Delete individual YouTube searches from your account
You can remove single searches one at a time from your YouTube history. Open YouTube, sign in to your account, and click your profile picture in the top right corner. Select History from the dropdown menu.
Scroll through your search history until you find the search you want to remove. Hover your mouse over it (or tap and hold on mobile), and an X button will appear on the right side. Click or tap the X to delete that single search. The search disappears when ready from your history.
This method works well if you want to remove a few specific searches but keep the rest of your history intact. You can delete searches one by one as you notice them, or go back through your history periodically to clean up.
Key Takeaways
- Individual searches can be deleted by going to History, finding the search, and clicking the X button next to it.
- Your entire search history can be cleared at once through Settings, which removes all searches but keeps your watch history separate.
- Pausing search history stops YouTube from recording new searches without deleting what is already saved.
- Searches deleted from your account still may appear in your browser's search bar unless you clear your browser history separately.
- YouTube stores search history on its servers as long as your account exists, even if you pause the feature.
Clear all your YouTube searches at once
If you want to remove everything from your search history rather than delete individual searches, YouTube offers a bulk delete option. Sign in to your account and go to myactivity.google.com, which is Google's activity dashboard for all your Google products, including YouTube.
On the left side of the page, click Delete activity by. Choose the date range you want to clear — you can select a specific day, a custom range, or All time to remove every search you have ever done on YouTube. Then click the dropdown that says All products and select YouTube Search to delete only searches and leave your watch history untouched.
Click Delete to confirm. YouTube will remove all searches matching your selections within a few minutes. This is faster than deleting searches one by one if you have accumulated a long history.
Pause YouTube search history to stop recording new searches
You can prevent YouTube from saving future searches without deleting your existing history. Go to myactivity.google.com and click the three-line menu icon in the top left. Select Settings, then find YouTube Search in the list.
Toggle the switch next to YouTube Search to the off position. A message will appear asking you to confirm. Click Pause. From that moment forward, YouTube will not record your searches in your account history, though it may still store them temporarily for other purposes.
Pausing is useful if you want a clean slate going forward but do not want to lose your existing history. You can turn search recording back on at any time by returning to the same setting and toggling it on again.
Understand what happens to searches you delete
When you delete a search from your YouTube history, it stops appearing in your account's history list. However, YouTube's servers may retain records of the search for internal purposes like improving recommendations and detecting abuse, even though you cannot see it anymore.
Deleting from YouTube history does not automatically remove the search from your web browser's search bar suggestions. If you typed a search into YouTube and it now appears in your browser's dropdown when you start typing, you need to clear your browser history separately. In most browsers, you can right-click on the suggestion and select Remove, or clear your entire browser history through your browser settings.
Your internet service provider and any network administrator (such as a school or workplace) may have separate records of your searches based on network traffic, which deleting from YouTube does not affect.
Delete YouTube searches on mobile devices
The YouTube app on phones and tablets works the same way as the desktop version for deleting searches. Open the YouTube app and tap your profile picture in the top right corner. Select History from the menu.
Find the search you want to remove and swipe left on it (iPhone) or press and hold it (Android). A delete button will appear. Tap it to remove that search from your history. To delete all searches at once on mobile, you still need to visit myactivity.google.com in your mobile browser and follow the same steps as the desktop version.
Some users find it easier to manage their full history on a computer because the bulk delete options are clearer on a larger screen, but both methods work on mobile devices.
Prevent searches from being saved in the first place
If you do not want YouTube to record your searches at all, you can use your browser's private or incognito mode. Open a private browsing window in your browser (Ctrl+Shift+N on Chrome, Cmd+Shift+N on Mac, or the equivalent in other browsers) and sign out of your YouTube account before searching.
Searches performed while signed out in private mode will not be added to your YouTube history. However, your internet service provider and network administrator can still see the searches, and YouTube may still use them for other purposes. Private mode only prevents them from being linked to your account.
If you want to stay signed in to YouTube but prevent history from being recorded, pausing search history (described above) is more practical than using private mode every time you search.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I recover a search I deleted from my YouTube history?
No. Once you delete a search from your YouTube history, you cannot recover it through your account. If you need to find something you searched for, you may be able to look through your browser history or check your internet service provider's records, though the latter is not something you can access yourself.
Does deleting my YouTube search history delete my watch history too?
No. Search history and watch history are separate. When you delete searches through myactivity.google.com, you can choose to delete only YouTube Search, which leaves your watch history intact. If you want to delete both, you need to do them separately or select All products instead of just YouTube Search.
If I pause YouTube search history, will my old searches still be visible?
Yes. Pausing search history only stops YouTube from recording new searches going forward. Your existing search history remains in your account until you manually delete it. You need to clear your history separately if you want to remove past searches.
Why do my searches still appear in my browser's search suggestions after I delete them from YouTube?
YouTube history and browser history are stored in different places. Deleting from YouTube removes searches from your account but not from your browser's local storage. Clear your browser history or right-click individual suggestions and select Remove to stop them from appearing in your browser's dropdown.
Does YouTube know what I searched for even after I delete it?
YouTube's servers may retain records of deleted searches for internal use, though they no longer appear in your visible history. The company uses this data for purposes like improving recommendations and preventing abuse. Deleting from your account history makes searches invisible to you, but does not may provide complete removal from YouTube's systems.