Delete a single YouTube search in three steps
You can remove one search at a time from your YouTube history without clearing everything else. Open YouTube, go to your search history, find the search you want gone, and click the X button next to it. The search disappears when ready and YouTube stops using it to recommend videos to you.
This works whether you are on a computer, phone, or tablet. The steps are slightly different depending on your device, but the result is the same — that one search is removed from your account.
Key Takeaways
- You can delete individual searches from YouTube without clearing your entire history by using the X button next to each search.
- On a computer, go to your YouTube homepage, click your profile icon, select "History," then find the search and click the X.
- On a phone or tablet, tap your profile icon, go to "History," swipe left on the search (iPhone) or press and hold it (Android), then tap delete.
- Deleted searches are removed from your account when ready, but YouTube may still recommend videos based on videos you watched during that search.
- If you want to prevent YouTube from storing searches at all, you can pause your search history in your account settings.
How to delete a search on a computer
Start by going to YouTube.com and signing into your account if you are not already signed in. Look for your profile icon in the top right corner — it is usually a circle with your initial or profile picture inside it. Click on it to open a menu.
From the menu that appears, select "History." YouTube will show you a list of your recent searches and videos you have watched. Find the search you want to remove. Searches appear as text entries with a small X button to the right of them. Click that X button and the search is deleted when ready.
If you do not see the search on the first screen, scroll down to find it. YouTube shows your most recent activity first, so older searches are further down the page.
How to delete a search on iPhone or iPad
Open the YouTube app and tap your profile icon in the bottom right corner of the screen. Tap "History" from the menu that appears. You will see a list of your recent searches and watched videos.
Find the search you want to delete and swipe left on it with your finger. A red "Delete" button will appear on the right side. Tap "Delete" and the search is removed from your history. If you swipe too slowly or the button does not appear, try again with a quicker motion.
How to delete a search on Android
Open the YouTube app and tap your profile icon in the bottom right corner. Select "History" from the menu. You will see your recent searches and watched videos listed.
Press and hold the search you want to delete. A menu will pop up with options. Tap "Remove from history" and the search is deleted. If nothing happens when you press and hold, make sure you are holding your finger still on the search for a full second before releasing.
What happens after you delete a search
Once you delete a search, YouTube removes it from your history and stops showing it in your search history list. The search no longer appears when you go back to check what you have searched for before.
However, YouTube may still recommend videos to you based on the videos you actually watched during that search session. Deleting the search text does not erase the fact that you watched certain videos. If you want to remove those video recommendations too, you can delete those individual videos from your watch history using the same method — finding them in your history and clicking the X or using the delete option.
Pause your search history to stop storing searches
If you want to prevent YouTube from saving your searches going forward, you can pause your search history entirely. Go to your YouTube account settings by clicking your profile icon and selecting "Settings." Look for "Privacy" or "History and privacy" depending on your device.
Find the option that says "Search history" and toggle it off or select "Pause." YouTube will stop recording new searches when ready. Any searches you made before pausing will still be in your history, but new searches will not be added. You can turn search history back on at any time using the same menu.
Pausing search history does not affect your watch history — YouTube will still record which videos you watch. If you want to stop that too, there is a separate toggle for "Watch history" in the same settings menu.
The difference between deleting searches and clearing history
Deleting a single search removes only that one search from your history. Clearing your entire history removes all searches and all watched videos at once. If you only want to remove one or two searches and keep the rest of your history, delete them individually using the X button or delete option.
If you want to remove everything at once, you can clear your entire history from the same settings menu. Look for "Clear all watch history" or "Clear entire history" — the exact wording depends on your device. This action cannot be undone, so make sure you want to remove everything before you do it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does deleting a search stop YouTube from recommending videos about that topic?
Deleting the search text stops YouTube from using that specific search to recommend videos. However, if you watched videos during that search, YouTube may still recommend similar videos based on those watch activities. To fully stop recommendations on a topic, you would need to delete the individual videos from your watch history as well.
Can I delete searches from a long time ago?
Yes. Your entire search history is available in your History menu, going back as far as you have had your account. Scroll down through your history to find older searches and delete them the same way you delete recent ones. If your history is very long, this may take time, but there is no limit to how far back you can go.
Will the person whose WiFi I am using see my deleted searches?
No. Deleting a search from your YouTube account removes it from your account only. It does not remove it from your WiFi router's logs or your device's browser history. If someone checks your device's browser history or your router's activity log, they may still see that you visited YouTube, but they will not see your YouTube searches unless they log into your account.
What if I delete a search by accident?
YouTube does not have an undo button for deleted searches. Once you delete a search, it is gone from your history permanently. If you need to remember what you searched for, you would have to search for it again. There is no way to recover a deleted search.
Does YouTube keep deleted searches somewhere else?
YouTube does not show you deleted searches anywhere in your account. However, YouTube's servers may retain data about your account activity for their own purposes, separate from what appears in your history. Deleting from your visible history does not may provide that YouTube has deleted the data from their systems, but it does remove it from your account and stops it from being used to recommend videos to you.