How To View Or Delete Google Search History

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Delete Google Search History

Your Google search history is an archive of everything you have ever searched on Google.

Whenever you are logged into a Google service and any search, you made using Google Search, Images, Maps, or YouTube all the data is logged into the Web History.

This is a great feature for those who want to find something they may have searched in the past or just wants to keep a track of their searching habits. However, for many users this may be considered  as a privacy concern.

Your searches and browsing activity are saved in your Web & App Activity only when it’s turned on, and you are signed in to your Google Account.

This gives you better results and recommendations across Google’s products. For example, if you have searched for your favorite sports team in the past, Google can show you any upcoming game or tournament or scores.

However, you’re in control of what’s stored, and you can delete your past searches and browsing activity or turn off Web & App activity at any time.

What Activity Does Google Saves

When Web & App Activity is on, Google saves information like:

  • Searches you have done on Google products like Search and Maps.
  • Whether you use a browser or an app to search.
  • Your interactions with search results, including, which results you click.
  • Ads you respond to by clicking the ad itself or buying something on the advertiser’s website.
  • Your IP address
  • The browser you use and preferred language.
  • Results that are returned, including results from information on your device (like recent apps or contact names you searched for) and search results from other Google products.

Your Web & App Activity only records certain types of searches, which includes Web Search, Images, News, Shopping, Maps, and Books. And, your searches are only recorded when you are signed in to your Google Account.

View Google Search History

Visit www.google.com/history to see what’s saved in your Web & App Activity, including history from Chrome and other apps.

Turn On/OFF Google Search History

  1. Visit the Account History page. You may be asked to sign in to your Google Account.
  2. Turn the switch on or off.
  3. If you want to also include history from Chrome and other apps, check the box next to “Include history from Chrome and other apps in your Web & App Activity.”

Delete Google Search History

You can delete your past searches or other activity from your Web & App Activity page by following steps:

  1. Visit the Web & App Activity page. You may be asked to sign in to your Google Account.
  2. In the top right corner, touch MenuMenu > Delete > Advanced.
  3. Touch All time > Remove > Delete.

Note: If you want to delete items from a specific date, touch the calendar at the top of the page to find the date you want.

When you delete items from your Web & App Activity, they are no longer associated with your Google Account. However, Google may store activity separately to prevent spam and abuse and to improve our services.

If you occasionally want to prevent your searches from being saved, you can search within an incognito window in Google Chrome while not signed in to your Google Account.

If you’re using a browser other than Google Chrome, check your browser’s help instructions to see whether it has a similar private browsing mode.

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