Where to find and delete your YouTube history

YouTube stores two separate histories: what you've watched and what you've searched for. Both live in your account settings, and you can delete them individually or together. On any device, go to YouTube.com, click your profile picture in the top right corner, and select "History" from the menu. This takes you to your watch history — a list of every video you've opened, in reverse order by date.

From the history page, look for the "Clear all watch history" button on the left side. Clicking it removes every video from your watch history at once. If you want to delete only specific videos instead, hover over any video in the list and click the X that appears on the right side of that row. You can do this one video at a time, or select multiple videos by clicking the checkbox next to each one, then click "Delete" at the top.

Key Takeaways

  • YouTube watch history and search history are stored separately — deleting one does not delete the other.
  • You can clear all watch history at once from the history page, or delete individual videos by clicking the X next to them.
  • Search history lives in a different location: go to your account settings, select "Manage all your data," then find YouTube under "Services."
  • Turning off watch history prevents YouTube from recording new videos, but does not delete what is already stored.
  • Deleting history from YouTube does not affect what your internet service provider or router can see about your browsing.

How to delete your YouTube search history

Your search history — the terms you've typed into YouTube's search box — is stored separately from your watch history. To find it, click your profile picture and go to "Settings." Then select "Privacy" from the left menu, and look for "Manage all your data." This opens a page showing all the data Google has collected across its services.

Find YouTube in the list and click on it. You'll see options to download your data or delete it. Click "Delete" and choose the date range — you can delete searches from the last hour, the last day, the last week, the last month, or all time. Select your range and confirm. Unlike watch history, there is no way to delete individual searches from this interface; you can only clear by time period.

Turning off history recording for the future

If you don't want YouTube to record your activity going forward, you can pause history recording instead of repeatedly deleting it. From your profile picture menu, click "Settings," then "Privacy," then toggle off "Save your watch and search history." This stops YouTube from storing new videos you watch or searches you perform, but it does not delete your existing history.

Keep in mind that turning off history recording also changes how YouTube recommends videos to you. The recommendation algorithm relies partly on your history, so you may see fewer personalized suggestions. YouTube will still track some data for account security and fraud prevention even when history recording is off.

What happens when you delete history

Deleting your YouTube history removes it from your account and from YouTube's servers. The videos you watched will no longer appear in your "Watch it again" section, and your search terms will no longer show up as suggestions when you start typing in the search box. Other people who use your device will not see your deleted videos in the history menu.

However, deleting YouTube history does not affect what other parties can see. Your internet service provider can still see that you visited YouTube, though not which videos you watched. If you used a shared Wi-Fi network, the network owner can see YouTube traffic but not your specific activity. If you want to hide your browsing from your ISP or network, you would need to use a VPN — YouTube history deletion alone does not provide that protection.

Deleting history on mobile devices

The YouTube app on iPhone and Android works the same way as the website. Open the app, tap your profile picture in the top right, and select "History." You'll see the same "Clear all watch history" button. Tap it to delete everything, or swipe left on any video (iPhone) or long-press it (Android) to delete individual items.

For search history on mobile, tap your profile picture, go to "Settings," then "Privacy," then "Manage all your data." The process is identical to the website version. Both iOS and Android apps let you pause history recording from the same Privacy menu.

Clearing history from a shared device or account

If multiple people use the same YouTube account, deleting history affects everyone's recommendations and watch-again suggestions. If you share a device but have separate YouTube accounts, make sure you're signed into your own account before deleting history — signing out and back in takes a few seconds and prevents you from accidentally clearing someone else's data.

If you share a device and want privacy without deleting the other person's history, consider using your browser's private or incognito mode. In private mode, YouTube still works normally, but your watch and search history are not saved to your account. When you close the private window, that session leaves no trace on the device.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does deleting YouTube history delete it from Google's servers?

Yes. When you delete history from YouTube, it is removed from Google's servers and your account. YouTube will not show it to you again or use it for recommendations. However, Google may retain some data for security purposes, separate from your viewable history.

Can I delete history from a specific date or time period?

For watch history, you can only delete all videos at once or remove them one by one. For search history, you can choose to delete from the last hour, day, week, month, or all time. There is no way to delete watch history from a specific date range without deleting everything.

Will deleting YouTube history speed up my device?

Deleting history will not noticeably speed up your device. YouTube history is stored on Google's servers, not on your phone or computer, so clearing it frees almost no local storage space. The main benefit is privacy, not performance.

If I pause history, will YouTube still recommend videos to me?

Yes, but recommendations will be less personalized. YouTube will still suggest videos based on what's trending, your subscriptions, and other factors, but it will not use your watch history to tailor suggestions. Over time, as you watch more videos with history paused, YouTube learns your preferences again.

Can someone see my deleted YouTube history?

No. Once you delete history, it is gone from your account and YouTube's systems. Other people cannot see deleted videos in your history, and YouTube does not show them in your recommendations or watch-again section. The only exception is if someone has access to your account password — they could see whatever history currently exists.