How to Delete Google Search History

 

Data privacy is something precious in today’s digitalized world.

Now, just deleting the browsing history of your web browser isn’t enough to make your digital footprint disappear.

It is not a secret to anyone that if you have a Google account, all the Google searches you make will be stored - no exceptions.

Nevertheless, there’s also the possibility to delete Google search history.

At the end of the day, you should have complete control of your own Google history, right?

That’s why this blog post will carefully guide you during the process of deleting and managing your whole Google browser search history.

After reading, you’ll understand:

• How to delete Google search history in just a few steps;
• Why privacy is vital in the websites you visit;
• How to manage your Google history in your iPhone or Android phone.

Why is the Privacy of Your Google Account Important?

We all know Google saves all the information you store in your Google account.

Some people find this helpful, and some others believe that this is intrusive.

Whatever the reason for deleting your full history is, you have the right to do so whenever you want.

Still, as we mentioned earlier, note that deleting the history of other Google products, such as Google Chrome, it’s not the same as deleting your entire search history.

How to Delete Google Search History on a Computer

There’s the possibility you use the Chrome browser daily, but this procedure also works with various browsers, so don’t worry.

For example, this also works on Safari and Mozilla Firefox.

If you are familiar with the most popular web browsers, you know you can just delete cached images, browsing history, and web app activity by clicking a couple of options.

Nonetheless, the process of deleting the search history of your Google account is a little more complicated.

Go to your Google account

Open Google homepage and tap the rows of three dots in the top right corner of the screen.

You will see a drop-down menu - tap “Account” as shown below:

You can also delete activity of another Google account if you tap the profile icon on Google’s homepage.

Select the “Privacy and Personalization” Option

Once you are inside your Google account page, several options will show in your browser.

You need to tap the option as shown in this screenshot:

Then, tap the My Activity option, where you will subsequently be able to delete the activity.

Use the Search Bar to Select what You Want to Delete

Here you can have access to all the searches you have made in the past.

Remember to select the websites you want to delete from your history.

You can also clear history by clicking on the three dots that appear in the menu icon.

You can delete all the saved activity or decide how much history you would like to delete in a time range.

How to Clear Google Search History on iPhone and Android

Now, if you want to delete or manage your searches on your iPhone or Android phone, the procedure is the same.

You can do this on a web browser or directly on the Google app.

Just remember to be correctly logged in to your Google account.

Now, let’s get that search history deleted in no time!

Go to Settings to Clear Browsing Data

Start by going to “Account Settings” and then “Privacy and Personalization” just by selecting the option as shown in this screenshot:

Then, select your activity option to clear history at your will.

Remember that it doesn’t matter if you use an Android phone or an iPhone: you can still delete the search activity data by following this procedure.

Select the Search History You Want to Erase

Here, you just need to tap “History” and select the custom range of the data history you want to clear.

Remember, you can also use the search bar to find a specific site you want to erase from your history.

In the drop-down menu that appears, just tap “Clear data” once you’ve selected the options.

Managing Google Services

Google also has other products, such as YouTube, which you can also manage in this menu.

So, there’s also the possibility to clear browsing data in other apps if you want.

Youtube History

Youtube is yet one of the other Google services.

To delete the YouTube search history, just select the option as shown in the following image:

In this case, you can just select the videos you need to delete. That’s it - no more videos search history in your account.

You can also know how to solve problems related to YouTube Comments not Loading, by reading our guide!

Disallow Google to Save Your Activity

There are two ways to prevent Google from tracking your search activity:

• Auto-Delete: You can set the Auto-Delete option, so Google deletes all your data after a certain period. You can do this in the same menu where you delete the history.

• Deactivate activity tracking: If you just don’t want Google to store any search activity, just deactivate the option in the menu. Keep in mind that this doesn’t delete the data; it prevents Google from tracking the new search information.

And that’s how you view and delete your Google search history in the blink of an eye! If you liked this guide and you are into the marvelous world of digital marketing and social media platforms, then be sure to check our other blog posts in GrowFollowing!

Delete Google Search History FAQ

Can Google Search History be Recovered?

Yes, it can, unless you permanently delete it from all of your devices and options. This means that there are options in your PC’s system that can allow you to recover the history even after being deleted.

Why Does Google Keep Your Search History?

Google claims that the main reason to keep your history is to offer users a more personalized experience while browsing through the Internet.

Still, you can just stop Google from doing this whenever you want.

Does deleting history really delete it?

In short - yes. Although there is no guarantee that your data is really deleted.

Some tech companies use a “soft delete” method which deletes the data for the user but the information is still kept on the servers and backups.

About the author

Karen

Karen is a senior technical writer and copywriter here at GrowFollowing. Her area of expertize are social media apps and new media.

Steve

Steve specializes in cryptocurrency and finance. As a born researcher, he won’t leave any stone unturned when it comes to topics he covers.