Delete your Safari history in three steps
Open Safari and press Command + Y on your keyboard (or go to History menu at the top, then click "Show History"). A sidebar opens on the left showing sites you have visited. At the top of that sidebar, click the clock icon, then select clear history. Choose how far back you want to erase — last hour, today, today and yesterday, or all history — then click Clear History. That is the entire process.
If you want Safari to delete history automatically every time you close the browser, go to Safari menu (top left), click Settings, then the Privacy tab. Check the box that says "Remove history items" and choose your timeframe from the dropdown. Safari will now erase your history without you having to do anything.
Clearing history removes the list of websites you visited, but it does not remove saved passwords, autofill information, or cookies — those are separate. If you want to delete those too, the same Privacy settings tab has options for each one.
Key Takeaways
- Press Command + Y to open your history sidebar, then click the clock icon and select "clear history" to erase your browsing record.
- You can delete history from the last hour, the last day, or all the way back to when you started using Safari.
- Clearing history does not remove saved passwords or cookies — you must delete those separately in Privacy settings if you want them gone.
- You can set Safari to automatically delete history every time you close the browser by checking "Remove history items" in the Privacy tab.
- If you want to keep some sites private without clearing everything, use Safari's Private Browsing mode instead.
What gets deleted when you clear history
When you clear Safari history, you are removing the list of web addresses you visited and the dates you visited them. This is what appears when you open the History sidebar or use the search bar to look up a site you remember visiting. Clearing history does not touch your bookmarks, reading list, or any pages you have marked as favorites.
Passwords, autofill information, and cookies remain even after you clear history. Cookies are small files websites store on your computer to remember you — they let sites keep you logged in or remember your preferences. If a website is still remembering your login after you cleared history, that is why. To remove those, you need to go to Privacy settings and uncheck "Cookies and website data" before you clear.
Delete history from specific dates or websites
If you do not want to erase everything, you can delete history one website at a time. Open the History sidebar (Command + Y), find the site you want to remove, right-click on it, and select Delete. That removes only that entry, leaving the rest of your history intact.
To delete history from a specific date range without erasing everything, open the sidebar and look at the dates listed on the left. Click on a date to see only sites you visited that day, then right-click and delete the ones you want gone. This takes longer than clearing all at once, but it gives you more control.
Use Private Browsing to avoid creating history
If you want to browse without Safari recording your activity, use Private Browsing mode. Click File in the top menu, then select New Private Window. The address bar turns dark, signaling that Safari is not saving your history, cookies, or autofill data while this window is open. When you close the private window, nothing from that session is recorded.
Private Browsing is useful when you are shopping for a gift on a shared computer, looking up medical information you do not want saved, or using someone else's device. Each private window is separate — you can have one private window and one regular window open at the same time, and they do not interfere with each other.
Clear history on other Apple devices
If you use Safari on an iPhone or iPad, the process is similar but the menus are different. Open Settings, scroll down and tap Safari, then scroll to the bottom and tap Clear History and Website Data. Choose your timeframe and confirm. Like on Mac, this removes history but not passwords or cookies unless you also tap those options.
If you have turned on iCloud sync for Safari, clearing history on one Apple device clears it on all of them — your Mac, iPhone, and iPad. You can turn this off in Settings if you want to keep history separate on different devices.
Troubleshooting: History still appears after clearing
If you cleared history but websites still appear in your search suggestions or autofill, you may have cleared history but not cookies or autofill data. Go back to Safari Settings, Privacy tab, and also uncheck Cookies and website data and Autofill before clearing again. This removes all traces of those sites.
Another reason history might reappear is if you have iCloud sync turned on and you cleared history on only one device. The history syncs back from your other Apple devices. To prevent this, either clear history on all your devices or turn off Safari sync in iCloud Settings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does clearing Safari history delete my saved passwords?
No. Clearing history removes only the list of websites you visited. Your saved passwords stay in Safari's password manager. If you want to delete a specific password, go to Safari Settings, Passwords tab, find the site, and click the minus sign next to it.
Can I recover history after I delete it?
No. Once you clear history in Safari, it cannot be recovered through Safari itself. If you need to find a website you visited, try searching your email for confirmation emails from that site, or check your credit card or bank statements if you made a purchase there.
Will clearing history log me out of websites?
Clearing history alone will not log you out. However, if you also clear cookies and website data in the same action, you will be logged out of most sites because cookies are what keep you signed in. If you only clear history, you should stay logged in.
How often should I clear my Safari history?
That depends on your privacy needs. If you share your computer with others, clearing history regularly keeps your browsing private. If you use Safari alone, clearing history is optional — it does not affect performance or security. Many people clear history weekly or monthly out of habit.
What is the difference between clearing history and Private Browsing?
Clearing history removes past activity after it has been recorded. Private Browsing prevents Safari from recording activity in the first place. Use Private Browsing when you want to avoid creating a record; use clearing history when you want to erase a record that already exists.