How to Clear Google Search History

Edited 3 days ago by ExtremeHow Editorial Team

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Google search history is a record of all the searches you've made using Google's search engine. Keeping a record of your search history can be useful for a number of reasons, such as quickly finding past searches or allowing Google to personalize your search results.

However, there may be times when you want to clear your Google Search history to protect your privacy or to reduce your online activity. Clearing your Google Search history is easy and can be done in several ways. Below, we'll go into each method in detail.

Method 1: Clearing the search history on desktop

To clear your Google search history on a desktop computer, follow these steps:

1. First of all open your web browser and go to Google homepage www.google.com.
2. Make sure you're signed in to your Google account. If you're not signed in, there will be a blue "Sign in" button in the upper right corner of the screen. Click it and sign in with your Google account credentials.
3. Once you've signed in, click on your profile picture in the top right corner of the screen. This will open a dropdown menu.
4. From the dropdown menu, click "Manage your Google Account."
5. In the Google Account Settings page, go to the left sidebar and click “Data & Privacy.”
6. Scroll down to the “History Settings” section and click “Web & App Activity.”
7. On the Web & App Activity page, click the "Manage all Web & App Activity" link.
8. Here, you will see a list of your recent activities. Click the "Delete" button that appears in the search box at the top of the page.
9. You'll be given several options for deleting your activity: "Delete today," "Delete custom range," and "Delete all time." Choose the option that best suits your needs.
10. Confirm your choice by clicking "Delete" in the confirmation box that appears.

By following these steps, you will clear your search history from your Google account. This means that the searches you made will no longer appear in your Web & App Activity section.

Method 2: Clearing search history on a mobile device

If you primarily use a smartphone or tablet, here's how you can clear your Google search history directly from your mobile device:

1. Open the Google app on your mobile device.
2. Tap your profile picture in the top right corner of the screen.
3. Select "Your data in Search" from the menu.
4. Scroll down to the "Your Recent Activity" section.
5. Here, you'll see a list of your recent searches. Tap the "Delete" link next to a specific search entry to remove it.
6. To clear all search history, tap "Clear last hour" or "Clear all time." Choose the option that best suits your needs.
7. Confirm your choice by tapping "Delete" in the confirmation box that appears.

This process is similar to the desktop method, but optimized for mobile users. It offers the same flexibility, allowing you to delete specific searches, searches from a custom date range, or your entire search history.

Method 3: Using Google Chrome to clear search history

If you use Google Chrome and want to clear your search history, follow these steps:

1. Open Google Chrome on your desktop or mobile device.
2. Click on the three vertical dots (menu icon) in the upper right corner of the browser window.
3. Select "History" or type "chrome://history/" in the address bar and press Enter.
4. On the History page, you will see a list of all the websites you have visited. To clear your search history, click "Clear browsing data" on the left side of the screen.
5. The "Clear browsing data" window will pop up. Here, you can choose the "time range" for which you want to clear the history: "Last hour," "Last 24 hours," "Last 7 days," "Last 4 weeks," or "All time."
6. Make sure the "Browsing History" checkbox is checked. You can also check other checkboxes if you want to clear other types of data, such as cookies or cached files.
7. Click "Clear Data" to remove your search history from Google Chrome.

Clearing your search history through Google Chrome will delete all the searches you've made while using the Chrome browser. However, this does not affect the search history stored in your Google account, which means you'll need to follow the steps in the first method to clear your account history.

Method 4: Using Google My Activity to clear search history

Google My Activity is a comprehensive tool that allows you to view and manage all your activity on Google services, including search history. Here's how to use it:

1. Open your web browser and go to https://myactivity.google.com.
2. Make sure you're signed in to your Google Account if you aren't already.
3. Once you reach the My Activity page, you will see a list of all your activities. Use the search bar at the top to filter activities related to Google Search by typing "Google Search".
4. Scroll through the list to find the search activities you want to delete. You can delete individual searches by clicking the three vertical dots next to an entry and selecting "Delete."
5. To delete multiple entries or your entire search history, click the "Delete" option from the left menu.
6. This will present you with options to delete activities from the “Last Hour,” “Last Day,” “Custom Range,” or “All Time.” Select the appropriate option and confirm by clicking “Delete” in the confirmation box.

Using Google My Activity gives you a more detailed view of your activities and more detailed options for managing and deleting your search history.

Method 5: Deleting search history automatically

If you want Google to automatically delete your search history at regular intervals, you can set it up in your Google Account settings. Here's how:

1. Go to the Google Account Settings page by clicking your profile picture and selecting "Manage your Google Account."
2. Go to “Data & Privacy” from the left sidebar.
3. Scroll down to the “History Settings” section and click “Web & App Activity.”
4. Select "Manage all web & app activity."
5. Click "Choose to delete automatically."
6. You will be given options to automatically delete activity older than 3 months, 18 months, or 36 months. Choose the option that best suits you.
7. Click "Next" and confirm your choice by clicking "Confirm".

Once set up, Google will automatically delete your search history at the specified interval, so you won't have to manually clear it yourself.

Conclusion

Clearing your Google search history is an important step to maintaining your online privacy and keeping your search data organized. Whether you're using a desktop computer, mobile device, or Google Chrome, the process is straightforward. Additionally, Google offers the option to automatically delete your search history at regular intervals, making it easier to manage your online activity.

Always remember to review and adjust your settings according to your privacy needs. Keeping your Google Account settings updated ensures that you have control over your data and how it's managed.

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