Where to find and clear your Google history
Your Google history lives in two places: your Google Account (which tracks searches and YouTube views across all your devices) and your browser (which tracks sites you visited in that specific browser). To clear Google history, you need to go to myactivity.google.com on any device where you're signed into your Google Account.
Once you're there, you'll see a timeline of your searches, YouTube videos, Maps directions, and other Google activity. You can delete individual items by clicking the trash icon next to them, or delete everything from a specific date range using the "Delete activity by" menu on the left side. Choose the time period — last hour, last day, all time, or a custom range — then select what types of activity to remove.
This clears your history from Google's servers, but it doesn't automatically clear what your browser has stored locally. If you want your browser to stop showing your search history when you type in the address bar, you'll need to clear your browser cache separately.
Key Takeaways
- Google Account history (searches, YouTube, Maps) is stored at myactivity.google.com and can be deleted by date range or individually.
- Browser history (sites you visited) is stored separately in your browser settings and requires a separate deletion step.
- Clearing your Google Account history does not automatically clear your browser's local cache or cookies.
- You can set Google to auto-delete your activity after a certain number of months if you want ongoing privacy without manual deletion.
- Incognito or Private mode browsing prevents history from being saved to your account or browser in the first place.
Clearing browser history versus Google Account history
These are two separate things, and clearing one does not clear the other. Your Google Account history is what Google stores on its servers about your activity — every search you made, every YouTube video you watched, every place you searched for on Maps. This follows you across devices as long as you're signed in.
Your browser history is what your specific browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge) has stored locally on that device. It includes every website you visited in that browser, and it stays on your computer or phone even if you sign out of Google. When you type in the address bar, your browser suggests sites from this local history.
If you clear only your Google Account history, your browser will still remember the sites you visited. If you clear only your browser history, Google's servers will still have a record of your searches and YouTube activity. Most people want to clear both.
How to clear browser history in Chrome
In Chrome, press Ctrl + H on Windows or Command + Y on Mac to open your history. On the left side, click "Clear browsing data." A window will pop up asking what time range you want to clear — choose "All time" to remove everything, or pick a specific range like "Last hour" or "Last 7 days."
Make sure the boxes next to "Cookies and other site data" and "Cached images and files" are checked. These hold the most identifying information. You can also check "Browsing history" (which removes the list of sites you visited) and "Download history" if you want those gone too. Then click "Clear data."
If you use Chrome on multiple devices, clearing history on one device does not clear it on the others. You'll need to repeat this step on each device separately.
How to clear browser history in Firefox
In Firefox, press Ctrl + H on Windows or Command + Y on Mac, then click "Clear Recent History" on the right side. A window will open asking what time range to clear. Select "Everything" to remove all history, or pick a specific range.
Make sure "Browsing & Download History," "Cookies," and "Cache" are all checked. Then click "Clear Now." Firefox will remove that data from your device immediately.
Like Chrome, clearing history in Firefox on one device does not affect your history on other devices where you use Firefox.
How to clear browser history in Safari
In Safari on Mac, go to the menu bar and click History, then Clear History. A dropdown will ask how far back you want to clear — choose "all history" or pick a specific time range like "the last hour" or "today and yesterday."
On iPhone or iPad, open Settings, scroll down to Safari, tap "Clear History and Website Data," and confirm. This removes your browsing history, cookies, and cached data from that device.
Safari syncs history across your Apple devices if you have iCloud enabled, so clearing it on one device may affect what appears on others.
How to clear browser history in Edge
In Microsoft Edge, press Ctrl + H on Windows to open your history. Click "Clear browsing data" on the left side. A window will appear asking what time range to clear — select "All time" or a specific range.
Check the boxes for "Browsing history," "Download history," "Cookies and other site data," and "Cached images and files." Then click "Clear now." Edge will remove that data from your device.
If you're signed into your Microsoft Account in Edge, you can also go to account.microsoft.com to clear your activity across Microsoft services, similar to how Google Account history works.
Setting up automatic history deletion
If you don't want to manually clear your history every time, you can set most browsers to delete it automatically. In Chrome, go to Settings, click "Privacy and security," then "Clear browsing data." Check the box that says "Always clear cookies and site data when you close Chrome." This will delete your local browser data every time you close the browser completely.
In Firefox, go to Settings, click "Privacy & Security," scroll to "History," and choose "Firefox will use custom settings for history." Then check "Clear history when Firefox closes." You can also choose what types of data to clear automatically.
For your Google Account, go to myactivity.google.com, click the three-line menu icon, then "Settings." Under "Auto-delete activity," you can choose to have Google automatically delete your activity older than 3 months, 18 months, or 36 months. This happens in the background without you having to do anything.
Using private or incognito browsing
If you want to browse without creating a history at all, use your browser's private mode. In Chrome, this is called Incognito mode — press Ctrl + Shift + N on Windows or Command + Shift + N on Mac to open an Incognito window. In Firefox, it's called Private Window — press Ctrl + Shift + P or Command + Shift + P. In Safari, it's Private Browsing — press Command + Shift + N. In Edge, it's InPrivate — press Ctrl + Shift + P.
When you browse in private mode, your browser does not save your history, cookies, or cached files. However, your internet service provider and the websites you visit can still see your activity. Private mode also does not prevent Google from recording your searches if you're signed into your Google Account — it only stops your browser from storing the history locally.
Private mode is useful for one-off searches you don't want saved, but it's not a substitute for clearing history if you want to remove traces of past browsing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does clearing my Google Account history delete my browser history too?
No. Clearing your Google Account history at myactivity.google.com only removes what Google has stored on its servers. Your browser still has a local copy of every site you visited. You need to clear your browser history separately in your browser's settings.
Will clearing my history delete my saved passwords?
No. Passwords are stored separately from history and cookies. When you clear browsing data, you can choose whether to delete passwords — most browsers leave this box unchecked by default so you don't accidentally lose your saved passwords. If you want to delete a specific password, go to your browser's password manager instead.
Can I recover history after I delete it?
Once you delete your browser history, it's gone from your device. Google Account history deleted at myactivity.google.com is also permanently removed from Google's servers. There's no recovery option, so make sure you want to delete something before you confirm.
Does clearing history speed up my browser?
Clearing your cache and cookies can free up a small amount of storage space on your device, but it won't noticeably speed up your browser's performance. The main reason to clear history is privacy, not speed.
If I clear my history, will my family see what I was browsing?
Clearing your browser history removes it from your device, so other people using that device won't see it in the browser. However, if you share a Google Account with family members, they can still see your Google Account activity at myactivity.google.com unless you clear that separately. For true privacy on a shared device, use private browsing mode or sign out of your Google Account before browsing.