Tutorial - LinkSweepr

Install it

LinkSweepr is on the Chrome Web Store, where you add it in one click, the same as any other extension. It works in both Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge: Edge installs Chrome Web Store extensions directly, and asks you to allow extensions from other stores the first time. On either browser you can also load it from source in a couple of minutes.

Install from source

Download the code from the GitHub repository (use the green Code button, then Download ZIP) and unzip it, or clone it with git.
Open your browser's extensions page. In Edge that is edge://extensions; in Chrome it is chrome://extensions.
Turn on Developer mode (the toggle is in the top-right corner in Chrome, and in the left sidebar in Edge).
Click Load unpacked and select the folder you unzipped. The LinkSweepr icon appears in your toolbar.

The same folder works in both browsers. Nothing needs to be built or compiled first.

Add the domains you want kept out of history

There are two ways to build your list. Both write to the same place, so you can mix them freely.

From the options page

Right-click the LinkSweepr toolbar icon and choose Options (or open it from the extensions page). You get a text box with one domain per line:

example.com
news.example.org
my-bank.com

As you type, a live preview lists the distinct domains that will be filtered and flags any line that is not a valid domain, so you can catch a typo before it matters. Entering example.com covers every subdomain (mail.example.com, app.example.com) and every page beneath it. Changes save automatically.

From the toolbar popup

Click the LinkSweepr icon while you are on a site you want to filter. The popup shows how many domains are currently filtered and offers a one-click button to block the site you are on, which adds its domain to your list. Internal pages such as chrome:// and edge:// cannot be filtered, so the button leaves those alone.

Move your list between machines

The options page can export your list to a plain text file and import one back. To copy your setup to another computer, export on the first machine, then import the file on the second. The file is just your domains, one per line, so you can edit it in any text editor.

How the sweep works

LinkSweepr removes matching history in two ways that work together:

As it happens. The moment you visit a page on a domain in your list, that visit is deleted from history, including same-page navigations inside single-page apps that never trigger a full page reload.
On a sweep. On install, when the browser starts, on a periodic alarm, and whenever you change your list, LinkSweepr scans existing history for anything that matches and removes it. So adding a domain also cleans up the visits already recorded for it.

Throughout, the sites themselves keep working normally and you stay signed in. Only the history entry is removed, never a cookie, a session, or the page. Nothing about your browsing is sent anywhere; every step runs on your device. For the details, see the privacy policy and the FAQ.

Get the extension