget to open a private browsing window first; with Forget, clearing that information is quick, and easy to understand.”
All you need to do to wipe out all traces of a recent browsing session is to click the Forget button, choose a time period, and then select Forget! — cookies and browsing history are erased and the browser resets with a new blank window. For slightly more control over the process you can select Clear Recent History from the History menu, but Forget offers an alternative that’s fast and simple to use.