# How do mobile browsers define a "closed tab?" **URL:** https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/how-do-mobile-browsers-define-a-closed-tab/35653 **Category:** Questions **Created:** 2026-02-20T20:42:08Z **Posts:** 5 ## Post 1 by @DutchBaby — 2026-02-20T20:42:09Z This is something I repeatedly run into with Brave Browser on both iOS and Android. On Android, sites are supposed to “forget me” when I close them. On iOS, sites are supposed to have their data “shredded” (everything has to be cool on an iPhone I guess) when I close them. There have been many times now where I’ve navigated back to a site such as Reddit or PrivacyGuides where the option to forget/shred is checked, yet I’m still logged in. All tabs from that site are closed, and I haven’t visited in days. So I’m curious, what exactly constitutes “closed” on mobile? Does it mean I need to close the app instead of allowing it to continue running in the background, even after closing the tabs? On desktop, it seems to have some amount of retention even after closing a tab, but restarting the browser fixes it. I’m tired of having to manually delete site data all the time, especially on Android. --- ## Post 2 by @velsolus — 2026-02-20T21:04:36Z I’ve found that auto shred never seems to work for me on iOS brave and I still have to do it manually. Also tabs that have supposedly been closed will still play audio and eat up battery, although this seems to be an issue with Webkit as a whole. Idk why this happens. ‘Forget me when I close this site’ works perfectly on desktop brave though --- ## Post 3 by @kissu — 2026-02-21T17:06:58Z There are definitely Web APIs to know if you’re on a website or not. But in this case it’s a simple matter of cookies I guess? :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes: --- ## Post 4 by @win11.shading291 — 2026-02-21T17:37:24Z ![image](https://forum-uploads.privacyguidesusercontent.com/original/3X/6/e/6ef0365316ecac95e59cae05dcbfb036c949870d.png) Make sure this is on “Forget me when I close this site.” --- ## Post 5 by @Tyruke — 2026-02-21T18:43:47Z So, I don’t remember where I read this, but I have confirmed it with testing. The forget me when I close this site feature takes 30 seconds to kick in. So if you keep going back to the website to check if your logged in immediately after closing the tab, then you have reset the timer. Edit: Here is where I read it. > > > ## Description > > I keep "Clear browsing data on exit" on normally, but lately …I've been depending on some PWAs that I need to remain logged into. I was searching the settings for a way to add an exception for cookies and site data of a specific site (which it seems there is no way to do on Android), when I came across the "Forget me when I close this site" option. I thought maybe I could enable that and disable it specifically on the sites I want to remain logged in to. > > Unfortunately, it seems to be pointless. When exiting a site or closing the browser entirely, I remain logged in on sites I should have been logged out of, I still have all my browser history, cookies are saved, etc. > > ## Steps to reproduce > > 1. Enable "Forget me when I close this site" > 2. Visit some sites, log in on some, exit all tabs and/or browser > 3. Open Brave once more and revisit sites to see that you are still logged in > 4. Additionally, check the browsing data before and after closing sites to see that there is no change > > ## Actual result > > Nothing changes whether the setting is enabled or not > > ## Expected result > > All browsing data is removed after a site's tab/the browser is closed, except for sites that have been specifically, individually excepted from the rule > > ## Issue reproduces how often > > Every time, easily reproduced > > ## Version/Channel Information: > > > - Can you reproduce this issue with the current Play Store version? **Yes** > - Can you reproduce this issue with the current Play Store Beta version? **Yes** > - Can you reproduce this issue with the current Play Store Nightly version? **Yes** > > ## Device details > - Install type (ARM, x86): **ARM** > - Device type (Phone, Tablet, Phablet): **Phone** > - Android version: **13** > > ## Brave version > > Brave 1.58.135, Chromium 117.0.5938.140 > > ### Website problems only > - Does the issue resolve itself when disabling Brave Shields? N/A > - Does the issue resolve itself when disabling Brave Rewards? N/A > - Is the issue reproducible on the latest version of Chrome? N/A > > ### Additional information > > > Please make a way for Android users to clear all browsing data on exit but leave exceptions for specific sites so that PWAs are actually useful without sacrificing general browsing privacy. > > From searching, people have been requesting this feature for both Desktop and Android since as far back as 2017. It is a basic feature that all other major browsers offer.