Facebook’s search history and recent searches feature allows users to view their recent search queries and pages they’ve visited on Facebook. This can be useful for finding something you searched for previously, but it also raises questions around how long this search history is retained and who can access it.
How does Facebook’s recent searches feature work?
When you search for something on Facebook, whether it’s a person, Page, Group, or hashtag, it gets added to your “Recent Searches” list on your profile. This list shows you the last 10 things you’ve searched for on Facebook across search bars on Facebook itself, Messenger, and the Facebook mobile apps.
You can access your recent searches by clicking on the search bar at the top of any Facebook page. A drop down will appear showing your recent searches. You can click on any of those searches to re-run them.
Facebook also has a “Search History” settings page that shows you a broader history of your search activity – including searches you’ve deleted from your recent searches bar. Here you can manage your search history by deleting individual searches or clearing your full history.
How far back does Facebook retain your search history?
According to Facebook, your search history can go back as far as a year. Any search queries older than a year will automatically drop off your search history page.
So unless you manually delete your search history, Facebook will retain and associate your searches with your account for up to one year before automatically deleting them.
Who can see your Facebook search history?
Only you can see your own search history and recent searches by default. Other people are not able to see what you’ve been searching for on Facebook.
However, just like your posts and other activity, Facebook does collect and analyze your search history to improve ad targeting and their algorithms. So while your searches are private from other users, Facebook itself can see your full history.
How to delete your Facebook search history
If you want to manually clear out your Facebook search history, there are a couple ways to do it:
- Delete individual searches: You can remove individual searches from your history by going to the Search History page in your Facebook Settings. Hover over any search and click the “X” icon to delete it.
- Clear your full history: On the Search History page, click “Clear History” to wipe your entire search history from Facebook.
- Turn off search history retention: Under “Activity log” in Settings, disable “Keep track of searches in your Activity Log.” This will prevent Facebook from saving your future searches.
How to hide your online status and recent searches
In addition to clearing your search history, you can also hide your online/offline status and hide your recent searches from being viewable by others:
- Online status: Go to Settings > Privacy > turn off “Show when you’re active.”
- Recent searches: Go to Settings > Privacy > turn off “Show people your recent searches on Facebook.”
With both of those settings disabled, no one will be able to see when you’re online/offline or view the searches listed in your search drop down.
Facebook search history on mobile
The recent searches and search history features work similarly in the Facebook mobile apps on iOS and Android. Here are the key details:
- View recent searches: Tap on the main search bar to see your recent searches.
- Clear recent searches: On the recent searches screen, tap “Edit” and then tap the X icon next to any searches you want to remove.
- Disable search history: Go to More Options > Settings & Privacy > tap Activity Log > turn off “Keep track of searches in your Activity Log.”
Third-party apps and search history
Be aware that any third-party apps connected to your Facebook account may also be able to access your Facebook search history. When you grant certain apps permission to “See your search history” they can view and retrieve data on your past searches.
To review which apps have access to your search history, go to Settings > Apps and Websites > Logged in with Facebook. Remove access for any apps you don’t want seeing your search data.
Incognito mode on Facebook
Facebook does not have an incognito or private browsing mode that allows you to search completely off-the-record. Your searches will still be saved to your history as normal.
The only way to search fully privately is to either be logged out of Facebook entirely or use your browser’s built-in incognito mode, which will not associate your search history with your account.
Key takeaways
- Facebook retains your search history for up to 1 year before automatically deleting entries.
- Only you can view your own Facebook search history by default.
- You can clear individual searches or your entire search history from the Search History settings page.
- Disable search history retention if you don’t want Facebook saving your future searches.
- Turn off your online visibility and hide recent searches to prevent others from seeing your activity.
The Bottom Line
Facebook holds on to your searches for up to a year in order to personalize your experience and ads. If you want to remove searches from your history or prevent Facebook from retaining your searches at all, you can do so through the Search History settings page. Just remember that fully private searching requires using an incognito browser or logging out of Facebook.
| Data Point | Details |
|---|---|
| How far back search history goes | Up to 1 year |
| Who can see your history | Only you by default |
| How to delete individual searches | Search History page > Click X icon |
| How to delete full history | Search History page > Clear History |
| How to disable history retention | Settings > Activity Log > Turn off search tracking |