How do I delete recent searches?

Deleting your recent searches can be a great way to protect your privacy and keep your browsing history clean. In this article, we’ll walk through how to delete recent searches in the most popular web browsers and search engines.

Why Would You Want to Delete Recent Searches?

There are a few key reasons you may want to delete your recent searches:

Privacy – Recent searches can reveal a lot about you and your interests. Deleting them regularly helps keep your browsing habits private.

Security – Search history can sometimes contain sensitive information like passwords or credit card numbers. Deleting searches gets rid of that potentially vulnerable information.
Clutter – Search history can quickly build up with random or one-off searches. Clearing out old searches helps keep things tidy.
Relevance – Old searches may no longer represent what you’re interested in today. Deleting them focuses your recommendations on more current interests.

Overall, clearing your search history helps protect your privacy, secure your information, declutter your browser, and keep recommendations relevant.

Clearing Recent Searches in Google

Google keeps track of your recent searches to use for auto-complete suggestions and to personalize your experience. Here’s how to delete your recent searches on Google:

Click on the Settings icon in the top right corner.

Select Search settings under “Privacy & Security.”
You’ll see a list of recent searches – click the X icon next to each one to delete individual searches.
To delete entire days or weeks worth of searches, click Advanced and then choose a date range to delete.

Make sure to click Clear at the bottom to apply your deletions.

Clearing your Google search history deletes the searches from Google’s records as well as from suggestions and personalization. One thing to note is that this only deletes searches made while logged into your Google account. Searches in incognito/private browsing mode do not get recorded in your history.

Turning Off Search History in Google

In addition to manually clearing your search history, you can tell Google not to record searches at all:

Go back to Search settings.
Turn the setting for Web & App Activity off.

With search history disabled, your searches will not appear in your Google account at all.

Clearing Recent Searches in Chrome

Chrome has its own search history that’s separate from your Google account. Here’s how to delete recent searches in Chrome:

Click the three vertical dots in the top right corner.
Hover over History and select History.

Click the Clear browsing data button.
Select the time range you want to clear.
Check the box for “Browsing history.”

Click Clear data.

This will delete all recent searches from Chrome’s history. Note that Browsing history also contains your full browsing history – if you only want to delete searches, select “Cookies and other site data” instead of Browsing history.

You can also delete individual searches by clicking the X next to any search on the History page.

Disabling Search History in Chrome

To disable Chrome’s search history altogether:

Click the three dots > Settings.
Click Privacy and security.

Under “History,” uncheck “Allow Chrome to save and sync history.”

With this setting off, Chrome will not record any history or searches going forward.

Clearing Microsoft Edge’s Search History

Edge uses your Windows account to save search history. To delete it:

Open Edge and click the three horizontal dots.
Select Settings and go to Privacy, search, and services.
Under “Clear browsing data,” choose “Browsing History” and the time range.

Click Clear now.

This will wipe all recent searches from Edge’s history. You can also right-click individual searches on the New tab page and select “Remove from history.”

Stopping Search History in Edge

To prevent Edge from recording search history:

Go to Settings > Privacy, search, and services.
Turn “Allow Microsoft services to collect history” off.

With this setting disabled, Edge will not save any browsing or search history moving forward.

Deleting Safari’s Search History on Mac

Safari saves recent searches using your Apple ID. To clear your Safari search history on Mac:

Click History > Clear History.
Select “the last hour,” “today,” or “all history” to delete.

Check “Search History.”
Click Clear History.

This will wipe your stored Safari searches according to the time period you selected. You can also right-click individual searches in the Smart Search field dropdown to delete them.

Turning Off Search History in Safari

To stop Safari from saving search history entirely:

Click Safari > Preferences.
Go to the Privacy tab.

Uncheck “Include Safari Suggestions.”

With this disabled, Safari will no longer add searches to your history or use them for suggestions.

Clearing Firefox’s Search History

Firefox uses your Firefox account to save browsing history and searches. To delete recent searches in Firefox:

Click the three lines > History > Clear Recent History.
Choose the time range to clear.
Select “Browsing & Download History.”

Click Clear Now.

This will wipe your Firefox search history. You can also right-click individual searches in your URL bar dropdown or on the Library window to delete them.

Disabling Search History in Firefox

To prevent Firefox from recording search history:

Click the three lines > Settings.
Go to Privacy & Security.
Uncheck “Remember history.”

With this setting off, Firefox will no longer save any search or browsing history.

Deleting Searches from Spotlight on Mac

Spotlight on Mac indexes your searches to improve suggestions. To delete your Spotlight search history:

Go to System Preferences > Spotlight.

Click the Privacy tab.
Drag folders or drives you want to remove from the list.
Click OK to save the changes.

This will stop Spotlight from indexing searches from the locations you removed. To delete all Spotlight searches:

Go to System Preferences > Spotlight > Privacy.
Drag your entire hard drive to the list.

Click OK to remove everything.

With your drive removed, Spotlight will not index or remember any searches anywhere on your Mac.

Clearing Cortana’s Search History on Windows

Cortana records your searches to improve suggestions over time. To clear your Cortana search history on Windows:

Open the Cortana panel by clicking the microphone icon in your taskbar.
Click the settings icon > Manage what Cortana can do.
Click Clear under “Basic Cortana permissions.”

Check “Browsing history” and click Clear now.

This will wipe your Cortana search history. You can also tell Cortana “delete my last search” or “delete my search history.”

Stopping Cortana from Recording Searches

To stop Cortana from saving search history:

Open Cortana Settings.
Turn off “Ask Cortana for suggestions.”
Also turn off “Permissions to use speech, inking, & typing personalization.”

With permissions off, Cortana will no longer record or learn from your searches.

Clearing Your Search History on iOS

On iPhone and iPad, recent searches are saved in your Safari history. To delete them:

Open the Settings app.

Tap Safari.
Select Clear History and Website Data.

This will wipe your Safari history, clearing any stored searches. You can also delete individual searches by tapping the “x” in the search bar dropdown.

Turning Off Search History on iOS

To disable search history in Safari on iOS:

Go to Settings > Safari.
Turn on Hide IP Address.

With this setting enabled, Safari will not store any record of your browsing or searches.

Deleting Search History on Android

On Android, recent searches are saved by both your browser and Google app. To delete them:

In Chrome:

Tap the three dots icon.
Go to History.
Tap Clear browsing data.

Select “Browsing history” and tap Clear data.

In Google app:

Open the side menu.

Go to Settings > Accounts & privacy.
Tap Delete activity by and choose a time range.
Check “Web & App Activity” and tap Delete.

You can also long press individual searches in Chrome or the Google app to delete them.

Disabling Search History on Android

To prevent searches from being recorded: