Where trending searches live and how to remove them
Trending searches are the popular queries other people are searching for right now — they appear on your search engine's homepage, in dropdown menus, and sometimes in your browser's address bar. Unlike your personal search history, trending searches are not your own searches. They are aggregated data from millions of users, and you cannot delete them because you did not create them.
What you can delete is your browser's record of which trending searches you have clicked on, and you can prevent your search engine from showing you trending suggestions altogether. The steps differ depending on whether you use Google, Bing, or another search engine, and whether you want to clear your history on one device or across all devices where you are signed in.
Key Takeaways
- Trending searches are popular queries from other users, not your own searches, so you cannot delete the trends themselves — only your clicks on them.
- Google lets you turn off trending suggestions in Search settings, and Bing offers the same option under Preferences.
- Clearing your browser history removes your clicks on trending searches from that device, but does not affect trends shown to other users.
- If you are signed into a Google or Microsoft account, turning off suggestions in your account settings stops them across all your devices.
- Private or incognito browsing prevents your clicks on trending searches from being saved to your history in the first place.
Disable trending suggestions in Google Search
Google shows trending searches on its homepage and in the dropdown when you start typing a query. To stop seeing them, sign into your Google account and go to google.com/preferences (or click the Settings gear icon on Google's homepage and select "Settings"). Scroll down to the "Autocomplete" section and uncheck the box next to "Show trending searches". Save your changes.
This setting applies to every device where you are signed into that Google account. If you use Google without signing in, or if you use a different Google account on another device, you will still see trending searches on those accounts unless you disable the setting there too. The change takes effect when ready.
Disable trending suggestions in Bing Search
Bing displays trending searches on its homepage and in search suggestions. To turn them off, go to bing.com, click the Settings gear icon in the top right corner, and select "Preferences". Look for the section labeled "Search suggestions" or "Suggestions" and toggle off the option for trending searches. Click "Save" at the bottom of the page.
Like Google, this setting is tied to your Microsoft account if you are signed in. If you use Bing without an account, the setting applies only to that browser on that device. Clearing your cookies or using a different browser will reset the preference, so you may need to disable trending suggestions again.
Clear your browser history to remove clicks on trending searches
Even if you disable trending suggestions, your browser may have already recorded clicks on trending searches you viewed in the past. To remove that history, open your browser's settings and find the option to clear browsing data or history. The exact steps vary by browser:
- Chrome: Press Ctrl+H (Windows) or Command+Y (Mac), click "Clear browsing data" on the left, set the time range to "All time", check "Cookies and other site data" and "Cached images and files", and click "Clear data".
- Firefox: Press Ctrl+H (Windows) or Command+Y (Mac), click "Clear Recent History" on the right, set the time range to "Everything", check "Cookies" and "Cache", and click "Clear Now".
- Safari: Click "Safari" in the menu bar, select "Clear History", choose "All history" from the dropdown, and click "Clear History".
- Edge: Press Ctrl+Shift+Delete (Windows), set the time range to "All time", check "Cookies and other site data" and "Cached images and files", and click "Clear now".
Clearing your history removes your clicks on trending searches from that device, but does not affect what trending searches are shown to other users. It also does not remove your search history — that is a separate record kept by your search engine account.
Use private or incognito mode to avoid saving trending search clicks
If you want to browse trending searches without them being saved to your history, use your browser's private or incognito mode. Open a new private window (called "Private Window" in Firefox and Safari, "Incognito Window" in Chrome and Edge), and any clicks on trending searches in that window will not be saved to your browsing history when you close it.
Private mode does not hide your activity from your internet service provider or from the websites you visit — it only prevents your browser from storing the history locally on your device. If you are signed into a Google or Microsoft account in private mode, your search engine may still record your searches in your account history, depending on your account settings.
Manage search history separate from trending searches
Your personal search history — the queries you have typed — is stored separately from trending searches. If you want to delete your own search history while keeping trending suggestions disabled, go to myactivity.google.com (for Google) or your Microsoft account privacy dashboard (for Bing). You can delete individual searches, searches from a specific date range, or all search history at once.
Deleting your search history does not automatically disable trending suggestions. You need to turn off trending searches in your search engine settings as described above. Similarly, disabling trending suggestions does not delete your past searches — it only stops you from seeing what other people are searching for.
What happens when you delete trending search clicks
When you clear your browser history or disable trending suggestions, you are only affecting what you see and what is stored on your device or account. You are not deleting the trending searches themselves, and you are not preventing other users from seeing them. Trending searches are calculated from millions of searches across the internet, and one person's clicks do not change what appears as a trend.
If you are concerned about your search privacy more broadly, consider using a privacy-focused search engine like DuckDuckGo or Startpage, which do not store your search history or show personalized trending suggestions. These engines work differently from Google and Bing and may return different results, so you may want to try them on a few searches before switching permanently.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I delete trending searches that other people see?
No. Trending searches are calculated from millions of user searches and are not controlled by any individual person. You can only delete your own clicks on trending searches from your history, and you can disable trending suggestions so you do not see them.
If I turn off trending suggestions, will I still see search suggestions when I type?
Yes. Disabling trending suggestions only removes the popular searches that other people are doing right now. Your search engine will still suggest searches based on your own history, your location, and common queries related to what you are typing.
Do I need to delete trending searches on every device separately?
If you are signed into your Google or Microsoft account, disabling trending suggestions in your account settings applies to all devices where you are signed in. However, clearing your browser history must be done on each device individually, because browser history is stored locally on that device.
Will deleting my browser history remove trending searches from my search engine account?
No. Clearing your browser history removes clicks on trending searches from your device only. Your search engine account may still have a record of those searches. To remove them from your account, go to your search engine's activity or privacy page and delete them there.
What is the difference between trending searches and search suggestions?
Trending searches are popular queries from other users right now. Search suggestions are predictions based on your own search history, your location, and common searches. You can disable trending suggestions without disabling all search suggestions.