Have you accidentally uninstalled Chrome and now want to access your browser history? Or have you unknowingly deleted user data files and lost all your Chrome preferences and browsing data? Well, no worries. This post has the right solution for you.
Anyone can unexpectedly encounter the situations we just discussed. For most users, browser history is their go-to method of opening older files, websites, and documents they often visit. Therefore, losing browser history can be stressful. However, what’s more frustrating is being unable to recover deleted history on Google.
Most users, including advanced ones, believe browser history can not be retrieved or accessed once deleted. Well, that is not the case! You can recover your deleted history on Google Chrome or access the websites you visited the most.
Want to know what these ways are? Check out the next section!
5 Working Ways to Recover Deleted History on Google Chrome
You may find several posts on the internet stating multiple ways to achieve the same purpose. However, not all of them work as intended.
This is why we have curated the list of 5 ways that work and can help you recover deleted history on Google Chrome. Let’s take a look at all of them.
Method #1 – Check My Activity on Google
The first and easiest way to access your history, especially on Google Chrome, is by using Google’s My Activity feature. It is a dedicated platform that keeps track of your internet usage to personalize the web.
While many people might have an issue sharing this data, it often benefits users who do in such situations. If you have, by chance, deleted your Google Chrome history and need to visit a website from your past experiences online, My Activity can be a great way to do so.
All you have to do is –
Step 1 – Open Google Chrome
Step 2 – Visit the website www.myactivity.google.com
Step 3 – Login with your account (if not done already)
Step 4 – Access all your data.
Tip : This accesses your Google Account's user history. Hence, it will only work if you have allowed it and are using the same account where the history was stored. If you find out that you have not enabled activity tracking on Google, do not worry move to the next fix.
Method #2 – Use Your DNS Cache
The DNS cache is a crucial element that comes in handy when using the internet. The DNS cache helps fetch a previously used website much faster than usual. Usually, flushing the DNS cache helps refresh your internet connection. However, in this situation, you might need to access it.
Here’s how to do so –
Step 1 – Go to the start menu and search for the Command prompt.
Step 2 – Once you find it there, click on Run as Administrator.
Step 3 – In the opened command prompt window, use the command – ipconfig/displaydns
Step 4 – This will bring up the last used websites for you.
This can be a good option if you are looking for recently used websites. Provided you know exactly what you want from your Google Chrome history. However, if you use multiple browsers, this approach could be confusing.
Method #3 – Recover the Deleted User Files Using Advanced Disk Recovery
If you have accidentally deleted your user file from File Explorer, you can get it back using a data recovery tool. Yes, it is possible to get the data back. However, you need to know the exact path of the file.
To find the path to your Chrome user data file, go to your browser and type chrome: //version/ in the address bar.
This will fetch your Chrome’s configuration. Here, look for a Profile Path. This is where your data was saved.
Once you know the point of recovery, you need data recovery software. But not just any data recovery software. You need an Advanced Disk Recovery tool that allows finding files you have deleted in minutes!
Here’s how you can recover your deleted data file –
Step 1 – Download the Advanced Disk Recovery application from the link below.
Step 2 – Scan your Drive C (Where Windows is installed) for the deleted file.
Step 3 – Initiate the scan, and it will bring you all the deleted files along with its name and size.
Step 4 – Spot the Chrome user file and restore it on your PC. To fetch the deleted file, navigate to the entire path as mentioned – C:\User\admin\App data\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Profile 4
Step 5 – Mark the Profile 4 folder and click Recover to restore Profile Data.
Step 6 – Restart your PC and run Chrome after restoring the file. All your deleted data should reappear.
Note : A data recovery tool thoroughly scans the selected disk for deleted data. However, if you have performed operations on the disk, the chances of data recovery decrease. Therefore, stop using the disk when you lose data and run the data recovery tool to restore most of the data.
Method #4 – Restore History By Reverting to Previous Version
While using Chrome, you generally create a dedicated folder containing all your user files and history logs. After you have deleted the history, the log file will also be updated. However, Windows can allow you to revert these files to a previous version using Explorer. Here are the steps that can help you restore your deleted history on Google Chrome –
Step 1 – Navigate to the user data folder for Chrome on your PC. Usually, the default destination to the folder is –
C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default.
Step 2—Once you have found the folder, select it and right-click on it to open its options.
Step 3 – From folder options, select Properties and then click on the Previous Versions tab to check if you have the option to restore the folder.
Step 4—Select the version you want to restore the data to, click OK, and wait for Explorer to help you restore deleted history.
Method #5 – Use Third-Party Cookies to Access History
Cookies can help you identify the exact history of any web page you have visited. Third-party cookies are usually saved in a text file format with all the necessary information that you may require. To access history via cookies, all you have to do is
Step 1: Open Google Chrome and click on the three-dot menu on the top right bar.
Step 2: Select Settings and later click on Privacy and Security.
Step 3: Click on the Third-party cookies on the right panel.
Step 4: Click on See all site data and permissions.
Once you have accessed all the permissions and site data, you can identify exactly what operations were carried out and what pages were visited, helping you to identify your Chrome browser’s history.
Read Also: Research On File Recovery: The Science Behind Retrieving Your Lost Files
Now Recover Deleted History on Google Chrome with Ease!
These methods allow you to access Chrome’s history. They are tried and tested, so you need not worry about their functionality.
Other than these, you can also try out advanced ways like –
- Running a system restore to roll back your current PC to the last version where you had not deleted the history.
- You can use your Google Chrome Cache to fetch details. However, this only works if you have not removed the rare Cache.
- Find the deleted user file in the recycle bin if you have manually removed the file from the source.
- Use the Index.dat file available on your PC as the ultimate database.
All in all, it is possible to recover deleted history on Chrome. So, what’s stopping you from getting your history back? Download the Advanced Disk Recovery today and complete it in less than 5 minutes!
Good luck!
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