YouTube stores two separate histories you can delete independently

YouTube keeps track of every video you watch and every search you run. This data lives in two places: your Watch history (videos you've clicked on) and your Search history (what you've typed into the search box). You can delete all of it at once, clear it from a specific date forward, or pause YouTube from recording new activity going forward. The steps differ slightly depending on whether you're on a computer, phone, or tablet.

Deleting your history doesn't affect videos you've liked, subscriptions you've made, or playlists you've created — those stay put. It only removes the record of what you've watched and searched for. If you share a device with other people, deleting your history won't touch theirs unless you're signed into their account.

Key Takeaways

  • YouTube stores watch history and search history separately, and you can delete one without affecting the other.
  • On a computer, go to your account menu, select "History," then choose "Clear all watch history" or "Clear all search history."
  • On a phone or tablet, open the YouTube app, tap your profile picture, go to Settings, then History and Privacy, and select the delete option.
  • You can pause YouTube from recording new history without deleting what's already there, which is useful if you're using a shared device.
  • Deleting history does not remove your likes, subscriptions, or saved playlists — only the record of videos watched and searches performed.

Delete watch history on a computer

Open YouTube in your web browser and sign in to your account. Click your profile picture in the top right corner — it's a small circle with your initial or photo inside it. A dropdown menu will appear with several options.

Click History from that menu. You'll see a page showing all the videos you've watched, with the most recent at the top. On the left side of the screen, you'll see a link that says Clear all watch history. Click it. YouTube will ask you to confirm — click the blue button that says Clear watch history. Your entire watch history is now deleted, though YouTube may take a few hours to fully remove it from its servers.

Delete search history on a computer

Follow the same first steps: click your profile picture in the top right, then click History. This time, on the left side of the screen, look for Search history (it's below Watch history). Click it to see everything you've searched for on YouTube.

You'll see a link on the left that says Clear all search history. Click it, then confirm by clicking the blue button. Your search history is now deleted. If you want to delete only certain searches rather than all of them, you can click the X next to individual search terms instead of clearing everything at once.

Delete history on a phone or tablet

Open the YouTube app and tap your profile picture in the top right corner. Tap Settings from the menu that appears. Scroll down and tap History and Privacy.

You'll see two options: Clear watch history and Clear search history. Tap whichever one you want to delete. YouTube will ask you to confirm — tap Clear. The history is now deleted from your account across all devices.

Pause YouTube from recording new history

If you're using a shared device and don't want YouTube to record what you watch, you can turn off history recording without deleting what's already there. On a computer, click your profile picture, then History, then look for Pause watch history or Pause search history on the left side. Click the one you want to pause.

On a phone or tablet, go to Settings, then History and Privacy, and toggle off Save watch history or Save search history. When you turn this off, YouTube stops recording immediately, but your old history stays in place. When you turn it back on, YouTube resumes recording from that point forward.

Delete history from a specific date

YouTube lets you delete only the history from a certain time period rather than everything. On a computer, click your profile picture, then History, then Watch history. Look for a button or link that says Delete watch history from — it's usually near the top of the page. Click it and choose a date range: All time, Today, This week, This month, or A custom range.

Select the time period you want to delete and click Clear. Only the history from that period will be removed. This is useful if you want to keep older history but remove recent activity, or if you only want to clean up the last few days.

What happens to your data after you delete it

When you delete your history, YouTube removes it from your account immediately, but the company's servers may retain copies for a short time as part of their standard backup process. For practical purposes, your history is gone and won't show up in your recommendations or search suggestions. YouTube will no longer use deleted history to personalize what videos it suggests to you.

If you're concerned about privacy on a shared device, pausing history recording is more effective than repeatedly deleting it, because it stops YouTube from collecting the data in the first place. Deleting history after the fact works, but pausing prevents the recording from happening at all.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does deleting my watch history affect my recommendations?

Yes. YouTube uses your watch history to suggest videos you might like. Once you delete it, those recommendations will be based only on your likes, subscriptions, and any history that remains. If you delete all your history, your recommendations will be generic until you watch more videos.

Can I delete history from just one video?

Yes. On a computer, go to History, then Watch history, and click the X next to any video you want to remove. On a phone or tablet, swipe left on a video in your history to delete just that one. This removes it from your history without affecting anything else.

If I pause history, will YouTube still see what I watch?

YouTube's servers still record your activity for technical reasons, but it won't be saved to your account's history. It won't show up in your recommendations or search suggestions, and you won't see it when you look at your history page.

Will deleting my history delete it from other devices I use?

Yes. Your YouTube history is tied to your account, not to a specific device. When you delete it, it's deleted across all devices where you're signed in with that account. If someone else uses your account on another device, they'll see the deletion too.

Can I recover history after I delete it?

No. Once you delete your history, YouTube does not provide a way to restore it. If you're unsure about deleting everything, use the date-range option to delete only recent history first, or pause recording instead of deleting.