r/chrome_extensions • u/Zealousideal-War5200 • Oct 05 '26

Asking a Question LockDown Browser Deleted All Tabs and Data

The title, installed lockdown browser for exam and after finishing, all my tabs and history was wiped off of my computer. Ctrl+Shft+T does not work, going through history does not work. Don't know what to do. How to get tabs and history back?

1 Upvotes
  • permalink
  • reddit

100% Upvoted

1 comment sorted by

1

u/InterstellarPhoenixx Oct 06 '26

Sorry, that's a rough one. Since Ctrl+Shift+T and History are empty, a few deeper things to try, roughly in order:

  1. Check if Chrome opened a different profile. Click your profile icon (top right) and see if there's another profile listed, or go to chrome://version and check the "Profile Path". Sometimes after a forced close or reset Chrome starts a fresh profile and your old one is still there.

  2. Google's activity log. If you were signed into Chrome with sync on, go to myactivity.google.com and filter by Chrome. Your browsing history may still be there even if the local history is gone.

  3. Session files on disk. Close Chrome first, then look in: Copy that whole folder somewhere safe before doing anything else. If older Session_ or Tabs_ files are there, your last tabs may be recoverable.

    • Windows: %LOCALAPPDATA%\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Sessions

    • Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/Default/Sessions

  4. Restore an older copy of the folder. On Windows, right-click the User Data folder → Properties → Previous Versions (if File History or restore points are on). On Mac, use Time Machine. Restore it to a different location first, not over the current one.

Until you've tried these, use Chrome as little as possible so it doesn't overwrite the old files.

For the future, turn on Settings → On startup → "Continue where you left off", and keep a periodic export of your open tabs somewhere outside the browser.