Where Samsung stores your search history and why you might want to clear it
Your Samsung phone keeps records of what you search for in two places: inside your web browser (Chrome, Samsung Internet, or whatever app you use) and in Google's servers if you have a Google account signed in. Clearing the history on your phone removes the local record — the list you see when you tap the search bar — but does not automatically remove what Google has stored about you elsewhere.
You might clear your history to keep your searches private from someone who uses your phone, to free up a small amount of storage space, or straightforward because you prefer not to have a record of your browsing. The steps differ depending on which browser you use, so start by identifying which one is set as your default.
Key Takeaways
- Chrome and Samsung Internet store history differently, so the steps to clear it depend on which browser you use.
- Clearing history on your phone removes the local record but does not remove searches Google has stored in your account.
- You can set most Samsung browsers to delete history automatically when you close the app.
- If you want to remove searches from Google's records across all your devices, you need to visit myactivity.google.com on a computer or in your phone's browser.
How to clear history in Chrome on a Samsung phone
Open Chrome and tap the three vertical dots in the top right corner. Tap History, then tap Clear browsing data at the top of the screen. A menu will appear with options for what to delete: browsing history, cookies and site data, and cached images and files. The default is set to delete data from "All time," which clears everything. If you want to delete only recent searches, tap the dropdown that says "All time" and choose Last hour, Last 24 hours, Last 7 days, Last 4 weeks, or Last 90 days.
Make sure the checkbox next to Cookies and site data is checked if you want to log out of websites automatically. Then tap Clear data. The history will be deleted from your phone when ready. If you have multiple Google accounts on your phone, repeat these steps for each account, because Chrome stores history separately for each one.
How to clear history in Samsung Internet
Open Samsung Internet and tap the three horizontal lines (menu icon) in the bottom right corner. Tap Settings, then scroll down and tap Privacy. Tap Delete browsing data. A menu will appear with checkboxes for Browsing history, Cookies and site data, Cached images and files, and Passwords. Check the boxes for what you want to delete — at minimum, check Browsing history.
At the top of the screen, you will see a dropdown that says All time. Tap it to choose a specific time range if you want to delete only recent searches instead of everything. Then tap Delete. The history will be removed from your phone right away. Unlike Chrome, Samsung Internet does not separate history by account, so clearing it once clears it for all users of the browser on that phone.
Setting your browser to delete history automatically
Both Chrome and Samsung Internet can be set to delete your history every time you close the app, so you do not have to do it manually. In Chrome, tap the three dots, go to Settings, tap Privacy and security, then turn on Delete browsing data. You can choose what types of data to delete automatically — most people leave all options checked.
In Samsung Internet, tap the menu icon, go to Settings > Privacy, and toggle on Delete browsing data on exit. You can then tap Select data to delete to choose which types of data (history, cookies, cache) are removed each time you close the app. If you turn this on, your phone will clear the selected data every single time you fully close the browser, even if you only browsed for a few seconds.
Removing searches from your Google account across all devices
If you have a Google account, Google stores a record of your searches and the websites you visit — separate from what your phone's browser stores locally. Clearing your phone's history does not remove these records from Google's servers. To delete them, you need to visit myactivity.google.com in your phone's browser or on a computer.
Sign in with the Google account you use on your Samsung phone. You will see a timeline of your activity. On the left side, tap Search to see only your search history. You can delete individual searches by clicking the trash icon next to each one, or delete all searches from a specific date by clicking the date and selecting Delete. To delete everything, tap the three dots at the top left, select Delete activity by, choose All time, and confirm. This removes the record from Google's servers, but it does not affect what your phone's browser has stored locally.
What gets deleted and what does not
When you clear your browser history on your Samsung phone, you remove the list of websites you visited and the searches you typed into Google, Bing, or other search engines. You also remove cookies (small files that websites use to remember you) and cached data (copies of web pages stored on your phone to load them faster next time).
What does not get deleted: passwords you have saved in your browser (unless you specifically check that box), your bookmarks, your autofill information, or any records Google has stored in your account. If you want to delete saved passwords, you can do that separately in your browser's settings. If you want to remove your activity from Google's records, you must visit myactivity.google.com as described above. Clearing history also does not remove text messages, call logs, or app data — only browsing records.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does clearing my history on my phone remove it from Google's servers?
No. Clearing your phone's browser history removes only the local record on your device. Google keeps its own record of your searches and activity if you are signed into a Google account. To remove searches from Google's records, visit myactivity.google.com and delete them there. You can do this on your phone or a computer.
If I clear my history, will the websites I visited know I was there?
No. Clearing your history affects only your phone and Google's records — it does not change what the websites themselves know. Websites log visits on their own servers regardless of whether you delete your local history. If you want to browse without websites tracking you, you would need to use a private or incognito browsing mode while you are on the site.
Can I recover my history after I delete it?
Once you delete your browser history from your phone, it is gone from that device. If you have syncing turned on in Chrome, you may be able to see a record in your Google account, but the local history on your phone cannot be recovered. If you delete activity from myactivity.google.com, Google does not provide a way to restore it.
What is the difference between clearing history and using private browsing mode?
Private or incognito mode prevents your browser from storing history while you are browsing — nothing is recorded in the first place. Clearing history removes records after the fact. Private mode is useful if you want to browse without leaving a record; clearing history is useful if you have already browsed and want to remove the record later.
Will clearing my history log me out of websites?
It depends on whether you also delete cookies. If you check the box for Cookies and site data when you clear your history, you will be logged out of most websites. If you delete only browsing history without deleting cookies, you will stay logged in. Most people leave cookies checked so that old login sessions are also removed.