Does Tor Save Browsing History by Default?

By default, the Tor Browser does not save your browsing history, cookies, search queries, or temporary cache files. It is configured to run in a permanent private browsing mode, ensuring that all local records of your online activity are automatically erased the moment you close the browser window or terminate your session.

How Tor Handles Local Browsing Data

Tor is designed from the ground up to protect user anonymity and prevent forensic tracking on the local device. Here is how it manages different types of data:

• Browsing and Search History: Tor does not maintain a history log. The sites you visit, pages you open, and searches you execute disappear completely once the session ends.
• Cookies and Site Data: Cookies are kept in memory only for the duration of the active session. Once the browser is closed, all session cookies and stored website data are deleted.
• Cache and Temporary Files: Tor does not write cached images, scripts, or page data to your hard drive, preventing local recovery of the media and websites you accessed.
• Form Inputs and Passwords: Form auto-fill data and entered passwords are not stored automatically, reducing the risk of credential leakage.

Network Privacy vs. Local Privacy

In addition to not storing local history, Tor protects your history on the network level. When using standard browsers in incognito mode, your local history is deleted, but your Internet Service Provider (ISP) and network administrators can still see the domains you visit.

Tor routes your traffic through three encrypted nodes (the entry, middle, and exit relays). Because of this onion routing design: * Your ISP can see that you are using Tor, but cannot see the websites you visit. * The websites you visit cannot see your real IP address or identity. * Intermediate nodes only know the previous and next hops, keeping your entire browsing trail hidden.

What Is Stored Locally

While your browsing history is wiped automatically, certain actions will leave traces on your device:

• Downloaded Files: Any files, documents, or media you manually download to your computer remain on your storage drive after Tor closes.
• Bookmarks: If you explicitly bookmark a webpage, it will be saved in the browser until you manually delete it.

In summary, Tor Browser leaves zero local browsing history by default, providing both local disk privacy and network-level anonymity out of the box.