How to clear Google history

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We tell you how to delete Google’s history and the different records it stores about you.

Before answering the question: How to clear Google history ? We have to remember that using Google services is very comfortable. They stand out, mainly, for their simplicity and for a series of very interesting collaboration functions.

And what about its search engine, one of the most effective that exists right now. However, the ease of use and even the gratuitousness of its platform means giving up something really valuable: your privacy. It is logical that you wonder how to erase Google’s history and how to make all the records that the company keeps about your activity disappear.

In this article we will analyze the different histories that Google generates about you and we will show you how to make them disappear. In addition, we will discuss some related issues that will allow you to improve your privacy in the long term.

Index of contents

  • How to clear Google history: what does the company know about me
  • Delete and clear Google history
    • Clear web and app activity
    • Clear location history
    • Prevent YouTube history from being stored
    • Turn off ad personalization
    • Delete personal search results
    • Clear all Chrome browsing history
  • When clearing your Google history is not enough

How to clear Google history: what does the company know about me

You may have come this far because you were looking for a way to delete Google Chrome history. Or maybe you think the time has come to clear the record of your latest locations. As you can see, when we talk about deleting the Google history we can refer to different things. What histories does the company have on you? These are some:

  • Record of the web pages you visit.
  • A list of all activities within applications.
  • A history of the locations you have been to.
  • The count of all the searches you do on Google.
  • YouTube search history.

Obviously, these are just some of the metrics that Google uses to personalize ads and improve the user experience. All of the ones we have mentioned can be managed and adjusted to suit your privacy criteria. In the following sections we explain how to delete Google’s history in the different fields that we have mentioned.

Delete and clear Google history

If you want your Google account to be more private, the company offers you some relevant parameters. Most of them are available in the account manager, known as Google My Account . In the case of Chrome history, you must go to that application to delete it. Follow the steps mentioned in this guide to clear your Google history.

Clear web and app activity

Deleting the web and application activity registered in your Google account is possible from Google My Account . There, click on the Data & Privacy tab . You will find a section called Things you have done and places you have visited . Direct your attention to it for the Activity link  on the web and in Applications . Open it and take the following steps:

  1. Turn off  Activity on the Web and Applications.
  2. Uncheck the two boxes that you will see below so that Google never includes things like your Chrome history or the audio recordings of the assistant in this section.
  3. Finally, go to  Manage Activityto delete previous records.

By doing this, you will have deleted Google’s history and, in addition, you will have indicated to the company that you do not want it to save this type of information about you. In case you want to keep this option enabled, consider using the Automatic Removal tool .

Clear location history

Back in the privacy section of Google My Account , you have the option to delete the location history. You must follow steps similar to those described in the previous section. For one thing, pausing the log will prevent Google from keeping a history of the sites you’ve visited. Also, the Manage activity option  will help you completely erase your location history on Google.

Prevent YouTube history from being stored

Google My Account also controls some of the company’s applications, such as YouTube. When you pause the history of this service, Google stops storing information about what you see and what you search for on the platform. Again, you have the options of  Automatic deletion, which establishes a time interval for deletion, and  Manage activity , which allows you to delete the entire history.

Turn off ad personalization

Taking advantage of the fact that you are already adjusting the privacy parameters of your Google account, we advise you to deactivate other functions. This way you will achieve a greater degree of anonymity when using your account. The first setting to disable is ad personalization . According to Google, Google Photos content or documents uploaded to Drive are not used for advertising purposes. However, there are other services that do help Google to better segment marketing campaigns. By removing this feature you will see less relevant and more generic advertising.

Delete personal search results

Next to the ad settings you have another section called Personal Search Results . According to the company itself, these include the predictions that appear when starting a search, personalized responses according to your interests or your Gmail emails and various recommendations. Do you want a custom or generic search page? With this setting you can decide.

Clear all Chrome browsing history

Finally we come to one of the key points of this article. If you have followed the instructions that we have provided, you will have already paused and deleted a large number of records that Google has about you. But one of the most important is Chrome’s browsing history , which is synced with your personal account. From Windows or macOS you must delete it as follows:

  1. Open the main menu.
  2. Click  More tools.
  3. Select the Clear browsing dataoption  . It is also accessible with the keyboard shortcut Control + Shift + Delete.
  4. Check the box that you will see next to  Browsing historyand click on the Clear data button  . Make sure that in the T ime drop-down the Since always option is selected  .

If you keep Chrome synchronized with its version for Android or iOS, the history will have disappeared from all devices. If this is not the case, you will have to delete the history individually in each terminal where you use the Google browser. In the case of Android, the steps are as follows:

  1. Open the main menu.
  2. Click on
  3. Open the Privacy and securitysection  .
  4. In the list, tap on  Clear browsing data.
  5. Check the browsing history box and confirm.

When clearing your Google history is not enough

Throughout this guide we have given you the keys to improve privacy when using Google services. However, while it helps, they are not infallible when it comes to protecting your data. Therefore, if this is really an issue that worries you, it is not enough to delete your Google history . In this case, you need to go to private alternatives that offer you similar solutions.

We recommend reading our guide on how OK Google is .

For example, you can start by changing the Chrome browser to Brave or Firefox. There are also private email platforms, such as ProtonMail. And if you are looking for an application with end-to-end encryption for your notes, take a look at Standard Notes.

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