How to View Chrome Browsing Activities in Windows Task View?

You may be an active browsing enthusiast want to keep in touch with your content on the go. In addition, you may also want to quickly access articles you came across a while back very easily. Unfortunately, Windows Task View only supports Microsoft Edge browser by default. But using the Web Activities extension from Microsoft, you can link your Google Chrome browsing activities to your devices. You only need to set up your Microsoft account in the devices you want to link and view your browsing activities from those devices as long as they are synced. Here, we will guide you on how to view chrome browsing activities in Windows Task View.

Windows Task View

Windows Task View, also referred as Timeline, was introduced in early 2018 Windows 10 update. It allows users to access virtual desktops and all previous applications and websites visited in dated order. In case your devices are synced to your Microsoft account, you can access all your web activities.

To run Windows Task View, select the icon next to the Cortana search icon. If it is not visible, right-click on the Taskbar and select the “Show Task View button” option. Alternatively, you can use “Win + Tab” shortcut keys to open Task View.

Set Up Chrome Browsing Activities in Windows Task View

To sync your Google Chrome browsing history to your Windows Task View, you will have to use a third-party Chrome extension. Microsoft allows you to sync your browsing data through its Web Activities extension they have developed. Here is how to do the Web Activities set up from the Google Chrome browser.

Step 1: Launch your Google Chrome browser and open its Web Store. You can select it from the Google Chrome window or click the “Apps” icon at the top left to open. Then select the “Web Store” option.

Step 2: In the “Search the store” search bar, input “Web Activities chrome extension” and search. It may be strenuous to locate it from here. You can also search on Google, “web activities chrome extension.” Or else, click here to open directly.

Then click the “Add to Chrome” button.

Step 3: Upon installation, it will require you to sign in to your Microsoft account. Use the account available for all devices to sync data across them all. Click the “Sign in” icon.

Step 4: In the new window, enter your user account credentials, followed by the password. Then click the “OK” button to allow the application to access your information.

It should respond within a few seconds. The default browser available to open your web history under Task View will be Microsoft Edge.

Enable Chrome Browsing Activities in Windows 10 Task View

Since you have added Web Activities extension in your Google Chrome browser, you have to enable Activity history options to access and display your web history. Here is the procedure to follow.

• Launch Windows settings either through the “Win + I” hotkeys or from the Start menu.
• Click the “Privacy” tab and select the “Activity history” option. It is on the left under the “Windows permissions” list.

• Ensure the “Store my activity history on this device” option is checked. That way, all browsing and application history will be stored and visible from the Task View.
• Ensure the “Send my activity history to Microsoft” option is checked as well to allow syncing of your browsing data across all your devices.

• Equally important is the “Show activities from these accounts” option. You can enable or disable accounts to control the web history visible on your timeline. Also, there is an option to clear activity history from any of your accounts listed.
• To confirm changes, click the “Task View” button on the Taskbar next to the Cortana search icon. You should see all the Google chrome activities. Also, there are other applications history open within the last 15 days.

• Open the activity by clicking on it. You can also right-click to either open, remove, or clear all from that day.
• Right-clicking on the already running apps asks for either snapping, moving to another desktop, showing window to other desktops, or closing.

Apart from Chrome activities for Windows, mobile Google Chrome history is not available. It is because there is no Web Activities extension for Chrome mobile app. But you can access the Windows web history from your devices Microsoft launcher.

Disabling Web Activities from Windows

Just in case you are worried about the privacy of your data in a device that is public or shared, you can disable the “Activity history” in Windows settings.

• Sign out from Web activity by clicking the “Web Activity” extension icon. Then select the “Sign out” option.
• Right-click on the extension and select the “Remove from Chrome” option. Your Chrome browsing activities will not be visible on Windows Task View anymore.

How is Windows Task View Important?

If you do not know the usefulness of Task View on your Windows PC, then it is important to know.

• Task view helps you recover your history up to the last 15 days.
• You can access your web activity from any Microsoft synced device.
• You can open several virtual desktops in your PC to run different tasks at a go.
• With a Microsoft launcher on your mobile device, you have access to your PC’s Web Activity.