How to clear search history on a Chromebook
To clear your search history on a Chromebook, open Chrome, press Ctrl + H to open the History page, then click Clear browsing data in the left sidebar. A window will appear 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 Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files boxes are checked if you want a thorough clearing, then click Clear data.
The same steps work whether you are signed into a Google account or using your Chromebook in guest mode. If you have multiple user accounts on your Chromebook, each account keeps its own separate history — clearing history in one account does not affect the others.
Key Takeaways
- Press Ctrl + H to open your history, then click Clear browsing data to delete search history and visited websites.
- Choose All time to remove everything, or select a shorter time range like Last 24 hours if you only want to clear recent activity.
- Check Cookies and other site data to also remove saved passwords and login information from websites you have visited.
- Each user account on your Chromebook has its own separate history, so clearing one account's history does not affect other users.
- You can also set Chrome to automatically delete your history every time you close the browser by turning on Delete cookies and site data when you quit Chrome in Settings.
What gets deleted when you clear browsing data
When you click Clear data, Chrome removes the websites you have visited and the searches you have performed. By default, it also clears Cookies and other site data, which includes login information, saved passwords, and preferences you set on websites. It removes Cached images and files, which are copies of web pages and images stored on your Chromebook to make websites load faster the next time you visit.
You can choose to clear only some of these items by unchecking boxes before you click Clear data. For example, if you want to delete your search history but keep your saved passwords, uncheck the Cookies and other site data box. The Autofill data option removes saved addresses, phone numbers, and credit card information you have entered into forms.
Clearing history for a specific website
If you only want to remove history for one website instead of everything, open the History page with Ctrl + H and look for the site you want to delete. Hover over the entry and click the checkbox that appears, then click Delete at the top of the page. This removes only that website from your history without touching anything else.
You can select multiple websites at once by checking the boxes next to each one, then clicking Delete. This is useful if you want to remove a few specific sites but keep the rest of your history intact.
Automatically delete history when you close Chrome
Instead of manually clearing your history each time, you can set Chrome to delete it automatically. Click the three-dot menu in the top right corner of Chrome, go to Settings, then click Privacy and security in the left sidebar. Turn on the toggle next to Delete cookies and site data when you quit Chrome.
Once this setting is on, Chrome will erase your browsing history, cookies, and cached files every time you close the browser completely. Your history will still appear while you are using Chrome in that session, but it disappears once you shut down the application. This does not affect other user accounts on your Chromebook — each account has its own setting.
Clearing history on a shared Chromebook
If you share your Chromebook with other people, each person should have their own user account. When you sign in with your account, only your history is visible to you, and clearing your history does not affect anyone else's. To create a separate account, click your profile picture in the bottom right corner of the Chromebook login screen, then select Add person and follow the steps.
If someone else is using your account and you want to clear the history they created, you will need to sign into your account and clear it yourself. There is no way to clear another person's history without access to their account. If privacy is a concern on a shared device, ask each user to enable the automatic deletion setting so their history clears when they close Chrome.
Clearing search history from your Google account
Your Chromebook also stores search history in your Google account if you are signed in. Clearing history on your Chromebook only removes it from that device — it does not remove it from your Google account. To delete searches from your Google account across all devices, go to myactivity.google.com in Chrome, click Delete activity by on the left side, choose your time range, and select Search to delete only searches or All products to delete everything.
You can also turn off activity saving entirely by going to myactivity.google.com, clicking the three-dot menu, and selecting Activity controls. From there, turn off Web & App Activity to stop Google from storing your searches and browsing history. This setting applies to your Google account across all devices, not just your Chromebook.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does clearing my history delete my saved passwords?
Only if you check the Cookies and other site data box when clearing. If you uncheck that box, your passwords stay saved. To delete passwords without clearing your entire history, go to Settings > Passwords, find the password you want to remove, click the three-dot menu next to it, and select Remove.
Can I recover history after I delete it?
No, once you clear your history from your Chromebook, it is gone from that device. If you are signed into a Google account, your search history may still exist in your Google account at myactivity.google.com unless you delete it there as well. Your internet service provider may also have records of websites you visited, but you cannot recover your local Chrome history.
Will clearing my history on my Chromebook clear it on my phone or other devices?
No, clearing history on your Chromebook only affects that device. If you are signed into the same Google account on multiple devices, each device keeps its own separate history. To clear history across all your devices, go to myactivity.google.com and delete your activity there, which removes it from your Google account but not necessarily from each individual device.
What is the difference between clearing history and clearing cache?
History is the list of websites you visited and searches you performed. Cache is the temporary copies of images and files from those websites stored on your Chromebook to make them load faster. When you clear browsing data, both are removed by default, but you can uncheck Cached images and files to keep the cache while deleting your history.
Can I clear history for just one hour or one day?
Yes, when you click Clear browsing data, the first dropdown menu at the top lets you choose the time range. Options include Last hour, Last 24 hours, Last 7 days, Last 4 weeks, and All time. Select the range you want, and only history from that period will be deleted.