Delete your Google search history in the Google app or Safari in three steps
Open the Google app on your iPhone, tap your profile picture in the top right corner, then tap Manage your Google Account. Go to the Data & Privacy tab, scroll down to Web & App Activity, and tap Manage all Web & App Activity. From there, tap the trash icon at the top to delete all history, or tap individual searches to remove them one at a time.
If you use Safari to search Google instead, you'll delete Safari's history separately — the steps are different because Safari doesn't connect to your Google account the same way the Google app does. Both methods work, but they clear different things: the Google app clears what Google remembers about you, while Safari clears what your phone remembers about where you've been.
The process takes less than a minute once you know where to look. Your search history disappears from Google's servers, though it may take a few hours to fully sync across all your devices.
Key Takeaways
- The Google app stores your search history in your Google Account, separate from Safari's browser history.
- You can delete all your Google search history at once or remove individual searches through your account settings.
- Deleting history in the Google app does not automatically delete it from Safari, and vice versa.
- You can turn off Web & App Activity entirely to stop Google from storing future searches.
- Deleted history may take a few hours to disappear from all your devices and Google's systems.
Delete all Google search history at once
Open the Google app and tap your profile picture in the top right corner. Select Manage your Google Account, then swipe to the Data & Privacy tab. Scroll down until you see Web & App Activity and tap it.
Tap Manage all Web & App Activity. At the top of the screen, you'll see a trash icon — tap it and confirm that you want to delete all activity. Google will ask you to confirm your choice. Once you do, all your search history from the Google app is removed.
This deletes searches you performed in the Google app itself. If you've been searching through Safari, those searches won't be affected by this step — you'll need to clear Safari's history separately.
Remove individual searches instead of deleting everything
If you only want to remove certain searches, go through the same first steps: open the Google app, tap your profile picture, select Manage your Google Account, go to Data & Privacy, and tap Web & App Activity.
Instead of tapping the trash icon at the top, scroll through your activity and find the search you want to remove. Tap the X next to that search to delete just that one entry. You can repeat this for as many searches as you want. This method takes longer if you have months of history to go through, but it's useful if you only want to hide a few specific searches.
Clear Safari search history if you search through the browser
If you use Safari to search Google instead of the Google app, you need to clear Safari's history separately. Open Safari, tap the book icon at the bottom of the screen, then tap the clock icon labeled History. Tap Clear History in the bottom right corner.
A menu will appear asking what time period you want to clear. Choose all time to delete everything, or pick a specific range like the last hour or today. Tap Clear History again to confirm. This removes Safari's record of where you've been, but it does not affect what Google remembers about your searches — you still need to delete your Google account activity separately if you want Google to forget.
Turn off Web & App Activity to stop storing future searches
If you don't want Google to save your searches going forward, you can turn off the setting that stores them. Go to your Google Account's Data & Privacy tab and find Web & App Activity. Tap Manage all Web & App Activity, then look for the toggle switch at the top that says Web & App Activity. Turn it off.
When this setting is off, Google won't store your searches, your YouTube watch history, or your activity in other Google services. You can turn it back on anytime. Keep in mind that turning it off doesn't delete your existing history — it only stops new activity from being saved. You'll still need to manually delete past searches if you want them gone.
Understand what gets deleted and what doesn't
Deleting your Google search history removes what Google's servers know about your searches. It does not delete searches from your iPhone's local storage, cached files, or your internet service provider's records. It also doesn't affect what websites you visited remember about you — only what Google remembers.
If you're signed into multiple Google accounts on your iPhone, deleting history from one account won't affect the others. Each account has its own separate activity log. Similarly, if you use the Google app on your iPhone and also search Google through Safari, you have two separate histories to manage — deleting one doesn't touch the other.
Deleted history typically disappears from Google's systems within a few hours, though it may take longer to sync across all your devices if you use Google on a computer, tablet, or other phone as well.
What to do if you can't find your Google Account settings
If you don't see your profile picture in the Google app, you may not be signed in. Tap the profile icon at the bottom right of the Google app and sign in with your Google account. Once you're signed in, the profile picture should appear in the top right corner of the search screen.
If you're using an older version of the Google app, the layout might be slightly different. Make sure your app is up to date by opening the App Store, tapping your profile picture in the top right, scrolling to the Google app, and tapping Update if it's available. After updating, the steps above should match what you see on your screen.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does deleting Google search history delete it from Safari too?
No. The Google app and Safari keep separate histories. Deleting your Google account activity only removes searches from the Google app and Google's servers. You must clear Safari's history separately through Safari's settings to remove browser history.
Can I delete search history from a specific date?
The Google app doesn't let you delete a date range — you can only delete all activity at once or remove individual searches. If you want to delete searches from a specific day, you'll need to go through them one by one and tap the X next to each one.
Will deleting my search history delete my YouTube watch history too?
No. YouTube watch history is stored separately from web search history. You can turn off Web & App Activity to stop both from being saved, but deleting one doesn't automatically delete the other. You'll need to manage YouTube history through your YouTube account settings.
What happens if I turn off Web & App Activity?
Google stops saving your searches, YouTube views, and activity in other Google services. Existing history stays until you manually delete it. You can turn the setting back on anytime, and Google will resume saving your activity.
How long does it take for deleted history to disappear?
Deleted history usually disappears from Google's servers within a few hours. If you use Google on multiple devices, it may take longer to sync across all of them. You can check by signing into your Google Account on another device — the deleted searches should eventually stop appearing there too.