YouTube stores two separate histories you can clear independently
YouTube keeps track of two things: videos you have watched (your watch history) and what you have searched for (your search history). You can delete one, both, or neither — and you can pause YouTube from recording new activity without erasing what is already there. The steps differ slightly depending on whether you are using the YouTube website, the mobile app, or YouTube on a TV.
Clearing your history does not affect videos you have uploaded, playlists you have created, or comments you have posted. Those remain on your account unless you delete them separately. History clearing only removes the record of what you watched and searched for.
Key Takeaways
- YouTube watch history and search history are stored separately, so you can delete one without touching the other.
- On the website, go to your account menu, select "History," then choose "Clear all watch history" or "Clear all search history" from the left sidebar.
- On the YouTube mobile app, tap your profile picture, go to Settings, then History and Privacy, and select the type of history to clear.
- You can pause history recording at any time so YouTube stops logging new activity, but this does not erase past history.
- Clearing history on one device does not clear it on other devices — your YouTube account syncs across devices, but the deletion happens only where you perform it.
Clearing watch history on the YouTube website
Start by going to YouTube.com and signing into your account. Click your profile picture in the top right corner, then select "History" from the dropdown menu. This takes you to a page showing all the videos you have watched, with the most recent at the top.
On the left side of the page, you will see a sidebar with options. Click "Clear all watch history." YouTube will ask you to confirm — click "Clear all watch history" again in the popup that appears. The entire list disappears immediately, though YouTube may take a few hours to fully process the deletion across its servers.
If you want to delete only specific videos from your history instead of everything, you can do that too. Hover over any video in your watch history and click the X that appears on the right side. That single video is removed from your history without affecting the rest.
Clearing search history on the YouTube website
From the same History page, look at the left sidebar again. This time, click "Search history" instead of watch history. You will see a list of everything you have searched for on YouTube, with the most recent searches at the top.
To delete all searches at once, click "Clear all search history" and confirm in the popup. To remove only certain searches, hover over any search term and click the X on the right. This is useful if you want to keep most of your search history but remove a few specific searches.
Clearing history on the YouTube mobile app
Open the YouTube app on your phone or tablet and tap your profile picture in the top right corner. Select "Settings" from the menu. Tap "History and Privacy" — this section contains all the history-related options.
You will see two options: "Clear watch history" and "Clear search history." Tap whichever one you want to clear, then confirm when YouTube asks you to verify. On some Android devices, you may also see a "Pause watch history" option in this same menu, which stops YouTube from recording new videos you watch without deleting past history.
Pausing history recording instead of deleting it
If you want YouTube to stop tracking what you watch and search for going forward, but you do not want to erase your existing history, you can pause recording instead. On the website, go to History and click "Pause watch history" or "Pause search history" in the left sidebar. On the mobile app, go to Settings, then History and Privacy, and toggle off "Pause watch history" or "Pause search history."
When history recording is paused, YouTube does not add new videos or searches to your history, but everything you watched or searched before remains there. You can turn recording back on at any time by toggling the same setting again. This is useful if you want to keep your existing history for recommendations but do not want YouTube logging your activity for a period of time.
What happens when you clear history on multiple devices
Your YouTube account is the same across all devices, but clearing history on one device does not automatically clear it on others. If you clear your watch history on your phone, your computer still shows the full history until you clear it there too. You have to perform the deletion steps on each device where you want history removed.
This also applies to browsers. If you use YouTube on Chrome on your computer and Safari on the same computer, clearing history in one browser does not affect the other. You need to go through the clearing process in each browser separately.
Why YouTube keeps your history and how to limit what it stores
YouTube uses your watch and search history to power its recommendation system — the videos it suggests to you on your home page and in the sidebar. The more history YouTube has, the more tailored those recommendations become. YouTube also uses this data to show you relevant ads, which is how the platform makes money.
If you do not want YouTube storing this information at all, you have a few options. You can clear history regularly (weekly or monthly). You can pause history recording when you are done watching. Or you can use YouTube in Incognito mode on the website or app, which does not save any history at all — though YouTube can still see what you watch for ad purposes if you are signed in.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does clearing my YouTube history delete my subscriptions or playlists?
No. Clearing watch history and search history only removes the record of what you watched and searched for. Your subscriptions, playlists, uploads, and comments all stay on your account. If you want to delete those, you have to do it separately.
Can I see my YouTube history after I delete it?
Once you clear your history, it is gone from your account. YouTube does not keep a backup you can restore. However, YouTube may keep records of your activity for internal purposes (like ad targeting), but you cannot see or recover your deleted watch history through your account.
If I pause my watch history, will YouTube stop recommending videos to me?
YouTube will still make recommendations, but they will be based on your subscriptions, likes, and other signals rather than your recent watch history. Recommendations may become less personalized the longer history recording stays paused, since YouTube has less recent data about your interests.
Does clearing history on YouTube also clear it from Google Search?
No. YouTube history and Google Search history are separate. Clearing one does not affect the other. If you want to clear your Google Search history, you have to do that in your Google Account settings at myactivity.google.com.
What is YouTube Incognito mode and does it prevent history from being saved?
Incognito mode on YouTube (available on the website and mobile app) does not save your watch history or search history to your account. However, YouTube can still see what you watch for ad targeting purposes if you are signed in. Incognito mode is useful if you want to browse without adding to your history, but it does not hide your activity from YouTube itself.