YouTube stores three separate histories you can clear independently

YouTube keeps track of what you watch, what you search for, and what videos you've liked. These three histories live in different places in your account settings, and you can delete them all at once or turn off recording for the future. Clearing your watch history removes the list of videos you've viewed; clearing your search history removes the terms you've typed into YouTube's search box; and managing your liked videos lets you remove individual videos from your "Liked" playlist.

The steps differ slightly depending on whether you're on a computer or phone, but the settings are the same. You'll need to be signed into your YouTube account to make these changes — YouTube doesn't let you clear history for a signed-out account.

Key Takeaways

  • YouTube stores watch history, search history, and liked videos separately, and you can clear each one independently or all together.
  • On a computer, go to your account icon, select "History," then choose "Clear all watch history," "Clear all search history," or manage individual videos.
  • On a phone, open the YouTube app, tap your account icon, go to "History," and select the clear option for the type of history you want to remove.
  • You can pause history recording entirely so YouTube stops tracking what you watch, search for, or like going forward.
  • Clearing your history does not delete the videos themselves — it only removes them from your personal viewing record.

How to clear watch history on a computer

Open YouTube in your web browser and sign in to your account. Click your account icon in the top right corner — it's usually a circle with your profile picture or initial. A dropdown menu will appear with several options.

Select "History" from the menu. This takes you to a page showing all the videos you've watched, with the most recent at the top. On the left side of the page, you'll see a button that says "Clear all watch history." Click it. YouTube will ask you to confirm — click "Clear all watch history" again in the popup that appears. Your entire watch history is now deleted, though YouTube may still use your past viewing patterns to recommend videos until you clear your cookies or sign out and back in.

How to clear search history on a computer

From your account menu, select "History" again. On the left side of the History page, below the watch history button, you'll see "Clear all search history." Click it and confirm in the popup. This removes every search term you've entered into YouTube's search box, but does not affect your watch history.

If you want to delete only certain searches rather than all of them, you can click the X next to individual search terms on the History page instead of clearing everything at once.

How to clear history on a phone or tablet

Open the YouTube app and tap your account icon in the top right corner. Select "History" from the menu. On the History page, tap the three-dot menu icon (usually in the top right) and select "Clear watch history." Confirm when YouTube asks you to verify.

To clear search history on a phone, go to History, tap the three-dot menu, and select "Clear search history." The process is the same as on a computer, just with touch controls instead of clicks. If your phone's YouTube app looks different, you may have an older version — updating the app from your device's app store will bring it in line with these steps.

How to pause history recording so YouTube stops tracking you

If you don't want YouTube to record what you watch or search for in the future, you can turn off history recording entirely. On a computer, go to your account menu, select "History," and look for "Pause watch history" on the left side. Click it. A checkmark will appear next to it, meaning recording is paused.

On a phone, go to History, tap the three-dot menu, and select "Pause watch history." When history recording is paused, YouTube still shows you recommendations based on your account settings and what you're currently watching, but it stops adding new videos to your watch history. You can turn recording back on at any time by clicking or tapping the same button again — the checkmark will disappear.

How to remove individual videos from your liked videos

If you want to keep most of your history but remove specific videos, you can unlike them one at a time. While watching a video, click the thumbs-up icon below the video title to like it, or click it again to unlike it. Unliking a video removes it from your "Liked" playlist but does not affect your watch history — YouTube still knows you watched it.

You can also go to your account menu, select "Playlists," find "Liked videos," and click the three-dot menu next to any video to remove it from that playlist. This is useful if you want to clean up your liked videos without clearing your entire watch history.

What happens when you clear your history

Clearing your watch history removes the list of videos from your History page, but YouTube's recommendation system may still remember your viewing patterns for a short time. If you want YouTube to forget your preferences entirely, you can clear your browser cookies or sign out of your account and sign back in. Clearing history also does not delete any videos you've uploaded or any comments you've left — it only removes them from your personal viewing record.

If you've shared your YouTube account with family members or used it on a shared device, clearing your history removes it for everyone using that account. If you want to hide your viewing from other people on the same device, consider using your browser's private or incognito mode instead, which does not save history to your account.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does clearing my YouTube history delete the videos I watched?

No. Clearing your history only removes the videos from your personal viewing record. The videos themselves remain on YouTube and can still be found through search or recommendations. Other people can still watch them, and the creators still have their view counts.

Can I clear history for only part of a day or week?

YouTube does not offer a date range option for clearing history. You can delete individual videos by clicking the X next to them on your History page, but to clear a large block of time, you'll need to clear all history and then re-watch videos you want to keep in your history.

If I pause history recording, will YouTube stop recommending videos to me?

No. YouTube will still recommend videos based on your account settings, your current viewing session, and videos trending in your region. Pausing history only stops YouTube from saving what you watch going forward — it does not turn off recommendations entirely.

What's the difference between clearing history and using incognito mode?

Clearing history removes past viewing from your account after the fact. Incognito mode (or private browsing) prevents your browser from saving history in the first place, but YouTube can still track what you watch if you're signed in. Incognito mode is better for preventing others on your device from seeing what you watch; clearing history is better for removing old viewing from your account.

Can I clear someone else's YouTube history?

Only the person signed into the account can clear that account's history. If you share a YouTube account with family members, anyone signed in can clear the shared history. If you want separate histories, each person should have their own YouTube account.