People are just now realizing they’ve been deleting their Google search history – there’s a hidden setting you’re missing.
- Users can delete their entire search history by accessing the hidden feature
- Searches made within the last hour may also be deleted or only on the last day
- Google’s ‘My Activity’ tab also allows users to edit their location history
Most of us have asked Google to answer our odd questions at one point or another, whether it’s the meaning of life or whether tin foil can go in the microwave.
While the embarrassment of this late-night thought is too much to bear, it’s no secret that users can delete their history in a matter of clicks (or so they thought).
As it turns out, your search data seems to stay with Google unless you take another sneaky step to get rid of it entirely.
The most common way to erase your previous searches is to press ‘Control’ and ‘H’ on the keyboard or by clicking the three small dots in the top right of Chrome.
But a hidden feature takes this a step further by deleting any data linked to your account that the tech giant might hold.
Users can delete their entire search history by accessing the hidden feature on Google
The most common way to clear your previous searches is to press ‘Control’ and ‘H’ on the keyboard or by clicking on the three small dots at the top right of Google (pictured right).
To do this, first tap your profile image located in the top right corner of Chrome next to the search bar.
Users should then click on ‘Manage your Google Account’, which will lead to a menu with numerous tabs including ‘Data & Privacy’, ‘Security’ and ‘Personal Information’.
The easiest way to access your web history is to type ‘my activity’ into the search bar inside the page (not the one at the top of the screen).
Clicking the ‘My Activity’ option when it pops up will take you to another page showing all your previous searches.
This can be filtered based on website used or date searched if you are keen to have a glimpse at previous page views.
However, if you’re just keen to erase these searches for good, click the ‘Delete’ button.
Users can then choose whether to delete all searches ever made that were viewed within the last day, hour, or custom time range.
Before being deleted, Google will show you a list of products that contain it, whether it’s just Chrome or other sites like YouTube.
After clicking this, you may be asked for one final confirmation before the deletion process proceeds.
Google’s ‘My Activity’ tab allows users to edit their location data as well as their search history
While this process deletes your history, Google says other data will be kept for as long as you keep your account to help the tech giant improve its services.
Google’s privacy terms read, ‘We keep certain data for the life of your Google Account if it is useful to help us understand how users interact with our features and how we can improve our services.
‘For example, after you remove a particular Google search from My Activity, we may keep information about how often you search for things, but not what you searched for. When you delete your Google Account, information about how often you search for things is also deleted.’
The ‘My Activity’ tab can also be used to change your location history, with Google providing nearby recommendations and personalized maps to those providing this data.
This is off by default but users can opt in if they are over 18 years of age.
Google’s advice reads: ‘When you turn on Location History, you can see a number of benefits across Google products and services, including personalized maps, recommendations based on places you’ve visited, help finding your phone, real-time traffic updates about you . Voyage, and more useful Advertisements.’
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