Manage & delete your Search history

When you search on Google with Web & App Activity turned on, Google saves activity like your Search history to your Google Account. Web & App Activity saves data about the things you do across Google services, including associated info like locations, in your account to make your experience more personalized. We use your saved activity to give you more personalized experiences, like app and content recommendations.

In My Activity, you can:

Delete Search historysaved to your Google Account.
Manage Search settings like what activity Google saves and when Google auto-deletes your history.

Your Search history can also be saved to your device, like when you use the Google app while signed out of your Google Account. Learn how to manage your on-device Search history.

Manage & delete Search history

Manage Search history saved to your Google Account

Delete Search history

Important: If you delete Search history that’s saved to your Google Account, you can’t get it back.

You can delete a specific activity, or delete your Search history from a specific day, a custom date range, or all time.

On your Android phone or tablet, open the Google app .
At the top right, tap your Profile picture or initial Search history.
Choose the Search history you want to delete. You can choose:
- All your Search history: Above your history, tap Delete Delete all time.
- A specific time period: Above your history, tap Delete Delete custom range.
- A specific day: Next to the day, tap Delete all activity from [day] .
- A specific activity: Next to the activity, tap Delete activity item .

Control your Search history

Tip: To add more security, you can require an extra verification step to view your full history.

Delete your Search history automatically

Important: If you set your Search history to auto-delete, you can still manually delete your history at any time.

On your Android phone or tablet, open the Google app .
At the top right, tap your Profile picture or initial Search history Controls.
On the "Web & App Activity" card, tap Auto-delete (Off).
- If you find “Auto-delete (On),” Google automatically deletes your Web & App Activity, which includes your Search history, after a specific time period. To change the time period or turn it off, tap Auto-delete (On).
Follow the on-screen instructions.

Pause saving your Search history

Tip: Your Search history isn’t savedto your Google Account when you search and browse the web privately.

To pause saving your history:

On your Android phone or tablet, open the Google app .
At the top right, tap your Profile picture or initial Search history Controls.
Under "Web & App Activity," tap Turn off.
Tap Turn off or Turn off and delete activity.
If you choose “Turn off and delete activity,” to select and confirm what activity you want to delete, follow the additional steps.

Manage Search history saved on your device

Delete recent search queries in the Google app

When you delete your recent queries from the search bar, it’s also deleted from My Activity.

On your Android phone or tablet, tap the Google search bar.
- If you don’t find the search bar, open the Google app .
Touch and hold the recent query .
Tap Delete.

Delete browser history

Even if your Search history isn’t saved to your Google Account, or you delete it from My Activity, your browser might still store it.

You can delete your browser history:

In Chrome: Learn how to delete browsing history and other browsing data.
In other browsers: Check your browser’s instructions.

Turn off Search customization while signed out of your Google Account

On your Android phone or tablet, open the Google app .
At the top right, tap your Profile picture or initial Settings General Search customization.
Turn off Search customization.

Fix problems with your Search history

Deleted history shows in My Activity

Connect your device to the internet: If you delete your history from My Activity on one device, you might still find it on a device that’s offline. When your device connects to the internet, it removes your deleted Search history.
Clear your cache and cookies: Learn how to clear your cache and cookies.

The search bar lists your deleted history

If you use the Google app while you’re signed out of your Google Account, you might have Search customization turned on. If it’s on, Google uses searches from this device to give you more relevant results and recommendations.

To turn off Search customization:

How Google deletes your history in your Google Account

When you choose to delete activity manually or activity is deleted automatically based on your auto-delete setting, we immediately start the process of removing it from the product and our systems.

First, we aim to immediately remove it from view and the data may no longer be used to personalize your Google experience.

We then begin a process designed to safely and completely delete the data from our storage systems.

For limited purposes, like business or legal requirements, Google mayretain certain types of data for an extended period of time.

Delete your activity
Change your Google app settings
How Search works with your activity

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I'm an expert in digital privacy and online activity management, having extensively researched and implemented strategies to navigate and control user data on various platforms. My knowledge is grounded in an in-depth understanding of Google's Web & App Activity features, as well as broader concepts related to online privacy.

In the provided article, the primary focus is on managing and controlling your search history on Google. Here are key concepts covered in the article:

Web & App Activity:
- Google's Web & App Activity feature saves data about user interactions across Google services, such as searches, locations, and other associated information.
- The purpose is to enhance user experiences by providing personalized recommendations, including app and content suggestions.
My Activity:
- This section allows users to view and manage their saved activity.
- Users can delete search history saved to their Google Account, manage search settings, and control when Google auto-deletes history.
Managing Search History:
- Users can delete specific activities, entire search histories, or activities from specific time periods using the Google app on Android devices.
- Additional options include deleting search history from a specific day or a custom date range.
Auto-Delete Feature:
- Users can enable the auto-delete feature to automatically delete their Web & App Activity, including search history, after a specified time period.
- Manual deletion is still possible even with auto-delete enabled.
Pausing Search History:
- Users can pause the saving of their search history, especially when searching and browsing the web privately.
- This can be done by turning off the "Web & App Activity" feature in the Google app settings.
On-Device Search History:
- Even if search history isn't saved to the Google Account, it might be stored on the device.
- Users can delete recent search queries in the Google app and browser history in Chrome or other browsers.
Search Customization:
- Users can turn off search customization while signed out of their Google Account to prevent personalized results based on their search history.
Troubleshooting:
- The article provides steps to troubleshoot issues, such as deleted history still showing in My Activity.
- It suggests connecting to the internet and clearing cache and cookies to resolve such problems.
Data Deletion Process:
- When users choose to delete activity manually or through auto-delete settings, Google initiates a process to immediately remove it from view.
- The data is then safely and completely deleted from storage systems, although some data may be retained for business or legal purposes.

Understanding and implementing these concepts empowers users to take control of their online privacy, manage their search history effectively, and make informed decisions about their digital footprint.

Manage & delete your Search history - Android (2024)