Delete your browsing history in Chrome with three clicks

Open Chrome and press Ctrl + H on Windows or Command + Y on Mac. This opens your History page. On the left side, click Clear browsing data. A window appears asking what time range you want to clear — choose All time if you want everything gone, or pick a specific range like Last hour or Last 7 days. Make sure the box next to Cookies and other site data is checked if you want to log out of websites automatically. Click Clear data and you're done.

If you want Chrome to delete your history automatically every time you close the browser, you can set that up in Settings instead. This is useful if you share a computer or use Chrome on a public device.

Key Takeaways

  • Press Ctrl + H (Windows) or Command + Y (Mac) to open your History page, then click Clear browsing data on the left.
  • Choose your time range — All time deletes everything, or pick Last hour, Last 24 hours, Last 7 days, Last 4 weeks, or Last month.
  • Checking Cookies and other site data will also log you out of most websites when the history clears.
  • You can set Chrome to automatically delete history every time you close the browser through Settings > Privacy and security > Clear browsing data.
  • Deleting history does not delete files you downloaded — those stay in your Downloads folder unless you remove them separately.

What gets deleted when you clear browsing data

When you click Clear data, Chrome removes the list of websites you visited, the search terms you typed into search engines, and any passwords or payment information Chrome saved. It also clears cookies, which are small files websites use to remember you — clearing these logs you out of most sites.

What does not get deleted: files you downloaded (those stay in your Downloads folder), bookmarks you saved, or extensions you installed. If you want to delete downloaded files, you have to do that separately by opening your Downloads folder and deleting them by hand.

Choose what types of data to clear

When the Clear browsing data window opens, you see checkboxes for different types of information. By default, Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files are checked. You can uncheck any box if you want to keep that type of data.

Cookies and other site data includes login information for websites, so clearing this logs you out. Cached images and files is data Chrome stored to make websites load faster next time — clearing it frees up storage space but makes websites slightly slower on your next visit. Browsing history is the list of sites you visited. read history is the list of files you downloaded (not the files themselves). Autofill form data is information Chrome remembers for forms, like your address or phone number.

Set Chrome to delete history automatically

If you want Chrome to delete your history every time you close the browser, go to Settings (the three vertical dots in the top right, then Settings). Click Privacy and security on the left. Under Clear browsing data, toggle on Delete browsing data when you close Chrome. From now on, your history will clear automatically.

You can still choose what types of data to clear automatically. Click the toggle to turn on the feature, and a new section appears below it where you can check or uncheck the same boxes as the manual clear — Cookies, cached files, browsing history, and the rest. If you only want to clear history and not cookies, uncheck Cookies and other site data and leave the others checked.

Delete individual sites from your history

If you only want to remove one or two websites from your history instead of clearing everything, open your History page with Ctrl + H or Command + Y. Find the site you want to remove. Hover over it and click the checkbox that appears on the right, or right-click the entry and select Delete. You can select multiple sites by checking several boxes, then click Delete at the top.

This method is slower than clearing all history at once, but it is useful if you want to keep most of your history and only hide a few sites.

Understand Chrome's sync and account history

If you sign into Chrome with a Google account, your browsing history syncs across all your devices — your laptop, phone, and tablet all see the same history. When you clear history on one device, it clears from all of them. If you do not want this to happen, you can turn off sync by going to Settings > You and Google > Sync and Google services and toggling off Sync everything.

Your Google account also keeps a separate record of your activity on Google's servers, separate from Chrome's local history. Clearing Chrome's history does not delete your Google account activity. To manage that, go to myactivity.google.com and delete items there if you want them removed from your Google account.

Use Incognito mode to avoid saving history

If you want to browse without saving history in the first place, open an Incognito window by pressing Ctrl + Shift + N on Windows or Command + Shift + N on Mac. In Incognito mode, Chrome does not save your browsing history, cookies, or autofill data. When you close the Incognito window, everything you did in it is forgotten.

Incognito mode does not make you anonymous to websites or your internet provider — they can still see what you visit. It only prevents Chrome from storing the history on your device. Downloaded files still save to your Downloads folder even in Incognito mode.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does clearing history delete my saved passwords?

No. Clearing browsing data removes passwords Chrome saved for websites, but only if you check the box for Passwords and other sign-in data in the Clear browsing data window. By default, this box is unchecked, so your passwords stay saved. If you want to delete passwords, you have to check that box before clicking Clear data.

Can I recover history after I delete it?

No. Once you clear your history in Chrome, it is gone from your device. Chrome does not have an undo button for this action. If you synced your history to your Google account, clearing it on one device clears it everywhere.

What is the difference between clearing history and Incognito mode?

Clearing history removes past browsing data you already saved. Incognito mode prevents Chrome from saving any history while you browse. Use clearing history to remove old data, and use Incognito mode if you want to browse without saving anything new.

Will clearing my history speed up Chrome?

Clearing cached images and files frees up storage space on your device, which can help if your storage is nearly full. Clearing browsing history itself does not make Chrome run faster — the speed difference comes only from clearing the cache.

Does clearing history log me out of websites?

Only if you check Cookies and other site data when you clear. Cookies store your login information, so clearing them logs you out. If you uncheck that box, you stay logged in to websites even after clearing your history.