To save time and resource, it simply removes the file's reference from the directories (that's why your deleted browsing history seems to be gone) and moves the actual information contained in the file to a special area, called free space, on your computer's hard drive where it will be overwritten by new files over time.

The problem with deleting information is that nothing is ever really gone from the internet. Thanks to the terms and services that none of us read — but all of us agree to — it's very hard to retract info you've already shared. You, and other users of that site, might not be able to see the deleted info, but it's still stored somewhere.

When you clear your history in Google Chrome, this file is wiped clean. The same happens when you delete the file from your computer directly, Google Chrome will create a new, blank history file. Since the file is stored locally, this enables you to find deleted history on Google Chrome using one of several methods.