Clear your search history in Chrome in three steps

Open Chrome and press Ctrl+H on Windows or Command+Y on Mac to open your history page. On the left side, click Clear browsing data. A window will appear with checkboxes for different types of data — make sure Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files are checked if you want a complete clear, then click Clear data.

If you want to delete only certain visits instead of everything, you can click the three dots next to individual entries on your history page and select Delete. This removes that single visit without touching the rest of your history.

Chrome also lets you set it to clear your history automatically every time you close the browser. Go to Settings > Privacy and security > Clear browsing data, then toggle on Clear cookies and site data when you quit Chrome. This way you do not have to remember to clear manually.

Key Takeaways

  • Press Ctrl+H (Windows) or Command+Y (Mac), click Clear browsing data, and select what you want to remove before clicking Clear data.
  • You can delete individual history entries by clicking the three dots next to them instead of clearing everything at once.
  • Clearing history removes what Chrome displays in your history page, but does not erase records your internet service provider or employer network may keep.
  • Turning on automatic clearing in Settings means Chrome will delete your browsing data every time you close the browser.
  • Clearing your history is different from clearing cookies — history is what you see in the history page, while cookies are small files websites store on your device.

What gets deleted when you clear browsing data

The Clear browsing data window shows several checkboxes. Browsing history removes the list of websites you visited. Cookies and other site data deletes login information, preferences, and tracking data that websites store. Cached images and files removes copies of web pages Chrome saved to load them faster next time.

By default, Chrome checks all three boxes. If you only want to clear your history and leave cookies alone — so you stay logged into websites — uncheck Cookies and other site data before you click Clear data. You can also choose a time range at the top: Last hour, Last 24 hours, Last 7 days, Last 4 weeks, or All time.

The difference between clearing history and using Incognito mode

Incognito mode is a way to browse without Chrome saving your history in the first place. Press Ctrl+Shift+N on Windows or Command+Shift+N on Mac to open an Incognito window. Anything you do in that window — websites you visit, searches you make, files you read — does not appear in your history or search bar suggestions.

Incognito mode is useful if you share your computer with someone else and do not want them to see what you looked at. However, it does not hide your activity from your internet service provider, your employer if you are on a work network, or the websites you visit. Those organizations can still see what you do online. Clearing your history afterward has the same limitation — it only removes the record from Chrome, not from those external sources.

Clearing search suggestions and autocomplete

When you start typing in the Chrome address bar, Chrome shows suggestions based on your history and searches. To remove a single suggestion, start typing and then use the arrow keys to highlight it. Press Delete on Windows or Fn+Delete on Mac, and that suggestion will not appear again.

If you want to stop Chrome from showing any suggestions at all, go to Settings > Privacy and security > Sync and Google services and toggle off Autocomplete searches and URLs. This prevents Chrome from suggesting anything based on your history, though it will still suggest popular websites.

Clearing history on other devices signed into your account

If you sign into Chrome with a Google account, your history syncs across all devices where you are logged in. Clearing your history on one device clears it on all of them. This happens automatically if you have Sync turned on — you can check this in Settings > Sync and Google services.

If you do not want your history to sync, you can turn off Sync entirely, or you can choose which types of data to sync. Go to Settings > Sync and Google services > Manage what you sync and uncheck History. This means your browsing on one device will not appear on another, even if you are signed into the same account.

What clearing history does not remove

Clearing your Chrome history removes only what Chrome stores locally on your device. It does not affect records kept by your internet service provider, your workplace network, or the websites you visited. Those organizations have their own logs of your activity that clearing Chrome does not touch.

If you downloaded files, clearing your history does not delete the files themselves — only the record that you downloaded them. The files stay in your Downloads folder or wherever you saved them. Similarly, clearing cookies does not remove passwords you saved in Chrome's password manager; those are stored separately and require a different process to delete.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does clearing my history delete my saved passwords?

No. Passwords are stored separately from your history and cookies. To delete saved passwords, go to Settings > Autofill and passwords > Passwords, find the password you want to remove, click the three dots next to it, and select Delete.

Can I see what I deleted after I clear my history?

No. Once you clear your history in Chrome, it is gone from the browser. You cannot recover it through Chrome itself. If you need to find a website you visited, you may be able to search your Google account activity at myactivity.google.com if you are signed into Google.

Why does my history still show up after I cleared it?

If your history reappears, you may have Sync turned on and visited those sites again on another device. Check Settings > Sync and Google services to see if Sync is active. You can also check whether you are clearing the right time range — if you select Last hour but visited sites earlier today, they will still appear.

Does clearing history in Chrome affect my Google search history?

No. Chrome history and Google search history are separate. Clearing Chrome removes your local browsing record, but Google keeps its own record of searches you made while signed into your Google account. To clear Google search history, visit myactivity.google.com and delete from there.

Will clearing my history log me out of websites?

If you check Cookies and other site data when clearing, yes — you will be logged out of most websites because cookies store your login information. If you uncheck that box and only clear history, you will stay logged in.