Learn how to delete previous Google searches so you can remove them from your Google account and browsing history.
Having a log of everything you've searched for on Google can be helpful if you want to go back to something you've previously searched for. But you may want to clear recent privacy searches or reduce the amount of data Google has about you.
We will show you how to delete previous searches on Google. This includes the Google search history linked to your account as well as your browser history.
How to remove previous searches from your Google account
By default, Google tracks all searches you do when you log into your Google account on any device. If you weren't logged into Google when you made the searches you want to delete, you can skip to the next section dealing with clearing your browser history.
To delete previous searches one by one, simply click inside the search bar in the and you will see a list. You choose Remove next to a recent search to clear it.
This works to quickly remove some recent searches, but it's too slow if you want to clear all previous Google searches. To do this, click on your profile picture in the top right corner of Google and choose Manage your Google account.
Here, select Manage your data and personalization under Privacy and personalization. In the Activity Control section, open the Web & App Activity section. Then, click on Manage activities and you will see a running log of everything you have recently done with Google services.
For each block labeled google.com, click the X button in the top right to clear that search block. You can also click on an individual search to open it, then click the three-dot Menu button in the top right and choose Delete to clear them that way.
At the top of the list, you can search for a specific term you want to remove. Use Delete activity by in the left sidebar to clear your recent Google searches from a certain date.
You can also click the Auto-delete option at the top of the list to set up regular deletion of Google search history. This allows you to clear your Google history every three months, 18 months, or three years. Of course, you are still free to delete the history manually anytime you want.
Stop Google from saving your search history in the future
You can delete your previous Google searches as many times as you want, but it always gets boring to do it manually. Instead, you can prevent Google from saving your search history in the future.
To do this, go back to the Web & App Activity page and disable the slider. This will prevent Google from using your search activity and other Google services to personalize your experience. It also prevents recent searches from appearing on the Google homepage and prevents them from recording what you search for in the future.
If you often find yourself wanting to delete all previous Google searches, use this switch to save time. And while you're here, remember that search tracking is just one of the many ways Google keeps information about you. You may want to explore the other activity controls and disable them for more privacy as well.
How to edit Google history on Android or iPhone
To open the same interface on your mobile device so you can delete recent Google searches on the go, open the Google app and tap your profile picture in the top right corner. Choose Manage your Google Account and you'll be taken to a page where you can make the same changes as above, under Data & Personalization> Web & App Activity> Manage Activity.
You can also tap Search History to go directly to this panel. And the Delete last 15 minutes shortcut is useful if you need to clear searches from the recent past.
How to delete previous Google searches from browser history
Google keeping track of your previous search history is only half the task. As you probably know, your browser keeps track of every page visited in its history. You will then need to clear previous Google searches from your next browsing history.
We will demonstrate how to do this using Chrome. Open the three-dot menu on the top right and click on History> History to open the interface. The keyboard shortcut Ctrl + H will also switch to this.
On this page, check the boxes next to each history entry you want to remove. Once you've selected all of them, click the Delete button at the top of the page to delete them from your history. If the searches you want to delete are sparse, use the search bar above to show only google.com entries.
Instead of manually deleting items, the Clear Browsing Data tool on the left side of the History page allows you to clear your browsing history much faster. You can open it anywhere in Chrome using the Ctrl + Shift + Del shortcut.
Here you can use the Basic or Advanced tabs to remove Browsing History, as well as other types of history such as cookies and cached data. Chrome allows you to choose a time period from which to delete the history; click Clear data when ready.
