How To Remove Search History From YouTube In 2025: Step-By-Step Instructions

YouTube saves every word or number you type in the search bar. These searches help them suggest videos they think you'll like. Many people don't know they can delete this search history or stop YouTube from saving it. You might want to do it for your own reasons. In this detailed guide, we'll explain a few ways how to remove search history from YouTube on any device you use.

Part 1. What Is YouTube Search History?

YouTube keeps track of everything you type into the search bar. This search history saves all your search terms - from broad topics to specific video titles. The platform records these searches whether you click on any videos or not.

Your search terms tell YouTube what topics you're interested in. The platform uses this info to show you similar videos on your home page. Even one-time searches get saved and can affect what videos YouTube suggests to you.

YouTube tracks every search you type to make your experience more personal. Your search terms tell YouTube what topics interest you right now. This data helps the platform show videos they think you'll click on your home page and in the recommended and "Up Next" suggestions.

Your search history also helps YouTube fix its search feature. When lots of people search for the same things, YouTube knows which topics need better video coverage. Content creators use these trends to plan their next videos.

Your history stays linked to your Google account on all your devices. This means clearing it on your phone will also remove it from your computer. The steps to manage this history are a bit different depending on what device you're using. Now, let's look at how to remove search history from YouTube.

Part 2. How to Remove Search History From YouTube

How to Remove YouTube Search History on Desktop Browser

To clear your search history on a computer browser, you need to get to your YouTube settings page.

• 1.Go to myactivity.google.com in your browser and make sure you're logged in with the same Google account you use for YouTube.
• 2.Click "YouTube History," scroll down, and select "Manage History".
• 3.Click X next to each search to remove it from the history.

You can also delete your YouTube searches this way:

• 1.Go to YouTube, click in the search bar, and view all your searches.
• 2.Next to each search, click "Remove" to remove just that specific search from your history.

How to Remove YouTube Search History on Android & iOS

The previous version of the YouTube mobile app had a dedicated option for removing the entire search history under the "History" option, which is in your profile section. However, YouTube has removed this feature. Therefore, if you need to remove the search history on Android phones and tablets, there is another way to do so on the YouTube app.

Here are the steps:

• 1.Tap the search bar at the top of the YouTube app.
• 2.A list of your recent searches drops down.
• 3.Tap & hold a search and tap "Remove."

You can also tap your profile in the app, select "Settings" at the top, then tap "Manage all history" and tap X next to each search to remove it.

This method helps when you only want to remove certain searches but keep others. Remember that removing search history on your phone also clears it on all your other devices since everything is tied to your Google account.

How to Remove YouTube Search History on Smart TV

Smart TVs and streaming devices need a slightly different approach.

• 1.Using your TV remote, open the YouTube app and sign in if needed.

• 2.Navigate to the left side menu by pressing left on your remote.

• 3.Scroll down until you find "Settings" and select it.

• 4.In the Settings menu, look for "Clear search history" and select this option.

• 5.You'll now see a list of history controls. Highlight "Clear Search History."

  

• 6.Press OK or Select on your remote.

• 7.A confirmation message appears. Select "Clear" to confirm, and this removes all your search history.

TV interfaces vary between brands like Samsung, LG, and Sony, as well as streaming devices like Roku or Fire TV. The buttons might look different, but the general path remains similar. The main challenge with TVs is using the remote to navigate, which takes longer than on phones or computers.

How to Remove All Search History from YouTube - Workaroud for All Devices

If you want to remove all of your YouTube search history in one go, do these steps:

• 1.Open myactivity.google.com in your browser.
• 2.Scroll down and click "Auto Delete."
• 3.Select the time range to delete the search history, and click "Next" to confirm.

Part 3. Why You Might Want to Remove Your YouTube History?

There are several good reasons to remove your YouTube search history. Privacy is the main one-maybe you don't want anyone who uses your device to see what you've watched. You might share a computer or TV with family members and want to keep your viewing private.

Many users don't know that clearing search history can reset these suggestions. YouTube tends to suggest content similar to what you've already searched for and seen. This reset is useful when your recommendations get stuck showing the same content over and over. A clean search history breaks this loop and brings new content to your home page. YouTube needs this data for their business, but you control whether they keep it or not.

Part 4. How to Turn Off the Search History on YouTube

After clearing history, you can stop YouTube from saving your searches going forward. This prevents the platform from building a profile of what you search for. When turned off, YouTube won't remember any new searches you make. Let's see how to do this on different devices.

How to Disable YouTube Search History on Desktop Browser

Turning off the YouTube search history collection needs just a few clicks on your browser. Here's how:

• 1.Open the YouTube activity page on your browser.
• 2.Click "Saving your YouTube history.
• 3.Uncheck "Include your searches on YouTube."

This setting stays active until you decide to turn it back on. YouTube won't save any new searches while this setting is unchecked, giving you more privacy.

How to Disable YouTube Search History Android and iOS

Android and iPhone users can easily pause search history in the YouTube app.

• 1.First, open the YT app and tap your profile picture, which is displayed in the right corner of the screen in the menu below.
• 2.This opens your account menu, showing your recent watches and playlist library.
• 3.Here, tap the History icon at the top of your recent watches, which will open a new screen.
• 4.Look at the top right corner of the screen and tap the three dots.
• 5.From the drop-down menu, tap "Manage all history," and then tap the "CONTROLS" tab at the top.
• 6.Now, simply uncheck the "Include your searches on YouTube" option, and going forward, your search history will be disabled and will not be saved on the app.

This method doesn't erase your existing history, so consider removing that, too, using the methods discussed for the YouTube Android and iOS app above for complete privacy. The pause stays active across your entire Google account until you decide to resume it later.

How to Disable YouTube Search History on Smart TV

Smart TV users can also stop YouTube from saving their searches.

• 1.Using your TV remote, open the YouTube app and sign in to your account.

• 2.Navigate to the left side menu and scroll down to "Settings".

• 3.Press select on your remote to open it.

• 4.In Settings, look for "Pause search history" and select it.

• 5.A popup appears explaining what this means.

• 6.Select "On" to confirm.

  

• 7.Now, open the YouTube app again, search for something, and confirm that you are seeing that term on the search bar again.

TV interfaces take longer to navigate but follow the same general pattern. This setting affects your entire Google account, not just your TV. Any new searches you make won't be saved, though your existing history remains unless you also remove it with the above method.

Part 5. How to Use YouTube Incognito Mode to Disable Search History

YouTube offers an incognito mode that works like private browsing. This mode lets you search for your content without saving it to your history. Let's explore the steps to get this mode active on the YouTube app and Chrome browser.

On YouTube App:

• 1.Tap your YouTube profile icon (red circular shape) in the down menu.

• 2.Tap "Turn on Incognito".

  

• 3.Your app switches to incognito mode, showing you a new interface with the message showing below that the incognito mode is active.

• 4.Now, you can search videos normally, and none of the search history will be saved.

• 5.To exit, tap "You," " and select "Turn off Incognito" to get back to normal viewing.

On Desktop Browser:

While using YouTube on a desktop browser, there is no dedicated incognito mode. But Google has got your back with its own incognito mode. You only need to activate it to open a private window, and then you can search without having to worry about your saved searches.

Simply click the three dots next to your profile icon on the top right corner of the Chrome browser window. Then, choose "New Incognito window" from the menu. There's another way. You can press the "CTRL + Shift + N" keys on the keyboard while the browser is open to activate the incognito mode.

The incognito mode only works on the current device. It doesn't follow you if you are using the same YouTube account on other devices. The mode also turns off automatically after a period of inactivity. It's a quick solution for temporary privacy without changing account settings.

Part 6. FAQs of How to Remove Search History from YouTube

Conclusion on How to Remove Search History from YouTube

Taking control of your YouTube search history is pretty simple once you know where to look. The steps are a bit different, depending on the device you are using. Regularly removing or disabling the search history helps you with your privacy while using the platform.

YouTube still works fine with history turned off, though recommendations become less personalized. The choice comes down to what you value more-personalization or privacy. You can always turn the feature back on if you miss getting the suggestions based on your interests.