Automatically delete Chrome data from devices

Applies to managed Chrome browsers and Chrome Bone devices.

Chrome version 89 or later.

Every bit an administrator, you can control how long Chrome keeps data, such equally history, cookies, and passwords. Y'all can delete certain information equally shortly every bit Chrome closes or when it becomes older than the time that you specify.

Earlier y'all begin

  • Plough off Google Sync using the SyncDisabled policy. If you set the policy to delete data at platform level, you need to turn off Sync at platform level. Also, if you gear up the policy to delete data at user level, you need to plow off Sync at user level.
  • The information types that you lot can delete are:
    • browsing_history—Deletes the browsing history
    • download_history—Deletes the download history
    • cookies_and_other_site_data—Deletes cookies and other site data
    • cached_images_and_files—Deletes cached images and files on the users device
    • password_signin—Deletes saved passwords
    • autofill—Deletes saved autofill data that was saved in the browser
    • site_settings—Resets site settings to their defaults
    • hosted_app_data—Deletes data cache for hosted apps that are installed in the browser

Review policies

Policy Clarification and settings

ClearBrowsingDataOnExitList

Specify the browsing information types that are deleted when Chrome closes.

This policy does not accept precedence over AllowDeletingBrowserHistory.

BrowsingDataLifetime

Configure browsing data lifetime settings for Chrome. Specify the length of time after which Chrome deletes certain types of data.

Specify time_to_live_in_hours:

  • Minimum—1
  • Maximum—two,147,483,647, the largest value that a signed 32-fleck integer field can agree

Sometimes data might take slightly longer to delete than the length of fourth dimension that you specify.

Delete data when Chrome closes

Windows (Group Policy)

Applies to Windows  users who sign in to a managed account on Chrome browser.

In your Microsoft Windows Grouping Policy Management Editor (Computer or User Configuration binder):

  1. Become to Policies and then Authoritative Templates and then Google and then Google Chrome.
  2. Enable Clear Browsing Information on Exit.
  3. Add the information types that you desire Chrome to delete. Encounter the list of available data types in Earlier you lot begin above.
  4. Deploy the update to your users.

For sample code, see the examples below.

Windows (Registry)

Applies to Windows  users who sign in to a managed account on Chrome browser.

Nether Software\Policies\Google\Chrome, configure ClearBrowsingDataOnExitList to delete certain information types when the browser closes. Meet the listing of available data types in Before y'all begin above.

For sample code, see the examples beneath.

For instructions on how to add, change, and delete registry keys, see your Microsoft documentation.

Mac

Applies to Mac  users who sign in to a managed account on Chrome browser.

  1. In your Chrome configuration profile, add together or update the following fundamental:
    • Add the data types that you want Chrome to delete to the ClearBrowsingDataOnExitList key.
      Run across the listing of available information types in Before you lot begin above.
  2. Deploy the update to your users.


For sample lawmaking, see the examples beneath.

Linux

Applies to Linux  users who sign in to a managed business relationship on Chrome browser.

Using your preferred JSON file editor:

  1. Become to your etc/opt/chrome/policies/managed folder.
  2. Create or update a JSON file.
  3. In ClearBrowsingDataOnExitList, add the data types you want to delete.
    See the listing of bachelor data types in Before you begin above.
  4. Deploy the update to your users.

For sample lawmaking, meet the examples below.

Delete data afterward a specified length of time

Windows (Group Policy)

Applies to Windows  users who sign in to a managed account on Chrome browser.

In your Microsoft Windows Group Policy Management Editor (Computer or User Configuration folder):

  1. Get to Policies and then Administrative Templates and then Google and then Google Chrome.
  2. Enable Browsing Data Lifetime Settings.
  3. InJavaScript Object Notation (JSON) format, add together the information types that you want to delete and their lifetime. See the list of available data types in Before you begin above.
    Note: Enter JSON data as a unmarried line with no line breaks.
  4. Deploy the update to your users.

For sample code, meet the examples below.

Windows (Registry)

Applies to Windows  users who sign in to a managed account on Chrome browser.

Under Software\Policies\Google\Chrome, configure BrowsingDataLifetime to specify the data types you want to delete and their lifetime. Encounter the list of available information types in Before you begin above.

For sample lawmaking, meet the examples below.

For instructions on how to add, change, and delete registry keys, come across your Microsoft documentation.

Mac

Applies to Mac  users who sign in to a managed account on Chrome browser.

  1. In your Chrome configuration contour, add or update the post-obit cardinal:
    • Add together the data types that you want to delete and their lifetime to the ClearBrowsingDataOnExitList key.
      See the list of available data types in Earlier yous brainstorm above.
  2. Deploy the update to your users.

For sample lawmaking, see the examples below.

Linux

Applies to Linux  users who sign in to a managed account on Chrome browser.

Using your preferred JSON file editor:

  1. Go to your etc/opt/chrome/policies/managed folder.
  2. Create or update a JSON file.
  3. In BrowsingDataLifetime, add the information types yous want to delete and their lifetime.
    See the list of bachelor data types in Before you begin above.
  4. Deploy the update to your users.

For sample code, see the examples below.

Examples

Delete all data types when Chrome closes

Windows (Grouping Policy)

["browsing_history","download_history","cookies_and_other_site_data","cached_images_and_files","password_signin","autofill","site_settings","hosted_app_data"]

Windows (Registry)

Software\Policies\Google\Chrome\ClearBrowsingDataOnExitList\1 = browsing_history
Software\Policies\Google\Chrome\ClearBrowsingDataOnExitList\2 = download_history
Software\Policies\Google\Chrome\ClearBrowsingDataOnExitList\3 = cookies_and_other_site_data
Software\Policies\Google\Chrome\ClearBrowsingDataOnExitList\four = cached_images_and_files
Software\Policies\Google\Chrome\ClearBrowsingDataOnExitList\5 = password_signin
Software\Policies\Google\Chrome\ClearBrowsingDataOnExitList\six = autofill
Software\Policies\Google\Chrome\ClearBrowsingDataOnExitList\vii = site_settings
Software\Policies\Google\Chrome\ClearBrowsingDataOnExitList\8 = hosted_app_data

Mac

<key>ClearBrowsingDataOnExitList</key>
<dict>
<assortment>
<string>browsing_history</string>
<string>download_history</string>
<string>cookies_and_other_site_data</string>
<cord>cached_images_and_files</string>
<cord>password_signin</cord>
<cord>autofill</string>
<string>site_settings</cord>
<string>hosted_app_data</string>
</assortment>
</dict>

Linux

{
"ClearBrowsingDataOnExitList": ["browsing_history", "download_history", "cookies_and_other_site_data", "cached_images_and_files", "password_signin", "autofill", "site_settings", "hosted_app_data]
}

Delete profile management data when Chrome closes

When users use Chrome, the browser often caches files and images to brand future browsing to the aforementioned website faster. As users browse to a lot of websites, the amount of cache stored on their device increases. For users with limited or shared storage on their devices, you lot might want to prevent profiles from growing too big. Clearing cached images and files, every bit well as hosted app data, deletes most of the data and keeps profiles at a manageable size.

Windows (Grouping Policy)

["cached_images_and_files","hosted_app_data"]

Windows (Registry)

Software\Policies\Google\Chrome\ClearBrowsingDataOnExitList\ane = cached_images_and_files
Software\Policies\Google\Chrome\ClearBrowsingDataOnExitList\ii = hosted_app_data

Mac

<key>ClearBrowsingDataOnExitList</key>
<dict>
<assortment>
<string>cached_images_and_files</cord>
<cord>hosted_app_data</cord>
</array>
</dict>

Linux

{
"ClearBrowsingDataOnExitList": ["cached_images_and_files", "hosted_app_data]
}

Delete browsing history every 24 hours, and password sign in and autofill information every 12 hours

Windows (Grouping Policy)

[{"data_types":["browsing_history"],"time_to_live_in_hours":24},{"data_types":["password_signin","autofill"],"time_to_live_in_hours":12}]

Windows (Registry)

Software\Policies\Google\Chrome\BrowsingDataLifetime = [
{
"data_types": [
"browsing_history"
],
"time_to_live_in_hours": 24
},
{
"data_types": [
"password_signin",
"autofill"
],
"time_to_live_in_hours": 12
}
]

Mac

<central>BrowsingDataLifetime</key>
<assortment>
<dict>
<key>data_types</key>
<array>
<string>browsing_history</string>
</array>
<key>time_to_live_in_hours</fundamental>
<integer>24</integer></dict>
<dict>
<key>data_types</fundamental>
<assortment>
<string>password_signin</string>
<string>autofill</cord>
</assortment>
<key>time_to_live_in_hours</key>
<integer>12</integer></dict>
</array>

Linux

BrowsingDataLifetime = [
{
"data_types": [
"browsing_history"
],
"time_to_live_in_hours": 24
},
{
"data_types": [
"password_signin",
"autofill"
],
"time_to_live_in_hours": 12
}
]

Verify policies are practical

Subsequently y'all utilise any Chrome policies, users need to restart Chrome for the settings to have issue. You tin can check users' devices to make sure the policy was applied correctly.

  1. On a managed device, go to chrome://policy.
  2. Click Reload policies.
  3. For ClearBrowsingDataOnExitList and BrowsingDataLifetime, make sure Status is set to OK.
  4. For ClearBrowsingDataOnExitList and BrowsingDataLifetime, click Evidence more and make sure that the value fields are the same as what y'all set in the policy.

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