0

I understand this is a tricky question. I was visiting several important sites on a borrowed device (Windows 11 Pro, Edge up to date), using Microsoft Edge in InPrivate mode (like Chrome's Incognito which allows users to browse anonymously). Then all of a sudden Edge froze showing a black screen, possibly thrown into chaos by a faulty site or an internal crash, I don't know. Now there is nothing I can do to access any other pages. The browser is still frozen as I am typing up this question. I tried opening Edge's browser task manager but it's stuck on loading too, giving me a blank window.

My question is: how do I get the sessions? I need the URLs from the InPrivate sessions. Edge is still frozen on the device. If I killed Edge's processes I would lose everything because it's InPrivate mode. But Edge has to save current sessions somewhere, right?? Even with InPrivate sessions, shouldn't Edge have information temporarily stored in local files? If that's indeed the case where do I find the files? And how do I read them to get the URLs?

Since Edge is built on Chrome's core, I guess they function in similar ways. I was able to locate session files at username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Edge\User Data\Default\Sessions But are my InPrivate sessions there too? How do I read the files? Do I need stuff from username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Edge\User Data\Default\Session Storage too?

Update:

Browser incognito mode does save cookies, albeit temporarily, right? And it's saved per session. Ref:

https://stackoverflow.com/q/40000622

Improve this question
4
  • 1
    "how do I get the sessions?" You can't.
    – DavidPostill ♦
    Commented Mar 17, 2023 at 18:41
  • @DavidPostill Then is there something I can try to salvage the current session and revive Edge? The freeze was possibly triggered by a video site. Is there a way I can isolate the problem and terminate/restart some processes to get Edge back to normal?
    – desmo
    Commented Mar 17, 2023 at 18:45
  • The entire idea of 'private browsing' is that no records are kept.
    – Tetsujin
    Commented Mar 17, 2023 at 19:15
  • @Tetsujin Yeah I know. That's why I was using it on a borrowed device, in hopes no records are kept after I'm done, but I was not even done...
    – desmo
    Commented Mar 17, 2023 at 19:18

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
0

From Microsoft's article Browse InPrivate in Microsoft Edge :

When you use InPrivate tabs or windows, your browsing data (like your history, temporary internet files, and cookies) isn't saved on your PC once you're done.

You shouldn't be worried, as nothing is left behind on the disk, and all temporary files were deleted (if they existed at all). If an InPrivate session left anything behind, this would be a serious security bug in Chrome/Edge.

Improve this answer
0

Edge may not save any data upon closing like cookies, history, etc... But it will and does save the list of any files that you downloaded. You have to manually clear the download list afterwards. Any files you've downloaded will still be in the downloads list including the location on disk that they were downloaded to. If you move, rename, or delete the files they will still show up in the list but with the filenames crossed out like they would be shown if downloaded during a regular session.

Improve this answer
1
  • 1
    Your answer could be improved with additional supporting information. Please edit to add further details, such as citations or documentation, so that others can confirm that your answer is correct. You can find more information on how to write good answers in the help center.
    – Community Bot
    Commented Oct 6, 2023 at 20:55

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .