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How do I use Clear Wi-Fi History?

Author
Rebecca Rosenberg
Feb 23, 2026
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Clear Wi-Fi History removes Wi-Fi connection history from your computer to protect your privacy. Wi-Fi network names (SSIDs) and MAC addresses can be used to track your physical location and movement history by correlating them with public Wi-Fi databases.

Important: Your currently connected Wi-Fi network is preserved. You will stay connected.

How to enable it

  1. Open Windscribe Preferences
    Preferences tab

  2. Go to Connection
    Connection menu button

  3. Scroll down to Clear Wi-Fi History and click the arrow
    Clear Wi-Fi History section

  4. Then click “Clear Wi-Fi History”.
    Clear Wi-Fi History Confirmation

What gets removed

Windows

1) Windows Event Logs

  • WLAN-AutoConfig event log: contains Wi-Fi connection and disconnection events.

  • NetworkProfile event log: records when you connect to different networks.

  • NCSI event log: network connectivity detection events.

Location: Event Viewer → Applications and Services Logs
How to check: Open Event Viewer and compare these logs before and after clearing.

2) Network Profiles (Registry)

  • All saved network connection information.

  • Network names, types, and metadata.

Location: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\NetworkList\Profiles
How to check: Open Registry Editor (regedit) and navigate to this path.

3) Network Signatures (Registry)

  • Unique identifiers for each network you have connected to.

  • Both managed and unmanaged network signatures.

Location: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\NetworkList\Signatures
How to check: Check both Unmanaged and Managed subkeys in Registry Editor.

4) NLA Cache (Registry)

  • Network Location Awareness cache.

  • Stores detailed network metadata and timestamps.

Location: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\NetworkList\Nla
How to check: Look for Cache and Wireless subkeys in Registry Editor.

5) Wi-Fi profile files

  • All saved Wi-Fi networks and their passwords.

  • Except your currently connected network.

How to check: Open Command Prompt and run:

  • Before: netsh wlan show profiles

  • After: netsh wlan show profiles (should only show the current network)

 

macOS

1) Wi-Fi preferred networks

  • All saved Wi-Fi networks in system preferences.

  • Network names (SSIDs) and connection priorities.

  • Except your currently connected network.

How to check: System Settings / System Preferences → Network → Wi-Fi → Advanced

  • Before clearing: you will see a list of known networks.

  • After clearing: only the current network (if connected) should remain.

2) Wi-Fi passwords from Keychain

  • Saved passwords for all Wi-Fi networks.

  • Stored in the macOS System Keychain.

  • Except the password for the currently connected network.

Known limitation: Passwords stored in the Local Items keychain cannot be removed programmatically. These passwords are protected by iCloud Keychain and require manual deletion.

How to check: Open Keychain Access

  • Search for AirPort network password in the System keychain.

  • Before clearing: multiple Wi-Fi password entries.

  • After clearing: only the current network password (if connected).

Note: Check Local Items separately. Passwords there require manual removal.

3) Wi-Fi diagnostic logs

  • System logs containing Wi-Fi connection history.

  • Connection timestamps and network changes.

Locations cleaned:

  • /var/log/Wi-Fi.log*

  • /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Wi-Fi*

  • /private/var/log/Wi-Fi-*

How to check: Open Terminal and run:
ls -la /var/log/Wi-Fi* 2>/dev/null

4) Network configuration files

  • SystemConfiguration preferences.

  • Cached network information.

How to check: Compare the Wi-Fi network list before and after in System Settings / System Preferences.

Linux

1) NetworkManager Wi-Fi connections

  • All saved Wi-Fi network configurations.

  • Network names, passwords, and security settings.

  • Except your currently connected network.

Location: /etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/
How to check:

  • nmcli connection show

  • or sudo ls -la /etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/

  • Before: multiple Wi-Fi connection files.

  •  After: only current connection (if any).

2) NetworkManager state files

  • Connection timestamps.

  • Recently seen Wi-Fi access points (BSSIDs).

  • Internal configuration cache.

Locations:

  • /var/lib/NetworkManager/timestamps

  • /var/lib/NetworkManager/seen-bssids

  • /var/lib/NetworkManager/NetworkManager-intern.conf

How to check: sudo ls -la /var/lib/NetworkManager/

3) wpa_supplicant configuration

  • Wi-Fi configurations when using wpa_supplicant directly.

  • Network credentials and security settings.

  • Except currently connected network.

Location: /etc/wpa_supplicant/*.conf
How to check: sudo ls -la /etc/wpa_supplicant/

Note: Files are either removed completely (if no active connection) or updated to keep only the current network.

4) iwd (iNet Wireless Daemon) profiles

  • Network profiles if using iwd instead of NetworkManager.

  • Files named SSID.psk, SSID.open, or SSID.8021x.

  • Except currently connected network.

Location: /var/lib/iwd/
How to check: sudo ls -la /var/lib/iwd/

5) systemd journal logs

  • Service logs for NetworkManager, wpa_supplicant, and iwd.

  • Connection and disconnection events.

How to check:

  • Before: journalctl -u NetworkManager

  • After: journalctl -u NetworkManager (should be minimal)

6) NetworkManager reload

  • After clearing files, NetworkManager is restarted.

  • This ensures changes take effect and clears the memory cache.

How to verify: systemctl status NetworkManager

 

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