Skip to content

Clear Wi‐Fi History feature

Jump to bottom
Jonathan Martin edited this page Jan 23, 2026 · 1 revision

Overview

This feature 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.

Windows

What is removed

  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

What is removed

  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

What is removed

  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

Clone this wiki locally