Can WiFi Owner See What Sites I Visit on Phone? Stop Now!

The WiFi network is extremely convenient and cost-saving compared to mobile data. However, it also comes with risks of being monitored. Can WiFi owners see what sites I visit on phone? Technically, yes. But you can stop all this with a VPN. How about the already existing history? You can erase them too! Let’s get started.

Can WiFi Owner See What Sites I Visit on Phone?

Technically, yes. Many routers are built with basic logging features, and many office networks use network monitoring software to track employees’ activities during work hours.

However, it relies a lot on how technical the WiFi owner is. Another question people worry a lot about is, can you see search history on wifi bill? No, it just doesn’t work that way. Many historical features need to be manually activated, and different routers provide varying levels of logging capabilities. 

How to Check Browsing History on WiFi Router?

There are 3 commonly used ways by WiFi owners to check the WiFi history: one is to access the router’s admin panel, and the other two ways require third-party monitoring tools. 

1. Access the Router’s Admin Panel

How to check router history? The WiFi owner can access it from the router’s admin panel. All the information required is just the IP address of the router, the admin username, and the admin password. Then, a detailed page about the web history of all connected devices, how much time you spend on each site, and many more details will be displayed.

Image from ASUS Router

2. Parental Control System

Many software created to provide family care. Parental control systems are widely used to filter unhealthy websites for children, monitor the screen time of kids, and even track what sites they visit, what videos they watch on TikTok, and more.

Image from TP-Link

3. Employee Monitoring Software

Another way to know what you have done on your phone with the WiFi network is to use employee monitoring software. Similar to the parental control system, admins can see detailed info on who has visited what sites for how many hours clearly.

Image from ActivTrak

Different network monitor tools provide different insights about the connected devices. In general, it can provide more detailed information about the connected devices than the basic admin panel logs.

What Information Can the WiFi Owner Know?

Can WiFi see what you search, visit, or download? The information visible to WiFi owners varies to what methods they use, which router it is, and how technical they are. Under the most ideal conditions, the following are all accessible to the WiFi owner:

• Devices connected to the WiFi.
• The connection and disconnection time.
• The traffic each device consumed.
• Your browser search history.
• Websites each device visited.
• The time you spend on each website.
• Files you downloaded.
• Social media content you viewed.
• Chatting history.

How to Stop WiFi Owner See Your History?

Are we just going to sit back and do nothing? No, we can stop the spying eyes and protect our privacy with a VPN. A professional VPN, like X-VPN, can help encrypt your traffic and hide your online activities from the WiFi owner, your parents, your boss, the Internet service provider, trackers, and so on. 

Before connecting to a VPN, the domain names you visited are displayed straightforwardly, like the left part of the image above. After connecting to a VPN, only an encrypted code showed on the router’s admin panel, as the right part of the image shows. How to stop the WFi owner from seeing your history with a VPN? Only 3 easy steps are taken:

Step 1. Download and install X-VPN on your phone, it also works on PC and Chrome extension.

Step 2. Open the app, and you can use it for free without logging in. 

Step 3. Tap the connect button, and enjoy private browsing worry-free!

How to Erase Existing WiFi Router History?

Now you are well-protected for future browsing with a VPN. How about the past history that already existed? You can erase them by logging in to the admin panel with the steps below:

Step 1. Find the admin username, password, and router’s IP address, these login credentials are usually stickered on the back of the router.

Step 2. Open the browser on your WiFi connected device. Enter your router’s IP address in the address bar.

Step 3. Log in to the admin panel with the username and password you found before.

Step 4. Looking for sections like “Logs” or “History” on the right menu, the exact location and naming may vary by router brands.

Step 5. On the history page, find options like “Clear,” “Delete,” or “Erase.”

What if you can not find the login credentials? Then you need to find the router user manual, or directly consult your ISP for further help. After all this, don’t forget to enable X-VPN and save yourself the hassle of deleting history in the future.

Who Else Can Track Your Internet History?

Bad news, the Wi-Fi owner is not the only party you need to worry about monitoring your online activities. The convenience of the Internet also brought the ease of tracking. Your digital footprints are also available to:

• Internet Service Providers: Your Internet Service Provider can track your browsing data and may share it under certain circumstances, such as a government request.
• Online hackers: hackers can intercept data being transmitted between your device and the internet, thus accessing your activities.
• Malicious websites you visited: Some untrusted websites you’ve visited accidentally may also collect your personal information and even sell your data.

Faced with the severe threats to online security, using a VPN to protect yourself from hackers, ISP monitoring, and untrusted websites is the best solution.

Can WiFi Owner See Browsing History on Incognito?

Yes, the WiFi owner can still track your browsing history even you turned incognito mode on. Incognito mode is a feature that allows users to browse the internet without saving their online activities to the device they use and the account logged in.It does not encrypt your traffic or hide it from the network, any websites accessed during an incognito session can still be logged by the WiFi network. To truly protect browsing history, you need one step more than open incognito mode.

Conclusion

Now the answer is obvious. Can WiFi owner see what sites I visit on phone? Yes, and incognito mode doesn’t help. In addition to WiFi owners, ISPs, malicious websites, and hackers can all access your browsing history and other information. To obtain truly private, a professional VPN is necessary. Get X-VPN now at 76% off!

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