Browsing history in Firefox 17 - can I keep this for a specific number of days?
Earlier versions of Firefox would let us specify how long to keep browsing history, and would then automatically clear out anything older than that. I can't find this option in Firefox 17. I've been having serious problems with FF, with frequent and lengthy pauses, which I finally traced to there being far too much browsing history being held. When I cleared out all browsing history, it seems to have resolved itself (crossing fingers). For the record: I had also tried starting in Safe Mode (w addons disabled), defragging my hard drive, radically reducing the number of open tabs, etc. Clearing browsing history was the only thing that made a difference.
Can we setup FF so that it will automatically clear out old browsing history? It seems to be all-or-nothing in Tools > Options > Privacy. I have FF clear out the cache every time I close it, but I don't want to clear out all history; just past a certain time (e.g. 90 days). I'm aware that I can manage this manually through History on the main menu, but I would rather this happen automatically.
Thanks in advance for the help with this.
Chosen solution
For many versions now, Firefox history storage is based on the number of pages rather than the age of pages. I don't think there is a built-in way to prune based on age.
I do see an add-on that lets you select date ranges, but this might still be a manual operation: https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/precise-clear-history/
Read this answer in context 👍 2All Replies (4)
Chosen Solution
For many versions now, Firefox history storage is based on the number of pages rather than the age of pages. I don't think there is a built-in way to prune based on age.
I do see an add-on that lets you select date ranges, but this might still be a manual operation: https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/precise-clear-history/
Thanks very much, Jscher2000! I'll give that addon a try.
It became a serious problem for me where apparently my history had become so huge that it was badly affecting the browser performance (not to mention driving me crazy). Perhaps whatever algorithm they're using needs another look. Do you know if the developers monitor these form posts?
Some developers drop by on occasion, but most developers see problems only when filed on the Bugzilla tracking system:
I found another add-on to consider which is more automated but users seem to have mixed results:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/expire-history-by-days/
Edit: I note another user was having all history deleted after 60 days, but the cause wasn't identified. How do I get Firefox to save history indefinitely? Right now I am losing history older than 2 months.
Modified by jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
Note that you can also remove older history items by running code via the Error Console.
See: