How to clear search history on iPhone
To clear your search history on iPhone, open Safari, tap the book icon at the bottom, then tap History at the top of the screen. Scroll to the bottom and tap "Clear History and Website Data". Choose a time range — Last Hour, Today, Today and Yesterday, or All Time — then tap "Clear History" to confirm.
The process takes about 30 seconds and removes the record of websites you've visited and searches you've performed. If you use a different browser like Chrome or Firefox, the steps are similar but accessed through each app's own menu.
Key Takeaways
- Safari's history clears from the book icon at the bottom of the screen, not from Settings.
- You can choose to clear only the last hour or everything back to when you first used the phone.
- Clearing history also removes saved passwords and cached website data unless you uncheck those boxes.
- Third-party browsers like Chrome and Firefox have their own history menus separate from Safari.
- Clearing history does not remove bookmarks, reading list items, or iCloud Keychain passwords unless you specifically delete them.
Clearing Safari history step by step
Open Safari and look at the bottom toolbar. Tap the book icon (it looks like an open book) — this opens your history and bookmarks panel. At the top of that panel, you'll see three tabs: Bookmarks, Reading List, and History. Tap History.
Once you're in the History tab, scroll all the way to the bottom. You'll see a button that says "Clear History and Website Data". Tap it. A menu will appear asking you to choose a time range: Last Hour, Today, Today and Yesterday, or All Time. Select whichever range matches what you want to delete, then tap the blue "Clear History" button to finish.
If you want to delete individual history entries instead of everything at once, you can swipe left on any entry in the History tab and tap Delete. This removes just that one item without touching the rest of your history.
What gets deleted when you clear history
When you tap "Clear History and Website Data", Safari removes three things by default: your browsing history (the list of websites you visited), your search history (what you typed into search bars), and cached website data (temporary files websites store on your phone to load faster next time).
The dialog box also has a checkbox for "Cookies and other website data" — this is checked by default. If you uncheck it before clearing, your history and searches will still be deleted, but Safari will keep the login information and preferences you've saved on individual websites. Most people leave this checked.
Clearing history does not delete your bookmarks, your reading list, or passwords saved in iCloud Keychain. Those remain on your phone unless you delete them separately through Settings.
Clearing history in Chrome, Firefox, and other browsers
Chrome: Open the app and tap the three-dot menu in the bottom right corner. Tap "Settings", then "Privacy", then "Clear Browsing Data". Choose your time range and tap "Clear Browsing Data" at the bottom.
Firefox: Open the app and tap the menu icon (three horizontal lines) at the bottom right. Tap "Settings", then "Data Management", then "Clear Private Data". Check the boxes for what you want to delete and tap "Clear Private Data".
Edge: Open the app and tap the three-dot menu at the bottom right. Tap "Settings", then "Privacy", then "Clear Browsing Data". Choose your time range and tap "Clear Now".
Each browser stores history separately, so clearing Safari history does not clear Chrome history or vice versa. If you use multiple browsers, you'll need to clear history in each one individually.
Automatic history clearing on a schedule
Safari does not have a built-in option to clear history automatically on a schedule. You have to do it manually each time. However, you can set Safari to clear history when you close the app by going to Settings > Safari > Close Tabs and turning on "After One Week" or "After One Month" — though this only closes tabs, not history.
If you want automatic history deletion, you can use a third-party browser like Firefox, which has a "Delete Browsing Data on Quit" option in its settings. Some people also use Screen Time restrictions to limit what websites can be visited, though this is meant for parental controls rather than privacy.
Clearing history from iCloud and other devices
If you have iCloud syncing turned on, your Safari history syncs across all your Apple devices — iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Clearing history on your iPhone will also clear it on those other devices. To check if syncing is on, go to Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud and look for Safari in the list.
If you want to clear history on just one device without affecting the others, turn off Safari syncing in iCloud Settings first, clear your history, then turn syncing back on. This prevents the deletion from spreading to your other devices.
Why you might want to clear history regularly
Clearing history removes the record of what websites you've visited from your phone's storage. This is useful if you share your phone with family members, sell or give away your device, or simply want to keep your browsing private from anyone who picks up your phone.
History also takes up storage space over time, though the amount is usually small. Clearing it occasionally can free up a few megabytes, which matters more on older iPhones with limited storage.
Keep in mind that clearing your history does not hide your activity from your internet service provider, your employer's network, or the websites themselves — they still have records of your visits. It only removes the list from your phone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does clearing history delete my passwords?
No. Clearing history removes the record of websites you visited, but passwords saved in iCloud Keychain stay on your phone. If you want to delete a specific saved password, go to Settings > Passwords, find it in the list, and tap Delete.
Can I recover history after I clear it?
Once you clear history, it cannot be recovered from your iPhone. If you have iCloud syncing on, the deletion syncs to your other devices too. If you realize you need a website address you deleted, try searching your email for receipts or confirmations from that site.
Will clearing history stop websites from tracking me?
No. Clearing your history only removes the list from your phone. Websites and advertisers can still track your activity through cookies and other methods. To limit tracking, enable "Privacy" in Safari Settings and use Safari's built-in tracking prevention features.
What's the difference between clearing history and clearing cache?
History is the list of websites you visited. Cache is the temporary files those websites stored on your phone. When you tap "Clear History and Website Data" in Safari, you're clearing both at once. You cannot clear just the cache without also clearing history.
Does clearing Safari history clear Google search history?
No. Clearing Safari history only removes what Safari recorded locally on your phone. If you use Google Search, Google keeps its own record of your searches in your Google account. To delete that, you need to visit myactivity.google.com and delete it there separately.