Clear your search history on YouTube in three steps
YouTube stores every search you make unless you turn off search history or delete it manually. To clear your search history, go to your YouTube account settings, find the search history section, and select the option to clear all searches. The process takes less than a minute and works the same way on desktop, phone, and tablet.
Clearing your history removes the searches from your account, but it does not prevent YouTube from collecting future searches unless you also turn off the search history setting. If you want YouTube to stop recording what you search for going forward, you need to disable search history separately after clearing the old searches.
Key Takeaways
- You can clear all your YouTube searches at once from your account settings, or delete individual searches one at a time from the search bar.
- Clearing your search history removes past searches from your account but does not stop YouTube from recording future searches.
- To prevent YouTube from storing new searches, you must turn off search history in your account settings after clearing old searches.
- Clearing YouTube search history does not delete videos you have watched — watch history is a separate setting you control independently.
- On mobile devices, the steps are the same as on desktop, though the menu layout looks slightly different.
How to clear all searches at once on desktop
Open YouTube in a web browser and sign in to your account. Click your profile picture in the top right corner and select "Settings" from the menu. On the left side, click "Privacy and settings," then click "Clear search history." A confirmation message will appear asking if you are sure. Click the blue button to confirm, and all your searches will be deleted when ready.
After you clear your search history, the search bar will no longer show suggestions based on your past searches. However, YouTube will begin recording new searches the moment you perform them, unless you also disable search history in your settings.
How to delete individual searches
If you want to remove only certain searches instead of clearing everything, you can delete them one at a time. Click the search bar at the top of YouTube and look for your search history below it. Hover over any search term you want to remove, and an X button will appear on the right side. Click the X to delete that single search.
This method is slower if you have many searches to remove, but it is useful if you want to keep most of your history and only hide a few specific searches. You can delete searches this way on desktop, phone, and tablet.
Turn off search history to stop YouTube from recording future searches
Clearing your history only removes past searches. To prevent YouTube from storing new searches, you must disable the search history setting. Go to your account settings, click "Privacy and settings," and look for the "Search settings" section. Toggle off the option that says "Save your searches." Once you turn this off, YouTube will not record any searches you perform.
When search history is turned off, the search bar will not show suggestions based on your past behavior. You will still see general trending searches and suggestions based on videos you have watched, but not based on what you have searched for. You can turn search history back on at any time by toggling the same setting.
How to clear search history on mobile devices
On iPhone, iPad, or Android, open the YouTube app and tap your profile picture in the top right corner. Tap "Settings," then tap "Privacy." Look for "Clear search history" and tap it. A confirmation message will appear. Tap the button to confirm, and your searches will be deleted.
The mobile app layout is slightly different from the desktop version, but the steps are the same. You can also delete individual searches on mobile by tapping the search bar, finding the search you want to remove, and swiping left on it (iPhone) or long-pressing it (Android) until a delete option appears.
The difference between search history and watch history
YouTube keeps two separate records: what you search for and what videos you watch. Clearing your search history does not delete your watch history, and turning off search history does not stop YouTube from recording videos you view. If you want to hide both what you search for and what you watch, you need to clear and disable both settings separately.
To clear your watch history, go to Settings, click "Privacy and settings," and select "Clear all watch history." To turn off watch history recording, toggle off "Save your watch history" in the same section. Many people clear both at the same time for complete privacy, but you can manage them independently depending on what you want to hide.
What happens when you clear your search history
When you clear your YouTube search history, the searches disappear from your account and from the search suggestions that appear when you click the search bar. YouTube no longer uses those old searches to recommend videos to you. However, YouTube may still use other information — like videos you have watched, your location, and your device type — to suggest content.
Clearing your search history does not make you anonymous on YouTube. YouTube still knows who you are, what videos you watch, and what device you are using. If you want more privacy from YouTube itself, you would need to use an incognito or private browsing mode, which prevents YouTube from linking your searches and views to your account.
Use incognito mode to search without saving history
If you do not want YouTube to record a search at all, use incognito or private browsing mode. On desktop, open YouTube in an incognito window (Chrome) or private window (Firefox, Safari, Edge). Searches and views in incognito mode are not saved to your account, and YouTube does not use them to recommend videos to you later.
On mobile, open the YouTube app and tap your profile picture. Tap "Sign out," then perform your search without signing in. YouTube will not link that search to your account. You can sign back in afterward. Alternatively, use your phone's private browsing mode in Safari or Chrome, then open YouTube in that private tab.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does clearing my YouTube search history delete my watch history too?
No. Search history and watch history are separate. Clearing searches does not affect videos you have watched. You must clear watch history separately if you want to remove that record. Both settings are in the same Privacy section of your account, so you can clear both at once if you want.
Will YouTube stop recommending videos to me after I clear my search history?
YouTube will stop using your old searches to recommend videos, but it will still recommend based on videos you have watched, your location, and other factors. If you want to reduce recommendations based on your activity, you also need to clear your watch history and turn off both search and watch history recording.
Can I see my search history after I delete it?
No. Once you clear your search history, it is permanently deleted from your account. You cannot recover it. If you only want to hide a few searches, delete them individually instead of clearing everything.
Does incognito mode on YouTube prevent YouTube from knowing who I am?
No. Incognito mode only prevents YouTube from saving your searches and views to your account history. YouTube still knows your IP address and can identify you if you are signed in. Incognito mode is useful for keeping your account history private, not for hiding your identity from YouTube.
If I turn off search history, will YouTube stop recommending videos to me?
Turning off search history only stops YouTube from using your searches for recommendations. YouTube will still recommend videos based on your watch history, location, device, and other data. To reduce all personalized recommendations, you would also need to clear and disable your watch history.