How to delete your Google Search history
You can delete your Google Search history in three ways: delete individual searches, clear all history from a specific date range, or turn off Search history recording entirely. The fastest method is to go to myactivity.google.com, find the searches you want to remove, and delete them one by one or in bulk. If you want to wipe everything at once, you can select a date range — last hour, last day, all time — and delete all at once. If you want Google to stop recording searches going forward, you can turn off Web & App Activity in your Google Account settings.
The process takes about two minutes. Your search history is stored in your Google Account, not on your device, so these changes affect all devices where you are signed in to that account. If you use Google without signing in, Google still records some information, but it is tied to your device and browser rather than your account.
Key Takeaways
- Visit myactivity.google.com to see and delete individual searches or clear everything from a specific date range.
- Deleting your search history does not delete the websites you visited — it only removes the record Google kept of what you searched for.
- Turning off Web & App Activity in your Google Account settings stops Google from recording new searches, but does not delete past history.
- If you use Google without signing in, your search history is stored on your device and browser, not in your Google Account.
Delete searches one at a time from My Activity
Open myactivity.google.com in your browser and sign in with the Google Account you use for search. You will see a list of your recent activity, organized by date. Each entry shows what you searched for and when.
Click on any search result to open it. A menu will appear with a delete button (trash icon). Click it to remove that single search from your history. The search will disappear from your activity immediately. You can repeat this for as many searches as you want to remove individually.
This method is useful if you want to keep most of your history but remove a few specific searches. It does not affect your browsing history or any other Google services.
Delete all searches from a date range
On the left side of myactivity.google.com, click Delete activity by. A panel will open with three options: delete from the last hour, last day, or all time. Select the time range you want to clear.
Google will show you a preview of what will be deleted — usually the number of items and the date range. Click Delete to confirm. All searches from that period will be removed from your account. This is faster than deleting searches one by one if you want to clear a large block of history.
Be aware that this deletes only search history, not your browsing history in Chrome or other browsers. It also does not delete YouTube watch history, Gmail, or other Google services — those have separate deletion tools.
Turn off search history recording in your Google Account
Go to myaccount.google.com and click Data & privacy in the left menu. Scroll down to Web & App Activity and click it. You will see a toggle switch that says "Web & App Activity is on." Click the toggle to turn it off.
Google will ask you to confirm. Once you turn it off, Google will stop recording what you search for. This applies to all devices where you are signed into that Google Account. Turning this off does not delete your past search history — it only stops new searches from being recorded.
If you turn Web & App Activity back on later, Google will resume recording your searches. Your old deleted history will not come back.
What happens when you delete search history
Deleting your search history removes the record from your Google Account. Google will no longer show you search suggestions based on those deleted searches, and the searches will not appear in your activity log. However, your Internet Service Provider (ISP) and the websites you visited may still have records that you visited them.
Deleting search history also does not delete cookies, cached pages, or your browser history. If you want to remove those, you need to clear your browser cache and cookies separately. In Chrome, go to Settings > Privacy and security > Clear browsing data and select the time range and data types you want to remove.
Search history when you are not signed in
If you use Google Search without signing into a Google Account, Google still records some information about your searches. This information is tied to your device and browser using a cookie, not to your account. You can delete this by clearing your browser cookies and cache.
In Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge, you can usually do this by pressing Ctrl+Shift+Delete (Windows) or Command+Shift+Delete (Mac), then selecting the time range and checking "Cookies and other site data" and "Cached images and files." This will remove Google's record of your unsigned-in searches on that device.
Difference between search history and browsing history
Search history is the record of what you typed into Google's search box. Browsing history is the record of every website you visited, whether you searched for it or typed the address directly. Deleting your Google Search history does not delete your browsing history.
To delete your browsing history in Chrome, go to Settings > Privacy and security > Clear browsing data. Select "All time" or your preferred date range, check "Browsing history," and click Delete. This removes the list of websites you visited from your browser, but does not affect your Google Search history or your Google Account activity.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does deleting my search history delete the websites I visited?
No. Search history is only the record of what you searched for. Your browsing history — the list of websites you visited — is separate. You must delete browsing history through your browser settings, not through Google Account settings.
Will deleting my search history stop Google from tracking me?
Deleting search history removes only the record of your searches from your Google Account. Google may still track other activity through cookies, location data, and other services. To limit tracking more broadly, turn off Web & App Activity, Location History, and YouTube History in your Google Account settings.
Can I delete search history from just one device?
No. When you delete history through myactivity.google.com, it deletes from your entire Google Account across all devices. If you want to remove history from only one device, you must delete your browser history on that device instead.
What if I turn off Web & App Activity and then turn it back on?
Turning Web & App Activity back on will not restore deleted history. Google will only record new searches from the moment you turn it back on. Your old deleted searches will remain deleted.
Does Google keep a backup of deleted search history?
Once you delete search history through myactivity.google.com, it is removed from your account. Google does not restore deleted history through the standard account settings. However, if you need to recover deleted information for legal reasons, contact Google directly.