Delete your Safari history in three steps

Open Safari, tap the book icon at the bottom right of the screen, then tap the clock icon labeled "History". Scroll to the bottom and tap "Clear History and Website Data". Choose how far back you want to erase — the last hour, today, today and yesterday, or all time — then tap "Clear History and Website Data" again to confirm.

This removes the list of websites you have visited, the search terms you typed into the address bar, and cookies that websites stored on your iPad. Your saved passwords and autofill information stay in place unless you specifically choose to remove them in the confirmation screen.

If you use iCloud to sync your Safari data across devices, clearing history on your iPad also clears it on your iPhone, Mac, and any other device signed into the same Apple ID. This happens automatically and cannot be undone, so make sure you want the history gone everywhere before you confirm.

Key Takeaways

  • Safari history clears through the book icon at the bottom right, then the clock icon, then the "Clear History and Website Data" button at the bottom.
  • You can choose to erase just the last hour, today, today and yesterday, or all of your history at once.
  • Clearing history removes visited websites and search terms but keeps your saved passwords unless you uncheck that option.
  • If you use iCloud, clearing history on your iPad clears it on all your other Apple devices at the same time.

Clear history from Chrome or Firefox instead

If you use Chrome, open the app and tap the three dots in the bottom right corner. Tap "Settings", then "Privacy", then "Clear Browsing Data". Choose your time range and make sure "Browsing history" is checked, then tap "Clear Browsing Data" at the bottom.

Firefox works the same way: tap the menu icon (three horizontal lines) at the bottom right, tap "Settings", scroll down to "Privacy", then tap "Clear Private Data". Select your time range, make sure "Browsing History" is checked, and tap "Clear Private Data".

Chrome and Firefox store history separately from Safari, so clearing one does not affect the other. If you use multiple browsers on your iPad, you will need to clear history in each one individually.

Stop Safari from saving history going forward

If you want Safari to stop recording your browsing altogether, open Settings on your iPad, scroll down and tap "Safari", then turn on "Private Browsing". Every new tab you open will now be a private tab that Safari does not save to your history.

Private browsing is useful when you do not want your visits recorded, but it has a trade-off: Safari will not remember your passwords, autofill information, or reading list on private tabs. You will have to type your passwords in each time. When you close a private tab, Safari forgets everything about it immediately.

Private browsing does not hide your activity from your internet provider, your network administrator, or the websites you visit — it only hides it from other people who use your iPad. If you need actual privacy from those parties, you would need a VPN, which is a different tool.

Understand what clearing history does and does not do

Clearing your history removes the list of websites you visited and the searches you performed, but it does not erase the websites themselves from the internet or undo anything you did on those sites. If you posted something on social media or made a purchase, that information stays on the website's servers.

Clearing history also does not remove cookies that websites have already stored on your iPad — those are separate from your browsing history. If you want to remove cookies, you can do that in Safari Settings under "Privacy" by tapping "Manage Website Data" and selecting which sites to clear, or you can check the "Cookies and Site Data" box when you clear history.

Your internet service provider can still see which websites you visited, because that information travels through their network. Clearing your iPad's history does not hide your activity from them or from your network administrator at work or school.

Recover deleted history if you made a mistake

Once you clear your history in Safari, you cannot undo it directly. However, if you use iCloud and you realize the mistake within a few minutes, you might be able to stop the deletion from syncing to your other devices by turning off iCloud sync before opening Safari on those devices.

If you need to remember a website you visited, try searching your email for receipts or confirmations from that site, checking your credit card or bank statements for charges, or looking through your downloads folder if you downloaded anything. These are indirect ways to trace back where you have been.

For the future, consider using Safari's Reading List feature to save articles you want to read later, or use bookmarks for sites you visit regularly. These stay on your iPad even after you clear history.

Clear history automatically on a schedule

Safari does not have a built-in option to clear history automatically on a schedule, but you can set a reminder to clear it yourself. Open the Reminders app, create a new reminder for a day and time that works for you — weekly or monthly — and set the title to "Clear Safari history". When the reminder pops up, open Safari and clear your history as described above.

Some people prefer to clear history every time they close Safari. You cannot automate this in Safari's settings, but you can make it a habit by adding it to your closing routine: before you swipe Safari away, spend 10 seconds clearing your history.

If you share your iPad with family members and want to keep your browsing separate, the better solution is to set up separate user accounts on the iPad rather than trying to manage shared history. Each account has its own Safari history and settings.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does clearing history delete my saved passwords?

No. When you clear history, Safari shows you a confirmation screen with checkboxes for different types of data. "Browsing history" is checked by default, but "Passwords and autofill data" is unchecked. Your passwords stay saved unless you specifically check that box before confirming.

If I clear history on my iPad, does it clear on my iPhone too?

Yes, if you use the same Apple ID and have iCloud sync turned on for Safari. The deletion syncs across all your devices within a few minutes. If you do not want this to happen, turn off iCloud sync for Safari in Settings before clearing history.

Can someone recover my history after I delete it?

Not from your iPad itself. Once you clear history, it is gone from the device. However, your internet service provider keeps records of which websites you visited, and websites themselves keep logs of your visits. Clearing your iPad's history only removes it from your device.

What is the difference between clearing history and private browsing?

Clearing history removes past visits you have already made. Private browsing prevents Safari from recording new visits going forward. Private browsing is useful if you want to browse without a record, but you have to turn it on before you visit the sites — it does not retroactively hide past visits.

Does clearing history speed up my iPad?

Slightly, but not noticeably. Clearing history frees up a small amount of storage space, but unless your iPad is almost full, you will not see a performance difference. If your iPad is slow, the issue is usually something else, like too many apps running or not enough available storage.