YouTube stores your watch history by default, and you can clear it entirely or pause recording new views
When you watch videos on YouTube while signed into your account, YouTube saves each video you watch in your watch history. This history helps YouTube recommend videos you might like, but it also means YouTube knows everything you've watched. You can delete your entire watch history in a few clicks, pause YouTube from recording new views going forward, or delete individual videos from the list.
The fastest way to clear everything is to go to your YouTube account settings and delete your entire watch history at once. If you want to keep some videos private but let YouTube remember others, you can delete individual videos instead. You can also turn off watch history recording so YouTube stops saving new videos you watch — though this will also affect how well YouTube's recommendations work for you.
Key Takeaways
- You can delete your entire YouTube watch history from your account settings in under one minute, and YouTube will forget every video you have watched.
- Pausing watch history stops YouTube from recording new videos you watch, but it also means YouTube cannot recommend videos based on your viewing patterns.
- Deleting individual videos from your watch history takes longer but lets you keep some videos private while letting YouTube remember others.
- Clearing your watch history does not delete videos you uploaded, liked, or added to playlists — it only removes the record of what you watched.
- If you use YouTube on multiple devices, clearing history on one device does not affect your history on other devices because the history is stored in your account, not on your device.
How to delete your entire watch history at once
Open YouTube in a web browser and sign into your account. Click your profile picture in the top right corner, then select History from the menu. On the left side of the page, you will see a link that says Clear all watch history. Click it.
YouTube will ask you to confirm. Click the blue Clear watch history button. YouTube will delete every video from your watch history when ready. The page will show an empty history after you confirm.
This method works the same way on desktop, laptop, and tablet browsers. On a phone, the steps are identical — tap your profile picture, tap History, tap Clear all watch history, then confirm.
How to delete individual videos from your watch history
If you want to keep most of your watch history but remove specific videos, go to your History page the same way: profile picture, then History. Find the video you want to remove. Hover over it (on desktop) or tap and hold it (on phone), and a small X or remove button will appear. Click or tap it.
The video will disappear from your watch history when ready. YouTube will still remember that you watched it for recommendation purposes, but it will no longer show in your history list. If you have many videos to remove one at a time, this takes longer than clearing everything at once, but it is the only way to keep some videos while hiding others.
How to pause watch history recording
Go to your History page and look for a button that says Pause watch history near the top. Click it. YouTube will stop recording new videos you watch. When watch history is paused, YouTube will not add any new videos to your history, and the page will show a message saying your watch history is paused.
While watch history is paused, YouTube's recommendations will be less accurate because YouTube cannot see what you are currently watching. If you want YouTube to recommend videos again, you can turn watch history back on by clicking Resume watch history on the same page. Pausing does not delete your existing history — it only stops new videos from being added.
What happens to your other YouTube activity when you clear watch history
Clearing your watch history does not affect your liked videos, your playlists, your subscriptions, or your uploads. Those remain exactly as they were. YouTube keeps watch history separate from everything else you do on the platform.
If you have commented on videos or added videos to playlists, those actions stay in your account. Clearing watch history only removes the record of what you watched, not what you did with those videos afterward. If you want to hide other activity — like your likes or your search history — you will need to delete those separately through your account settings.
How to clear search history separately from watch history
YouTube also keeps a record of what you search for. This is different from watch history. To clear your search history, go to your account settings and find Search history. You can delete all searches at once or pause search history recording, using the same method as watch history.
Many people clear both watch history and search history together for privacy. You can do this by going to your Google Account settings (not just YouTube settings) and deleting your entire activity across Google services, but that will also delete your Gmail search history, Google Maps history, and other Google activity. If you only want to clear YouTube, stick to the YouTube History page.
Clearing watch history on the YouTube app versus the website
The YouTube app on phones and tablets has the same history controls as the website, but the steps are slightly different because you are using a touch screen instead of a mouse. Open the YouTube app, tap your profile picture in the top right, tap History, then tap Clear all watch history or Pause watch history.
If you use YouTube on multiple devices — your phone, your tablet, and your computer — clearing history on one device clears it everywhere because your history is stored in your YouTube account, not on the device itself. You only need to clear it once, and it disappears from all your devices.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does clearing my watch history delete videos I uploaded?
No. Clearing watch history only removes the record of videos you watched. Videos you uploaded to your channel stay on your channel. If you want to delete a video you uploaded, you have to do that separately from your channel settings.
Can I clear watch history without signing into my account?
If you are not signed into a YouTube account, YouTube does not save your watch history in the first place. You can watch videos without an account, and YouTube will not remember what you watched. If you sign in, YouTube starts recording when ready.
Will clearing my watch history affect YouTube's recommendations?
Yes. YouTube uses your watch history to recommend videos. After you clear your history, YouTube's recommendations will be generic until you watch more videos. If you pause watch history instead of clearing it, recommendations will also become less accurate over time.
What if I clear my watch history but then sign back in?
Once you clear your watch history, it is gone from your account. Signing back in does not restore it. YouTube will start recording new videos you watch from that point forward, but the old history will not come back.
Can I see my watch history after I delete it?
No. Once you delete your watch history, YouTube does not keep a backup. You cannot recover it. If you think you might want to see it again later, consider deleting individual videos instead of clearing everything at once.