Delete your Google search history directly from the Google app

Open the Google app on your iPhone and tap your profile picture in the top right corner. Select Manage your Google Account, then tap the Data & Privacy tab. Scroll down and tap Web & App Activity. You'll see a toggle switch — turn it off to stop Google from recording your searches going forward, or tap Delete all to remove your entire history at once.

If you want to delete only certain searches rather than everything, tap Web & App Activity again and look for the search results you want to remove. You can select individual items and delete them one by one, though this takes longer if you have months of history to clear.

Clear your Safari browsing history if you use Google Search in Safari

If you search Google through Safari instead of the Google app, clearing Safari's history won't delete your Google search history — those are stored separately in your Google account. However, you should clear Safari to remove the websites you visited. Open Settings, scroll down and tap Safari, then tap Clear History and Website Data. Choose how far back you want to clear: the last hour, today, today and yesterday, or all time.

A dialog box will appear asking what you want to delete. Make sure History is checked, along with Cookies and Site Data if you want to remove login information and tracking cookies. Tap Clear History and Data to finish.

Key Takeaways

  • Google search history stored in your Google account is separate from Safari history and must be deleted through your Google account settings, not through Safari.
  • You can delete all your Google search history at once or remove individual searches by going to Data & Privacy in your Google Account settings.
  • Turning off Web & App Activity stops Google from recording new searches, but does not delete past history.
  • Clearing Safari history removes websites you visited but does not remove searches you made through Google Search.

Turn off Web & App Activity to prevent future tracking

Even after you delete your history, Google will start recording new searches the moment you search again — unless you turn off the setting that allows it. In the Google app, go to your profile picture, then Manage your Google Account > Data & Privacy > Web & App Activity and toggle the switch to Off. This stops Google from storing your searches, but you'll lose some features like personalized search results and voice command history.

Keep in mind that turning off Web & App Activity only affects your Google account. If you're using Safari's private browsing mode, Safari won't store your history locally on your phone, but Google will still record your searches if you're signed into your Google account.

Use Safari Private Browsing to avoid local history storage

If you want to browse without Safari storing your activity on your iPhone, open Safari and tap the Tabs button (the overlapping squares at the bottom right). Tap Private in the bottom left corner, then tap Done. Any new tabs you open will be in private mode and won't appear in your Safari history.

Private browsing prevents Safari from saving your browsing history, cookies, and search history on your phone itself. However, it does not hide your activity from your internet provider, your employer if you're on a work network, or Google if you're signed into your Google account. Your Google search history will still be recorded separately.

Check your Google account on a computer for more detailed deletion options

If you want more control over what you delete, you can manage your Google history from a computer. Go to myactivity.google.com in any web browser, sign in with your Google account, and you'll see a timeline of everything Google has recorded. You can search for specific items, delete by date range, or delete everything at once. This interface gives you more options than the iPhone app.

From the computer version, you can also set up automatic deletion. Click the three-line menu icon, select Settings, and choose how often you want Google to automatically delete your history — options include every 3 months, 18 months, or never. This setting applies across all your devices, including your iPhone.

Understand what gets deleted and what doesn't

Deleting your Google search history removes searches you made through Google Search, but it does not delete your YouTube watch history, Gmail, Google Photos, or other Google services. Each of these has its own separate history that you need to delete individually. If you want to clear YouTube history, for example, you'll need to go to YouTube's history settings separately.

Similarly, deleting Safari history on your iPhone doesn't touch your Google account history. The two are completely separate systems. You need to delete both if you want to remove all traces of your searches and browsing from both your phone and your Google account.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does deleting my Google history delete it from all my devices?

Yes. Your Google search history is stored in your Google account, not on your phone. When you delete it through your account settings, it's removed from all devices where you're signed into that account — your iPhone, iPad, computer, and any other device.

Will deleting my history stop Google from tracking me?

Deleting your history removes the record of what you searched for, but Google continues to collect data about you through other means, like your location, the apps you use, and the websites you visit. Turning off Web & App Activity stops Google from storing your search history going forward, but you'll lose personalized results.

Can I delete just one search from my Google history?

Yes. In the Google app, go to your profile picture > Manage your Google Account > Data & Privacy > Web & App Activity, then find the search you want to remove and tap the delete icon next to it. You can do this one search at a time, though it's slow if you have many to remove.

What's the difference between clearing Safari history and deleting Google history?

Safari history is stored on your iPhone and shows the websites you visited. Google history is stored in your Google account and shows the searches you made. Clearing one doesn't affect the other — you need to do both if you want to remove all traces of your activity.

Does private browsing in Safari hide my searches from Google?

No. Private browsing only prevents Safari from storing your history on your phone. If you're signed into your Google account, Google still records every search you make, even in private mode. You need to turn off Web & App Activity in your Google account settings to stop Google from recording searches.