This is called a ne explétif.
Using it is common in written French and non colloquial spoken French, but quite rare ortherwise.
It is only used in some cases of proposition subordonnée introduced by a conjunction using que.
Its origin is not clear but the most probable reason is that French followed the already existing usage in Latin.
The ne explétif is never mandatory and can be removed without affecting the meaning of the sentence.
“Ne” can be use as non-négative in sustained langage.
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