Auto Purge - How to remove

Auto Purge is supposed to help you protect your browsing privacy, but its real goal seems to be to hijack your internet searches. Rather than help you by deleting your browsing history and cookies, Auto Purge replaces your home page and search settings so that it can show you more ads. Such is this “privacy” extension.

Auto Purge

Classification	Potentially unwanted program (PUP), browser hijacker.
Effects of the installation	Changed new tab page, changed search engine settings.
Problems with Auto Purge	The main functionality sometimes doesn’t work, browsing data is collected and used to improve ads.
Remove Auto Purge	Uninstall unwanted extensions, check for PUPs and malware (Spyhunter for Windows, Combo Cleaner for macOS, Malwarebytes, etc.).

Auto Purge – privacy extension?

Auto Purge seems like it could be a useful browser extension. Based on its description, upon starting the browser, Auto Purge lets you choose how you want to close it: if you choose so, it can clear browser data from the last session, including history, cookies, and saved passwords. This would be useful to those who share their computer with other people and don’t want that data to be spied on by others. Sounds like Auto Purge would provide more granular control than using Incognito mode. Autopurge.org also adds that Auto Purge can help you stop advertisers from following you around (how ironic).

My version of Auto Purge just did not work. I tried reinstalling it, I tried switching it off and on, and – nothing. There’s no pop-up to manage my settings, either. It’s as if Auto Purge is missing its promised features. Every time I opened the browser with Auto Purge installed, it never cleared the history from the previous session, so I could still see it all plainly. Maybe there’s a compatibility problem with Chrome that needs to be solved with an update.

It might be better to use another privacy extension. But most popular free extensions try to make money somehow, so you might still have to deal with pop-up ads and hijackings. These extensions usually ask to be able to read and change all your data on the websites that you visit, which is pretty intrusive, so make sure that you can trust the extension’s developers before installing.

Auto Purge does not ask to change your data on all the websites that you visit, nor to change your browsing history, nor to change your privacy settings. It just wants to:

• replace your new tab page,
• read your browsing history,
• change your search settings to autopurge.org,
• manage your downloads.

Browser hijacking

One aspect of Auto Purge works just fine, though: redirects to Yahoo. Auto Purge took over my new tab page and my search engine, so that when I searched the internet, Yahoo would deliver the results. This is very normal for browser hijackers to do. They control how you search the internet so that they can get you to visit affiliated sites and boost their traffic, as well as ad revenue.

Auto Purge is kind of bad for privacy, too. According to its privacy policy, it doesn’t track your personal information, but it does record users’:

• IP address – to target ads to your location,
• search queries – to improve search results,
• which ads and results were clicked on.

Also according to that privacy policy, this data may be shared with or sold to third parties to help with search results and ads. Auto Purge needs to make money somehow – it’s up to you to decide if you’re fine with the price.

Auto Purge isn’t the only privacy extension to be viewed with suspicion. Private.search-protection.com, Hidemyhistory.co, Private Browsing Search, and many others seem to care more about controlling the user’s search and showing them ads than about providing a good user experience or protecting the user’s privacy.

How to remove Auto Purge

Removing Auto Purge should be as simple as uninstalling the extension. You can do it by right-clicking its icon next to your omnibar and choosing the “Remove” option. Or you can open extension settings and manage your extensions from there.

It’s also advisable to scan your device for malware – you can use any trusted anti-malware tool, like Spyhunter for PC, Combo Cleaner for Mac, Malwarebytes, etc. Security programs can warn you about potentially unwanted and low-reputation programs, as well as bundlers that sometimes install unwanted browser extensions without warning you.

Automatic Malware removal tools

Manually uninstall Auto Purge

TopRemoving Auto Purge from Chrome

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Google Chrome window. Select “Settings”.
  
• Click “Extensions” on the left menu bar.
• Go through the extensions list and remove programs you do not need, especially similar to Audo Purge. Click on the trash bin icon next to Auto Purge or other add-ons you want to remove.
  
• Press on the “Remove” button on the Confirmation window.
  
• If unsure, you can disable them temporarily.
  
• Restart Chrome.

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings

If you are still experiencing any issues related to Audo Purge, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on Chrome’s menu button (three horizontal lines) and select Settings.
  
• Scroll to the end of the page and click on the Reset settings button.
  
• Click on the Reset button on the confirmation box.
  

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program.

How to remove Auto Purge from Microsoft Edge:Top

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Microsoft Edge window. Select “Extensions”.

• Go through the extensions list and remove programs you do not need, especially similar to Auto Purge. Click on the "Remove" icon next to Audo Purge or other add-ons you want to remove.

• Press on the “Remove” button on the Confirmation window.

• If unsure, you can disable them temporarily.

• Restart Microsoft Edge.