Can a guest on my Wi-Fi see my history?

Can Guests on My Wi-Fi See My Browsing History?

When you connect to a Wi-Fi network, you share your internet connection with other devices on the network. However, this does not mean that guests on your Wi-Fi can see your browsing history.

How Browsing History is Stored

Your browsing history is stored on your computer or mobile device. It is not stored on your Wi-Fi router. This means that guests on your network cannot access your browsing history unless they have direct access to your device.

Direct Access to Your Device

There are a few ways that guests could potentially gain direct access to your device:

• Physical access: If a guest has physical access to your device, they could use malware or other techniques to access your browsing history.
• Remote access: If you have enabled remote access features on your device, such as screen sharing or remote desktop, a guest could use these features to access your device remotely.

Protecting Your Privacy

To protect your privacy from guests on your Wi-Fi network, you should:

• Keep your devices secure: Use strong passwords and antivirus software to protect your devices from malware.
• Disable remote access features: If you do not need to use remote access features, disable them.
• Clear your browsing history regularly: Clearing your browsing history will delete any history that a guest may have accessed.

Clearing Your Browsing History

To clear your browsing history on a computer:

1. Internet Explorer: Click the gear icon in the top right corner, select “Safety”, and then click “Clear History”.
2. Chrome: Click the three dots in the top right corner, select “History”, and then click “Clear Browsing Data”.
3. Firefox: Click the three lines in the top right corner, select “History”, and then click “Clear Recent History”.

To clear your browsing history on a mobile device:

1. iOS: Open the Settings app, tap “Safari”, and then tap “Clear History and Website Data”.
2. Android: Open the Chrome app, tap the three dots in the top right corner, select “History”, and then tap “Clear Browsing Data”.

Clearing your browsing history will protect your privacy from anyone using your Wi-Fi network, including the owner of the network.