Where to find and clear your YouTube watch history
YouTube stores two separate histories: what you've watched, and what you've searched for. Both live in your account settings, and you can delete them together or separately. The fastest way is to go to myactivity.google.com, which shows everything Google has recorded across all your accounts — YouTube, Gmail, Maps, and more.
On that page, filter to show only YouTube activity by clicking the menu on the left and selecting "YouTube" under "Products". You'll see every video you've watched, listed newest first. From there you can delete individual videos, delete everything from a specific date range, or turn off activity recording entirely so YouTube stops saving what you watch going forward.
If you prefer to stay inside YouTube itself, you can also reach your history through the YouTube app or website. On the website, click your profile picture in the top right, then select "History" from the dropdown menu. On the YouTube app, tap your profile picture, go to "Settings", then "History & privacy", and you'll see options to clear watch history and search history separately.
Key Takeaways
- YouTube keeps two separate records: videos you've watched and searches you've performed, and you can delete them independently.
- The quickest way to clear everything at once is myactivity.google.com, where you can also pause activity recording so YouTube stops saving new history.
- You can delete individual videos from your history without clearing the entire record, which is useful if you want to remove one or two items.
- Clearing your history on one device does not automatically clear it on others — you must delete it through your Google account settings to remove it everywhere.
Deleting individual videos versus clearing everything
If you only want to remove a few videos — perhaps something you watched by accident or content you don't want recommended to you — you can delete them one at a time. On myactivity.google.com, hover over any video in your history and click the three-dot menu that appears. Select "Delete" and that video is removed from your watch history when ready.
Clearing your entire history at once is faster if you want a clean slate. On myactivity.google.com, click the three-dot menu at the top left of the page (above your activity list), then select "Delete activity by". You can choose to delete all activity, or narrow it down to a specific date range — for example, "last week" or "last month". YouTube will ask you to confirm before deleting.
The same options exist in the YouTube app and website. In the YouTube app, go to "Settings" > "History & privacy" > "Clear watch history" or "Clear search history". On the website, click your profile picture, select "History", then click "Clear all watch history" or "Clear all search history" depending on what you want to remove.
Pausing YouTube history recording
If you don't want YouTube to save your watch history going forward, you can turn off activity recording in your Google account. Go to myactivity.google.com and click the menu on the left. At the top, you'll see a toggle for "Web & App Activity" — turn this off and YouTube will stop recording what you watch.
Be aware that turning off activity recording affects more than just YouTube. It also stops Google from saving your searches in Google Search, your location history in Google Maps, and your activity in Gmail and other Google services. If you want to pause only YouTube recording without affecting other Google services, that option is not available — you have to turn off the entire activity log or delete videos manually.
If you turn off activity recording and then change your mind, you can turn it back on at any time. Your old history will still be there unless you've deleted it. Pausing recording does not automatically delete what's already been saved.
Clearing history on the YouTube app versus the website
The steps are slightly different depending on whether you use YouTube on your phone, tablet, or computer. On the YouTube app for iPhone or Android, tap your profile picture at the bottom right, go to "Settings", then "History & privacy". From there you can clear watch history and search history with a single tap.
On the YouTube website (youtube.com), click your profile picture in the top right corner. A dropdown menu appears — select "History" to see your watch history, or "Settings" to access more options. In Settings, look for "Privacy" on the left menu to find history and activity controls.
Clearing history on one device does not clear it on others. If you watch YouTube on your phone, computer, and tablet, you need to clear the history on each device separately — or use myactivity.google.com, which clears your history across all devices at once because it's tied to your Google account, not to any single device.
What happens after you delete your history
Once you delete videos from your watch history, YouTube stops using them to recommend new content to you. If you watched cooking videos for a month and then deleted that history, YouTube will gradually stop suggesting cooking channels and recipes. However, this takes time — YouTube's recommendation system doesn't update when ready.
Deleted history does not affect videos you've already liked or added to playlists. Those remain in your account. If you want to remove those as well, you'll need to unlike videos individually or delete playlists separately.
If you've cleared your entire history, YouTube will start fresh with recommendations based only on what you watch going forward. Your first few sessions after clearing history may show generic recommendations until YouTube gathers enough new data about your viewing habits.
Why you might want to delete your YouTube history
The most common reason is privacy — you may not want YouTube (or anyone using your account) to see what you've watched. If you share a device with family members or roommates, clearing history before handing over the device prevents them from seeing your viewing record.
Another reason is to reset your recommendations. If you watched videos outside your normal interests — research for a project, videos you clicked by accident, or content you were curious about once — that history can skew your recommendations for weeks. Deleting those specific videos or clearing your entire history helps YouTube learn your actual preferences again.
Some people also delete history for storage reasons, though this is less common. YouTube history itself takes up almost no space on your device or account. Clearing it won't noticeably free up storage unless you're managing an account with extremely limited space.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does deleting my YouTube history delete the videos themselves?
No. Deleting your history only removes the record that you watched those videos. The videos remain on YouTube and on any channel that posted them. Other people can still find and watch them — you've only removed them from your personal viewing record.
Can I delete my history without signing into my Google account?
No. Your YouTube history is stored in your Google account, so you must sign in to delete it. If you're using a shared device and don't want to sign in, you can use YouTube's Incognito mode instead, which doesn't save any history at all.
If I delete my history, will YouTube stop recommending videos to me?
YouTube will stop using your deleted history to make recommendations, but it will start building new recommendations based on what you watch next. If you want to prevent YouTube from recording anything at all, you need to turn off "Web & App Activity" in your Google account settings.
How far back does YouTube keep my history?
YouTube keeps your entire history as far back as your account goes, unless you've manually deleted it. There's no automatic expiration date. You can see your oldest videos by scrolling to the bottom of your history on myactivity.google.com.
Does clearing my YouTube history on my phone also clear it on my computer?
No. Clearing history on one device only clears it on that device. To clear your history everywhere at once, use myactivity.google.com, which is connected to your Google account rather than any single device.