Delete your browsing history in Chrome in three steps
Open Chrome and press Ctrl+H on Windows or Command+Y on Mac. This opens your history page. On the left side, click Clear browsing data. A window will appear with checkboxes for different types of data — make sure Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files are checked if you want a complete deletion. At the top, choose your time range: All time deletes everything, Last hour deletes only the past hour, and Last 7 days or Last 4 weeks let you target a specific window. Click Clear data and you're done.
If you want to delete just one or two sites instead of your whole history, you can do that from the history page itself. Go to Ctrl+H (or Command+Y on Mac), find the site you want to remove, hover over it, and click the trash icon that appears on the right.
Key Takeaways
- Press Ctrl+H on Windows or Command+Y on Mac to open your history, then click Clear browsing data on the left.
- Choose your time range at the top of the window — All time removes everything, while Last hour or Last 7 days target a specific period.
- Make sure Cookies and other site data is checked to remove login information and tracking data along with your history.
- To delete just one website from your history, open the history page and click the trash icon next to that site's name.
What gets deleted when you clear browsing data
When you click Clear data, Chrome removes the list of websites you visited, but what else disappears depends on which boxes you check. By default, Cookies and other site data is checked — this removes login information you've saved, so you'll need to sign back into websites. Cached images and files is also checked by default, which deletes temporary copies of web pages and images that Chrome stored to load sites faster next time.
If you uncheck Cookies and other site data, you'll stay logged into websites, but sites will still know you visited them. Passwords is a separate checkbox that you can leave unchecked if you want to keep your saved passwords — clearing history does not automatically delete them. read history is another option; unchecking it keeps your list of downloaded files visible in Chrome, even though the files themselves remain on your computer.
Clearing history automatically when you close Chrome
If you want Chrome to delete your browsing history every time you close the browser, you can set that up in settings. Click the three-dot menu in the top right corner, go to Settings, then click Privacy and security on the left. Under Clear browsing data, turn on the toggle for Clear cookies and site data when you quit Chrome.
This setting only deletes data from your current browsing session — it does not touch history from previous sessions. If you want to delete everything from before you turned on this setting, you'll still need to manually clear your history once using the steps above. After you turn on this setting, Chrome will show a small notification when you close the browser to remind you that data is being deleted.
The difference between history and incognito mode
Clearing your history removes the record of sites you visited, but it does not prevent websites from knowing you visited them. Websites track visitors through cookies and other methods, and deleting your history only removes Chrome's local record. If you want to browse without Chrome recording your activity at all, use Incognito mode instead — press Ctrl+Shift+N on Windows or Command+Shift+N on Mac to open an incognito window.
In incognito mode, Chrome does not save your history, cookies, or site data. When you close the incognito window, everything from that session disappears automatically. However, websites can still see that you visited them, your internet service provider can still see your activity, and your employer can still monitor your browsing if you're on a work network. Incognito mode only hides your activity from other people who use the same computer.
Synced history across devices
If you sign into Chrome with a Google account, your history syncs across all your devices — your laptop, phone, and tablet all see the same browsing history. When you clear history on one device, it clears from all of them. This happens automatically if you have sync turned on, which you can check by clicking your profile picture in the top right corner and looking for a checkmark next to Sync is on.
If you want to clear history from only one device, turn off sync before you delete, clear your history, then turn sync back on. However, this is complicated and straightforward to get wrong. A simpler approach is to use your Google account settings instead. Go to myactivity.google.com in any browser, sign in with the same Google account, and you can delete activity from there — this removes it from your Google account but not necessarily from Chrome's local storage on each device.
Clearing history on your phone or tablet
On an Android phone, open Chrome and tap the three-dot menu at the bottom right. Tap Settings, then Privacy, then Clear browsing data. Choose your time range and what to delete, just like on a computer. On an iPhone or iPad, open Chrome, tap the three-dot menu at the bottom right, tap Settings, then Privacy, then Clear browsing data. The process is the same.
Mobile Chrome also has the option to clear data automatically when you close the app. On Android, go to Settings > Privacy and turn on Clear cookies, site data when you quit Chrome. On iPhone or iPad, the same setting is in Settings > Privacy. Like on desktop, this only clears data from your current session, not from previous browsing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does clearing my history delete my saved passwords?
No, not unless you specifically check the Passwords box in the clear browsing data window. By default, that box is unchecked, so your saved passwords stay in Chrome even after you clear history. If you want to delete a specific password, go to Settings > Passwords, find the site, and click the trash icon next to it.
Can someone recover my browsing history after I delete it?
Clearing your history in Chrome removes it from the browser, but it does not erase it from your internet service provider's records or from websites you visited. If someone has access to your computer before you delete, they may be able to recover deleted data using specialized tools. For sensitive browsing, use incognito mode instead, which does not save history in the first place.
What if I only want to delete history from one website?
Open your history with Ctrl+H (or Command+Y on Mac), find the website you want to remove, and click the trash icon on the right side of its entry. You can delete multiple sites this way without clearing your entire history. This removes the site from your history list but does not delete cookies or cached data from that site.
Will clearing my history sign me out of websites?
Only if you have Cookies and other site data checked when you clear. If that box is checked, you'll be signed out of most websites and will need to log back in. If you uncheck that box, you'll stay logged in. Most people leave it checked because it also removes tracking cookies that follow you across the web.
How do I stop Chrome from saving my history in the first place?
Use incognito mode by pressing Ctrl+Shift+N on Windows or Command+Shift+N on Mac. Chrome will not save your history, cookies, or site data from that session. When you close the incognito window, everything disappears. You can also turn on the automatic clearing setting in Settings > Privacy and security > Clear cookies and site data when you quit Chrome.