Where search recommendations come from and why they appear
Search recommendations are suggestions that appear when you type in a search box. They come from two places: your own search history stored locally on your device, and patterns Google, Bing, or your search engine has learned about what people search for in general. When you start typing, the search engine shows you things you've searched before plus popular searches that match what you're typing.
These recommendations are convenient if you search for the same things repeatedly. But they also mean your search history is visible to anyone who uses your device or browser, and they can reveal what you've been looking up. Deleting them removes both the local record and tells the search engine to stop suggesting those terms to you.
Key Takeaways
- Search recommendations come from your device's local history and from what the search engine knows about your account, and you can delete them separately.
- Clearing your browser history removes local recommendations but does not erase what your search engine account has recorded.
- Google, Bing, and other search engines let you delete individual searches or your entire search history from your account settings.
- Turning off search history in your account settings stops new recommendations from being stored, but does not delete what already exists.
- Private or incognito browsing prevents recommendations from being saved to your device in the first place.
Delete recommendations from your browser
Your browser stores search history locally on your device. Clearing this history removes the recommendations that appear when you type in the search box. The steps differ slightly by browser, but the process is similar.
In Chrome: Click the three-line menu in the top right, select "History," then "Clear browsing data." Choose the time range (or select "All time" to clear everything), check the box for "Cookies and other site data," and click "Clear data." This removes local search suggestions from your device.
In Firefox: Click the menu button (three horizontal lines) in the top right, select "History," then "Clear Recent History." Choose the time range, make sure "Cookies" is checked, and click "Clear Now."
In Safari: Click "Safari" in the menu bar, select "Clear History," choose how far back you want to clear, and click "Clear History."
In Edge: Click the three-dot menu in the top right, select "History," then "Clear browsing data." Choose your time range, check "Cookies and other site data," and click "Clear now."
Delete recommendations from Google
Google stores your search history in your Google account if you are signed in. Deleting it from your account removes those searches from your recommendations across all devices where you use that account. You can delete individual searches or your entire history.
To delete individual searches: Go to myactivity.google.com. You will see a list of your recent searches. Click on any search result to open it, then click the trash icon to delete that single search. Repeat for each search you want to remove.
To delete all search history at once: Go to myactivity.google.com. Click the three-dot menu in the top left, select "Delete activity by," then choose "All time." Click "Delete" to confirm. This removes all recorded searches from your Google account.
To turn off search history going forward: Go to myactivity.google.com. Click the three-dot menu and select "Activity controls." Find "Web & App Activity" and toggle it off. This stops Google from recording new searches, but does not delete what is already recorded.
Delete recommendations from Bing and other search engines
Bing and other search engines use similar account-based systems. If you use Bing and are signed into a Microsoft account, your search history is stored there.
For Bing: Go to account.microsoft.com and sign in. Click "Privacy" in the left menu, then "Manage your activity data." Under "Search history," click "Manage your search history." You can delete individual searches or click "Clear all" to remove everything. You can also toggle "Manage search history" off to stop recording new searches.
For DuckDuckGo: DuckDuckGo does not store search history by default, so there is nothing to delete. If you have an account with DuckDuckGo, you can check your account settings to confirm history is off.
Stop recommendations from appearing in the first place
The most direct way to prevent search recommendations from being stored is to use private or incognito browsing. When you use these modes, your browser does not save search history locally, and search engines do not record your searches in your account (though your internet service provider can still see what you search for).
In Chrome: Press Ctrl+Shift+N (Windows) or Command+Shift+N (Mac) to open an incognito window. Search normally in this window, and nothing will be saved to your history or recommendations.
In Firefox: Press Ctrl+Shift+P (Windows) or Command+Shift+P (Mac) to open a private window.
In Safari: Click "File" in the menu bar, then "New Private Window."
In Edge: Press Ctrl+Shift+N (Windows) or Command+Shift+N (Mac) to open an InPrivate window.
You can also turn off search history in your search engine account settings so that searches are not recorded there, even if your browser saves them locally. This means recommendations will still appear on your device, but they will not follow you to other devices or persist after you clear your browser history.
What happens after you delete recommendations
Once you delete search history from your browser, those recommendations stop appearing when you type in the search box on that device. If you delete history from your search engine account, recommendations tied to that account disappear across all your devices.
Deleting history does not prevent the search engine from recording future searches unless you have turned off search history in your account settings. If you want recommendations to stop appearing permanently, you need to both clear what exists and turn off the setting that allows new searches to be recorded.
If you share a device with other people, clearing your browser history removes your recommendations from the shared search box, but it does not affect their accounts or their search history. Each person who uses the device should clear their own browser history or use their own browser profile.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will deleting my search history affect my search results?
No. Deleting your search history only removes the suggestions that appear when you type. Your actual search results will be the same. Search engines may use your history to personalize results, but deleting history does not change how the search engine ranks pages.
Can I delete recommendations without deleting my entire browser history?
Yes. You can delete individual searches from your search engine account (Google, Bing, etc.) without clearing your entire browser history. Go to your account's activity or history page and delete specific searches one at a time. You can also clear only cookies and site data from your browser settings while keeping other history intact.
If I use incognito mode, will my searches still show up in recommendations?
No. Incognito or private browsing does not save searches to your device history or your search engine account. However, your internet service provider and the websites you visit can still see what you search for.
Do I need to delete recommendations on every device I use?
If you delete history from your search engine account (like Google or Bing), it removes recommendations across all devices where you are signed in. If you only clear your browser history, you only remove recommendations on that specific device. To be thorough, clear both your browser history and your search engine account history.
What if I want to keep some searches but delete others?
Go to your search engine account's activity page (myactivity.google.com for Google, account.microsoft.com for Bing) and delete individual searches by clicking the trash icon next to each one. This lets you remove specific searches while keeping others.