In-Depth Guide: Automatically Clear Edge Browsing Data on Close with Intune

In-Depth Guide: Automatically Clearing Edge Browsing Data on Close with Intune

When multiple users share a Windows PC—such as in libraries, hospitals, kiosks, or classrooms—it’s vital to remove private browsing data after each session. Stale cookies, cached pages, or saved passwords can lead to security risks, broken logins, or confusing website behavior. Microsoft Intune lets you enforce a policy that clears all Microsoft Edge browsing data whenever the browser closes. This ensures each user starts with a fresh environment and helps maintain privacy and reliability.

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Why Clear Browsing Data on Close?

1. Protect Privacy
   Removing history, cookies, and form data prevents one user from seeing another’s activity or autofill suggestions.
2. Prevent Stale Cache Issues
   Cache and cookies that linger can break web apps or show outdated content. Clearing data avoids these errors.
3. Maintain Compliance
   In regulated settings, automatic data removal helps meet privacy and data-handling requirements.
4. Simplify Management
   Users don’t need to remember to clear their data. IT admins set it once in Intune and forget it.

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What Data Is Cleared?

The policy wipes all user browsing data stored by Edge, including:

• History (visited URLs)
• Cookies and site data (login tokens, site preferences)
• Cached images and files
• Saved passwords (if password saving is enabled)
• Autofill form entries
• Download history
• Site permissions (location, camera, notifications)

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Step-by-Step Setup in Intune

Follow these steps to deploy the “Clear browsing data on close” policy:

1. Sign In to Intune Portal

Go to https://endpoint.microsoft.com and sign in with your admin credentials.

2. Create a New Configuration Profile

1. In the left menu, select Devices.
2. Under Policy, choose Configuration profiles.
3. Click + Create profile.

3. Configure the Profile

1. Platform: Select Windows 10 and later.
2. Profile type: Choose Templates > Settings catalog.
3. Click Create.

4. Define Basics

• Name: Enter a clear title, e.g., “Edge Clear Data on Close.”
• Description: Briefly describe the policy purpose, e.g., “Automatically clear Edge data on browser exit for shared PCs.”
• Click Next.

5. Add the Clear Browsing Data Setting

1. Under Configuration settings, click + Add settings.
2. In the search box, type “clear browsing data.”
3. Select Clear browsing data when Microsoft Edge closes.
4. Set it to Enabled.
5. Click Apply.

6. Assign the Profile

1. Click Next to go to Scope tags (optional—use if you need to restrict which admins can manage this policy).
2. Click Next to open Assignments.
3. Choose the device or user groups that run shared PCs.
4. Click Next, review your choices, then click Create.

Intune pushes the policy at the next device sync. Users must close and reopen Edge for it to take effect.

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Testing and Verification

1. On a test PC, open Edge and browse several sites.
2. Close Edge completely (ensure no background processes remain).
3. Reopen Edge:
   • Your history list should be empty.
   • Cookies and site data like login sessions must be cleared—sites ask you to sign in again.
   • Download history and form data vanish.

You can confirm by navigating to edge://settings/privacy and inspecting data counts.

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Managing and Troubleshooting

• Edit the Policy: In Intune, return to Configuration profiles, select your profile, and adjust settings or assignments.
• Disable the Policy: Set Clear browsing data when Edge closes to Disabled or remove the profile.
• Monitor Compliance: Check Device status in Intune to see which machines have applied the policy.
• User Experience: Inform users that saved passwords will also clear. If you want to retain passwords but clear everything else, use a Custom OMA-URI to target specific data types instead.

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Best Practices

• Target Shared Devices Only: Don’t apply this policy to personal or corporate-owned devices where users expect persistent browsing data.
• Combine with Kiosk Mode: For kiosks, pair with Windows Assigned Access to lock down the device further.
• Educate End Users: Let staff know that all browsing data will wipe on close to avoid confusion if they lose autofill or history.
• Audit Regularly: Periodically verify policy application on key devices to maintain privacy standards.

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Conclusion

Enforcing automatic clearing of Edge browsing data on close is a simple yet powerful way to secure shared Windows PCs and ensure reliable web access. With a few clicks in the Intune portal, IT can deploy this policy at scale, safeguard privacy, and eliminate issues caused by stale cache or cookies. Once in place, it runs silently, giving each user a clean browser environment every time Edge launches.