Chrome stores your search history in two places, and you need to clear both to remove it completely

When you search from Chrome's address bar (called the omnibox), Chrome saves those searches in two separate locations. The first is your browsing history — the record of pages you visited. The second is your search history — the actual search terms you typed. Deleting one does not delete the other. Most people need to clear both, and the steps are slightly different for each.

If you are signed into a Google account in Chrome, your search history also syncs to your Google account across all your devices. Clearing it from Chrome alone will not remove it from Google's servers. You may need to delete it from your Google account separately if you want it gone everywhere.

Key Takeaways

  • Chrome saves search terms in two places: your browser history and your Google account search history, and clearing one does not clear the other.
  • To delete searches from Chrome itself, open Settings, go to Privacy and Security, select Clear Browsing Data, check Search History, and choose your time range.
  • To delete searches from your Google account across all devices, visit myactivity.google.com, find the searches you want removed, and delete them there.
  • If you sign out of your Google account in Chrome, your searches will no longer sync to Google's servers, though Chrome will still keep a local copy on your computer.

Delete searches from Chrome on your computer

Open Chrome and click the three vertical dots in the top right corner. Select Settings from the menu. On the left side, click Privacy and Security, then click Clear Browsing Data. A window will pop up with several checkboxes.

Make sure the box next to Search History is checked. You will also see boxes for Cookies, Cached Images, and other data types — leave those unchecked unless you want to delete them too. At the top of the window, you will see a dropdown that says All Time. Click it and choose how far back you want to delete: Last Hour, Last 24 Hours, Last 7 Days, Last 4 Weeks, or All Time. If you want to delete everything, leave it on All Time. Then click the blue Clear Data button.

Chrome will delete those searches from your local browser when ready. However, if you are signed into a Google account, those searches may still exist in your Google account history on Google's servers. You will need to remove them separately using the next section.

Delete searches from your Google account

Open a new tab and go to myactivity.google.com. You may be asked to sign in with your Google account — use the same account you use in Chrome. On the left side, click Search under the Activity section. You will see a list of every search you have made while signed into that Google account, with the most recent at the top.

To delete individual searches, hover over each one and click the trash icon that appears on the right. To delete all searches at once, click the three dots in the top right corner of the page and select Delete All. Google will ask you to confirm — click Delete All again. This removes your searches from Google's servers and from all devices where you are signed into that account.

Deleting from myactivity.google.com is the most thorough method because it removes searches from Google's central record. Even if you clear Chrome's local history, Google still knows what you searched for unless you delete it here.

Delete searches from Chrome on your phone or tablet

On an Android phone, open Chrome and tap the three dots in the bottom right corner. Tap Settings, then Privacy and Security, then Clear Browsing Data. Check the box next to Search History, choose your time range from the dropdown at the top, and tap Clear Browsing Data.

On an iPhone or iPad, open Chrome and tap the three dots in the bottom right corner. Tap Settings, then Privacy and Security, then Clear Browsing Data. Toggle on Search History, make sure your time range is set correctly, and tap Clear Browsing Data. The process is nearly identical to the desktop version.

Clearing from your phone does not clear your searches from Chrome on your computer or from your Google account. You will need to repeat the process on each device if you want to remove searches everywhere.

Prevent Chrome from saving searches in the future

If you do not want Chrome to save your searches at all, you can use Incognito mode. Open Chrome, press Ctrl+Shift+N on Windows or Command+Shift+N on Mac, and a new window will open. Anything you search for or browse in this window is not saved to your history. When you close the Incognito window, Chrome deletes all record of what you did in it.

Incognito mode does not hide your activity from your internet service provider, your employer if you are on a work network, or the websites you visit — it only hides it from Chrome's local history. If you are signed into a Google account, Google may still track your activity for other purposes, though it will not appear in your search history on myactivity.google.com.

Another option is to sign out of your Google account in Chrome. Click your profile picture in the top right corner and select Sign Out. After you sign out, Chrome will still save your local browsing history, but it will not sync to your Google account. Your searches will not appear on myactivity.google.com or on other devices.

What happens if you only clear one location

If you clear your search history from Chrome but not from your Google account, your searches are gone from Chrome but still visible on myactivity.google.com and on any other device where you are signed in. Someone using your computer will not see them in Chrome, but they could find them by visiting myactivity.google.com if they know your password.

If you clear your searches from myactivity.google.com but not from Chrome, the searches are gone from Google's servers but still visible in Chrome's local history. Clearing both is the only way to remove them completely from everywhere you use Chrome with that account.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does clearing my search history delete my browsing history too?

No. Search history and browsing history are separate. When you clear browsing data in Chrome, you can choose to clear search history, browsing history, or both. Make sure you check the right boxes depending on what you want to delete.

If I clear my history in Chrome, does it disappear from Google too?

Not automatically. Clearing Chrome's local history does not touch your Google account. You must visit myactivity.google.com and delete your searches there separately to remove them from Google's servers.

Can I delete just one search instead of all of them?

Yes, but only from your Google account. Go to myactivity.google.com, find the search you want to remove, hover over it, and click the trash icon. In Chrome itself, you can only delete searches by date range — you cannot pick individual ones.

Will deleting my search history stop Google from tracking me?

Deleting your search history removes the record of what you searched for, but Google may still collect other data about your activity for advertising and other purposes. Deleting history only removes the searchable record, not all tracking.

What if I forgot my Google account password and cannot access myactivity.google.com?

You can still clear your search history from Chrome itself using the steps in the second section. To access myactivity.google.com, you will need to reset your Google password first by going to accounts.google.com and following the account recovery process.