how to safari history

How to clear Safari browsing history on iPhone and iPad

Clear Safari browsing history on iPhone and iPad in a few simple steps

You'll definitely want to know how to clear Safari browsing history on iPhone and iPad . Know how to delete browsing history is part of basic user operation on all your devices, and is especially if you share devices with others. 

Luckily, deleting browsing history on Safari is easy and can be done in just a few taps, and is the same on iOS and iPadOS, so whether you're using an iPhone 15 Pro or an iPad Air , these steps will apply.

Remember, though, that deleting your browsing history only stops your activity being visible on that device. Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) will still be able to see the webpages you have visited. If you want to stop that, for ultimate privacy, you'll need to use one of the best VPN services .

The following screenshots were taken on an iPhone running iOS 17 . If you aren't running the latest version of your device's OS, we can show you how to update an iPhone or how to update an iPad .

• In Safari, tap the book icon
• Go to the history tab (clock)
• Select how far back to clear

Read on to see full illustrated instructions.

1. In Safari, tap the book icon

Firstly, open Safari and tap the book icon in the bottom bar.

2. Select the history tab (clock icon) and tap Clear

Now select the history tab (clock icon) and tap Clear at the bottom.

3. Select how far back to clear and tap Delete

Now choose how far back you'd like to delete : last hour, today, today and yesterday, or all time.

If you like, you can toggle on Close All Tabs , which will close every open tab that isn't in a tab group (we can show you how to use tab groups if you aren't sure).

Finally, when you're happy, hit Delete .

As you can see in the screenshot above, if you now go back to the history tab, your history will have been deleted.

For more iPhone tutorials, check out our guides on how to transfer data from iPhone to iPhone , how to clear RAM on iPhone , how to delete multiple contacts on iPhone and how to rearrange the iOS 17 Messages '+' menu .

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Peter is Reviews Editor at Tom's Guide. As a writer, he covers topics including tech, photography, gaming, hardware, motoring and food & drink. Outside of work, he's an avid photographer, specialising in architectural and portrait photography. When he's not snapping away on his beloved Fujifilm camera, he can usually be found telling everyone about his greyhounds, riding his motorcycle, squeezing as many FPS as possible out of PC games, and perfecting his espresso shots. 

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How to view and clear your web browsing history in Safari on iPhone or iPad

Easily wipe your browsing history in Apple's Safari web browser in seconds.

How to find your web-browsing history

How to clear your web browsing history.

Clearing your browsing history on iPhone and iPad in Safari has been a straightforward affair for years now.

Sometimes, you may want a fresh start with your web browsing — perhaps to get rid of some history that may bring up a memory you'd rather forget as you type in a website URL in the address bar.

Apple makes this feature very easy to access on both the iPhone and iPad by offering two ways to clear your history. So with this in mind, here's how you can do just that and make a fresh start in Safari .

Viewing your web history in iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 is very easy to do — and it's all done from Safari.

• In Safari, tap the Bookmarks button in the toolbar that's below the address bar.
• Tap the History icon in the upper right corner. Here, you can view your entire web history.

• Use the History search bar to find previously viewed pages.

If the time calls to wipe most or all of your web browsing history in Safari, here's how to do it on both iPhone and iPad.

To note, the below steps will be the same if you attempt to wipe your web browsing history on an iPhone 15 Pro Max , and an iPad Mini 6 for example.

• In Safari, tap the Bookmarks button.
• Select the History icon in the upper right corner.
• Tap Clear and select how much history you'd like to clear: the last hour, the last day, 48 hours' worth, or all recorded history.

One more thing… A feature no one talks about

Privacy on the web matters more than ever in these modern times. Websites store the pages you click on, especially when you sign into a page that can contain personal information about you.

Master your iPhone in minutes

iMore offers spot-on advice and guidance from our team of experts, with decades of Apple device experience to lean on. Learn more with iMore!

It's great to have a feature like this in Safari — but it would be good to have this automated. To tell Apple's web browser to automatically clear history after 24 hours would be very useful, as you wouldn't leave a trail behind.

Regardless, it's still a good feature, and one you should use every week.

Daryl is iMore's Features Editor, overseeing long-form and in-depth articles and op-eds. Daryl loves using his experience as both a journalist and Apple fan to tell stories about Apple's products and its community, from the apps we use everyday to the products that have been long forgotten in the Cupertino archives.

Previously Software & Downloads Writer at TechRadar, and Deputy Editor at StealthOptional, he's also written a book, ' The Making of Tomb Raider ', which tells the story of the beginnings of Lara Croft and the series' early development. He's also written for many other publications including WIRED, MacFormat, Bloody Disgusting, VGC, GamesRadar, Nintendo Life, VRV Blog, The Loop Magazine, SUPER JUMP, Gizmodo, Film Stories, TopTenReviews, Miketendo64 and Daily Star.

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2 Simple Ways to Clear History in Safari

Last Updated: January 4, 2024

This article was co-authored by Luigi Oppido . Luigi Oppido is the Owner and Operator of Pleasure Point Computers in Santa Cruz, California. Luigi has over 25 years of experience in general computer repair, data recovery, virus removal, and upgrades. He is also the host of the Computer Man Show! broadcasted on KSQD covering central California for over two years. This article has been viewed 125,135 times.

You can delete all of your web browsing history or specific entries on both the OS X and the iOS versions of Safari. This can come in handy if you're on a public computer, or need to remove a certain website from your browsing history. No matter what system you're using, it will only take a few moments.

OS X (All History)

• If you're using an older version of Safari, click the "History" menu instead and select "Clear History".

• Note that this will delete history across all devices connected to your iCloud account.

OS X (Single Entries)

iOS (All History)

• If you want to delete a single entry, click here .

iOS (Single Entries)

Expert Q&A

You Might Also Like

• ↑ http://osxdaily.com/2014/11/28/clear-recent-web-history-safari-mac-os-x/
• ↑ http://osxdaily.com/2014/11/21/delete-specific-history-safari-ios/

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How to clear browsing history on Safari on iPhone or Mac

You can clear your Safari browsing history on both iOS and Mac

As tracking goes, Safari keeping your browsing history is less about privacy-busting security and more about just being useful. It's your history that means Safari remembers where to go to when you choose forward and back within a site, for instance.

It's also how Safari is able to offer you a list of sites that you regularly go to, on account of how handy it is to be able to back to them with a click. History also does keep things you may not expect, though, such as a list of items you've downloaded.

If you don't want that, though, or you're just fed up of Safari going to site addresses you haven't looked at in years, you can wipe the whole browsing history.

On a Mac, you can also wipe, for instance, just the last hour's browsing history. So if you share Safari and it's someone's special birthday coming up, you can avoid them inadvertently finding out you plan to surprise them with dance lessons.

How to clear search history on Safari on Mac

• In Safari, choose the History menu
• Select Clear History from the very bottom of the menu
• In the dialog box that appears, choose from clearing the last hour , today , today and yesterday , or all history
• Click on Clear History

Alternatively, within Safari you can press Command-Y and the current page will be replaced by a history list. There's a Clear History... button toward the top right.

Clicking on that gives you exactly the same dialog about choosing how far back you want to clear your browsing history. But this page does also give you one extra option — the ability to delete one specific item.

How to clear one item from Safari search history on Mac

• In Safari, press Command-Y
• From the long list, click once on a history item to select it
• Right-click to bring up a menu, then choose Delete

Alternatively, if you select one, two, or more items in the history list, you can then press the Delete key to remove them all.

That kind of precision removal is only possible on your Mac, not on iOS . However, whether it's precision or wholesale clearing of your history, though, there is a way to replicate it on iOS.

If you have set iCloud to share your Safari history, then just doing this on your Mac also removes the history from your iPhone, and iPad.

Otherwise, you're stuck with going to your iOS device. And then with clearing the entire history.

How to clear search history on iPhone

• Go to Settings on your iOS device
• Tap on Safari
• Scroll down to Clear History and Website Data
• Tap that, then tap Clear History and Data to confirm

One important thing to note is that you can't selectively remove, say, today's browsing history on the iPhone or iPad . It's all or nothing, with iOS.

What you leave behind

Clearing your history like this does remove the list of sites and pages you've visited. It does mean you can't go back to that site you read last Tuesday, not without remembering what it was and going there yourself.

What it doesn't remove, though, is the information that gets used by something like AutoFill. If you have your address, for instance, and you're used to online forms being filled out with it, you've still got that feature.

You've also still got anything you downloaded. It's purely that Safari won't keep the list of downloads.

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How To Check Safari History on iPhone and Mac [2024]

Recently a man in the EU discovered that his Safari browsing history was included in his Apple data download. After I discussed the issue with him and compared my data download, it turns out he received a lot more information than I did.

After this experience, I decided to research and learn different ways to manage your Safari browser history on your Mac and iPhone. But before we dive into this, what exactly is the Safari Browsing History and why is it so important?

How To Check Safari Search History on iPhone?

1.  Open Safari .

2.  In the Menu bar, look at the lower right corner of the screen and tap the History icon.

A Pop-up window showing the list of all the websites you have visited in Safari will appear. Also, If you want to, you can search the history for particular websites, and do this:

3. Enter a phrase into the search bar at the top of the screen.

This filters just the websites with that particular keyword or phrase. It is also important to know how to clear your Safari Browsing History.

To do this, follow these simple steps below.

How To Check Safari Search History on Mac?

There are a number of ways you can manage your browser history for Safari on both your macOS and iOS. Here are different techniques and how you can do it. First, let´s consider how to view your browsing history.

Time needed:  1 minute

View Your Safari Browsing History on Mac

Follow the simple steps below to view your browsing history on your iPhone as well.

Delete Your Safari Browsing History on your Mac

To clear your browser history on Mac, follow these straightforward steps:

1.  Open Safari.

2. Open the  History Bar  at the top of the screen.

3.  Click the Show All History tab in the Menu bar or press Command (⌘) + Y in Safari, which will take you to the history view.

4.  Select Clear History .

A pop-up menu will come up and it will allow you to choose how far back you want to clear the existing history. This option lets you choose if you want to clear your history from the last hour, day, week, two weeks, a month, or even for all time.

5.  Choose your preferred option and click Clear History .

Great! You have successfully cleared your Safari browsing history on Mac. Now, Let´s see how we can do this for iPhone as well.

Delete Your Safari Browsing History on iPhone

Clearing your browsing history on your iPhone is also easy. Follow these simple steps too:

1.  Open the Settings app on your iPhone.

2.  Scroll through the options and click on Safari .

3.  Again, scroll and find the Clear History and Website Data option.

4. Tap Clear History and Data .

Yes! You have successfully cleared all Browsing History on Mac and iPhone.

Following these next easy steps to remove all the records of the web pages or sites you have visited over the selected period.

You can also prevent Safari from tracking your browsing history. Let us quickly dive into this too.

Prevent Safari From Tracking Your Browsing History on Mac

Suppose you prevent Safari from tracking the history of the websites you visited. In that case, it means that Safari cannot save any record of the searches you perform or the websites you visit. How can you do this?

2.  Navigate to click Safari in the Menu Ba r .

3.  Select Preferences from the Menu Ba r .

4.  Next, Click on the Privacy tab.

5. You´ll see a box that is next to Prevent cross-site tracking, Check the box.

Let me also walk you through how to do this on your iPhone.

Prevent Safari From Tracking Your Browsing History on iPhone

1.  Open the Settings  app.

2.  Scroll down to the bottom and tap Safari .

3.  On this page as well, scroll down to the Privacy and Security section .

4.  Toggle on the switch that is next to the Prevent Cross-Site Tracking .

You have successfully prevented Safari from tracking your browsing history both on your Mac and iPhone!

If you prefer additional protection for your browsing activity and for your iPhone and Mac overall, we recommend a dedicated antivirus like Intego Internet Security that can block malicious websites from accessing your data.

That is not all. Sometimes, you might not want your Safari Browser to save your browsing history, website data, or even cookies. Using the private browsing mode is the solution to this.

Keep Your Browsing History Private on Mac

To keep your browsing history private on Mac, you need to use the private browsing mode. Follow these very easy and straightforward steps to do this:

2. Look at the top of your screen, select File , and click New Private Window .

A new window will be opened and this will disallow Safari from saving your Browsing or search history.

This would also restrict Safari from sending auto-fill information to any website you visit while using the window. You can also do the same on your iPhone.

Keep Your Browsing History Private on iPhone

2.  Tap the Page tab in the bottom right corner of the Safari screen.

3. Switch the page option to Private .

4. Finally, Click the ‘+’ sign at the bottom left corner to open a new private browser.

Keeping your browsing history private is very important, but in some situations, you may have visited a website by mistake or you don´t want another person to see that you visited the website. In this situation, the best thing you should do is delete the individual website from your Browsing history. Let me quickly show you how to do this:

Delete Individual Websites From Your Browsing History for Mac

To delete individual items or websites from your Safari Browsing history, follow these very easy steps:

1.  Open your Safari Browser .

2.  Click on the History tab in the Menu bar

3.  Select the Show All History tab

4.  Find the website you want to remove and Right-click   on it.

5.  Select the Delete from History option.

Let me quickly walk you through how to do this on iPhone as well.

Delete Individual Websites From Your Browsing History for iPhone

1.  Open the Safari app.

2.  Click the history tab at the bottom right corner of the screen of the browser.

3.  Look for the website you want to delete from your history and swipe left on it.

4.  Finally, Tap the Delete  option.

Yeah! You have successfully deleted individual websites from your browsing history. But if you use Safari on multiple devices of yours such as iPhone, Mac, and maybe your iPad, iCloud sync can help you to keep all your history synchronized across all the devices you own. This means that you can start browsing on your iPhone and continue later on your Mac. Let me quickly show you how to set this up.

Manage Your Safari Browsing History Across Multiple Devices Using iCloud Sync

To use the iCloud sync feature, you must have iCloud enabled on all the devices you own and they all need to be signed in to the iCloud with the same Apple ID.

If you have Safari iCloud syncing turned on and you clear your history, it will also be cleared from all of your other Apple devices with iCloud sync enabled. How can you enable and disable iCloud sync for your Safari browsing history on your Mac and iPhone?

Manage Your Safari Browsing History Across Multiple Devices Using iCloud Sync on Mac

2. Select Safari > Preferences > iCloud Option

4. Check the checkbox next to Safari to make sure that it syncs across all your devices

To sync your browsing history across certain devices, do this:

5. Click on the Manage Devices Button and select the devices you want to sync with.

6. Click Done  

Manage Your Safari Browsing History Across Multiple Devices Using iCloud Sync on iPhone

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.

2.  Click on your name at the top of the settings screen.

3.  Tap the iCloud option.

4.  Under Apps Using iCloud , select Safari.

5.  Finally, toggle on the switch next to Safari.

Great! You have successfully enabled iCloud sync for Safari browsing history and it will be updated on all your devices using the same Apple ID when you visit new websites or close an existing Safari tab.

Suppose you’ve carefully followed the methods and steps I’ve provided in this step-by-step guide. In that case, you will have a great edge over efficiently managing your Safari browsing history on one or even multiple devices.

Which of these methods worked for you?  Feel free to share your thoughts here in the comment section. Also, if you are having problems with iCloud syncing on your devices, check out our guide for effective solutions.

One thought on “ How To Check Safari History on iPhone and Mac [2024] ”

I like to use imymac——Browser Cleaner to clean up browser traces, historical records, etc.Browser Cleanup lets you clean up junk files, cookies, and history, eliminate deceleration reasons, clear privacy traces to protect your confidential data and more. It is performed on Mac OS and Mac OS X.

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How to See the Safari History on an iPhone: A Step-by-Step Guide

Seeing the Safari history on an iPhone is a straightforward process. Just open the Safari app, tap the book icon at the bottom of the screen, and then tap the clock icon to view your browsing history. You’ll be able to see a list of all the websites you’ve visited, sorted by date.

After completing this action, you’ll have access to the list of websites you’ve visited using Safari on your iPhone. This can be useful for finding a site you forgot to bookmark, checking what sites were visited on a particular day, or clearing your history for privacy reasons.

Introduction

Browsing the internet on your iPhone is a daily activity for many of us, but how often do we think about our digital footprints? Whether you’re a privacy-conscious individual, a parent wanting to check what your kids have been up to online, or simply trying to find that one website you stumbled upon a few days ago, knowing how to view your Safari history is essential.

Safari, the default browser on all Apple devices, keeps track of all the websites you visit, allowing you to revisit a site whenever you need to. However, not everyone knows how to access this history. This article is for iPhone users of all ages and skill levels who want to learn how to see their Safari history. It’s an important skill that can help you in a variety of situations. Plus, it’s super easy to do!

How to See the Safari History on an iPhone

The following steps will guide you through the process of viewing your Safari history on an iPhone.

Open the Safari app on your iPhone. Upon opening the Safari app, you’ll be greeted with your default homepage or the last page you visited.

Tap the book icon located at the bottom of the screen. This icon will take you to your bookmarks, reading list, and history.

Tap the clock icon to view your browsing history. The clock icon is typically at the top of the list, and tapping it will display all the sites you’ve visited, organized by date.

Additional Information

When browsing through your Safari history, you can tap on any entry to revisit that webpage immediately. Plus, if you’re looking to delete certain parts of your history, you can do that too! Just swipe left on any entry and tap ‘Delete’ to remove it from your history. If you want to clear your entire browsing history, there’s an option for that at the bottom of the history list. Remember, once it’s gone, it’s gone for good, so make sure you really don’t need that history before you delete it.

Additionally, keep in mind that if you’re using iCloud to sync Safari across your devices, your history will be visible on all devices signed into that iCloud account. This is super handy if you want to access a webpage you visited on your Mac from your iPhone, for example. However, if privacy is a concern for you, consider using private browsing mode, which doesn’t save any history.

• Open the Safari app.
• Tap the book icon.
• Select the clock icon to view history.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do i delete my safari history.

To delete your Safari history, go to the history page, tap ‘Clear’ at the bottom, and choose the time range you want to clear.

Can I search through my Safari history?

Yes, there’s a search bar at the top of the history page where you can enter keywords to find specific sites.

Will my Safari history be synced across all my Apple devices?

If you’re using iCloud Safari syncing, then yes, your history will be visible on all devices signed into that iCloud account.

How long does Safari keep my browsing history?

Safari typically keeps your browsing history for up to one month, but this can be adjusted in settings.

Is there a way to keep my browsing private?

Yes, you can use private browsing mode in Safari, which does not save your history or AutoFill information.

Knowing how to see the Safari history on your iPhone is a neat trick that can save you time and ensure that you’re never too far from a useful website you’ve visited. Whether it’s for privacy, parental control, or pure convenience, mastering this skill is a must for any iPhone user. Remember to manage your history responsibly and enjoy the vast wealth of information the internet has to offer right at your fingertips. Happy browsing!

Matt Jacobs has been working as an IT consultant for small businesses since receiving his Master’s degree in 2003. While he still does some consulting work, his primary focus now is on creating technology support content for SupportYourTech.com.

His work can be found on many websites and focuses on topics such as Microsoft Office, Apple devices, Android devices, Photoshop, and more.

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How To View History in Safari on a PC, Tablet, or Mobile Device

Lee Stanton Lee Stanton is a versatile writer with a concentration on the software landscape, covering both mobile and desktop applications as well as online technologies. Read more July 19, 2022

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Safari for iOS provides a convenient way to keep track of your browsing history. You can use it to call up web pages quickly you’ve visited. You can easily go down the rabbit hole when performing searches online. This makes it difficult to remember exactly where you found a valuable piece of information. Reviewing your browsing history can retrace your steps, saving you the arduous task of finding the data from scratch. This article covers how to see your history in Safari. Check out how to do that below.

How to View History in Safari on an iPhone

Safari stores your browser activity, making it possible to revisit sites at a later date. You could either view your most recent history or check out the entire list of previously visited websites. This is how to do that.

You have now accessed your recent history on Safari.

If you would like to view your complete Safari browsing history, here’s how to do that.

You’ve now accessed your Safari browsing history.

How to View History in Safari on an iPad

Safari allows users to keep track of their browsing history. This feature can then be used to revisit sites that might be of interest. You could either view recent history or peruse all your browsing data. The steps listed here detail how to do that.

You have now viewed the recent history on your iPad.

To view your complete browsing data, follow the steps outlined here.

How to View History in Safari on a Mac

Your Safari browsing history allows you to revisit sites you viewed in the past. You can even use the search tool so that you don’t have to scroll through the entire list of results to find what you are looking for. Here’s how to view your browsing history on an iPhone.

• Click on it to open the page in your browser.

You can now see your history in Safari. If you signed in to your device using the same Apple ID that you use on your other Apple devices, that history would also be displayed on your Mac.

Can You View History From Private Browsing?

Private Browsing is a feature that prevents Safari from storing information on sites you have visited. It ensures there’s no record of your online activity, including passwords or autofill information. It also prevents iCloud from storing data on any tabs that you open. To provide an additional layer of privacy, Safari prevents sites and content providers from tracking you. Any cookies you might have picked up are deleted once you close the tab.

This means that Safari doesn’t store your browsing history when you activate Private Browsing. You will therefore be unable to view it in the future.

How to Clear History in Safari

If your Apple device is lagging or otherwise misbehaving, you might consider clearing your browsing data. This is how to do that.

Your browsing data will now be removed from your device.

Retracing Your Steps

Like many web browsers, Safari stores information on websites you’ve visited. This data can come in handy when you want to go back to a particular site. This guide shows you how to retrieve the browsing history stored on your Apple devices.

Have you viewed your browsing history on Safari? What did you think of the process? Let us know in the comments below.

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How to Manage Browsing History on Safari for iPad

Protect your privacy on your mobile device

What to Know

• Open Safari . Select the Bookmarks icon.
• Choose the Clock icon to open the History pane displaying the list of sites visited during the past month.
• Select Clear and indicate which entries to delete using one of the four options: The last hour, Today, Today and yesterday, and All Time.

This article explains how to manage browsing history on Safari for iPad, including how to view and delete the iPad Safari history, cookies, and stored website data. This article applies to all iPad devices with iOS 10 or iPadOS 13 or later. The process for managing browser history in Safari on an iPhone is slightly different.

How to View and Delete Your iPad Browser History in Safari

Reviewing your iPad browser history is a straightforward process. Safari stores a log of websites you visit along with other related components, such as the cache and cookies. These elements enhance your browsing experience, but you may want to delete your browsing history for privacy reasons.

You can manage your web browsing history on the iPad in two ways. The easiest option is to do it directly in Safari:

Open the Safari web browser.

Select the Bookmarks icon (it looks like an open book) at the top of the screen. 

Select the clock icon to open the History pane. A list of sites visited over the past month appears.

To delete a single website from the browser history, swipe left on its name.

Select  Clear at the bottom of the panel to reveal four options: The last hour, Today, Today and yesterday, and All time.

Select your preferred option to remove the browsing history from your iPad and all connected iCloud devices.

How to Delete History and Cookies From the iPad Settings App

Deleting the browser history through Safari doesn't remove all the data it stores. For a thorough cleaning, go to the iPad Settings app. You can also delete the browsing history and cookies from the Settings app. Clearing the history this way deletes everything Safari saved.

Select the gear icon on the Home screen to open the iPad Settings .

Scroll down and select Safari .

Scroll through the list of settings and select  Clear History and Website Data to delete the browsing history, cookies, and other cached website data.

Select  Clear to confirm, or select Cancel to return to the Safari settings without removing any data.

How to Delete Stored Website Data on iPad

Safari sometimes stores additional website data on top of a list of web pages you visited. For example, it can save passwords and preferences for frequently visited sites. If you want to delete this data but don't want to clear the browsing history or cookies, selectively delete specific data saved by Safari using the iPad Settings app.

Open the iPad Settings app.

Scroll to the bottom of the Safari settings screen and select Advanced .

Select  Website Data to display a breakdown of the data each website currently stores on the iPad.

Select Show All Sites to display the expanded list if necessary.

Select  Remove All Website Data  at the bottom of the screen to delete the site data at once, or swipe left on individual items to clear items one at a time.

Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day

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How to clear the cache on your iPhone (and why you should)

How many tabs are open on your mobile browser right now? Go ahead, check -- you might be surprised by what you find.

Americans spend over five hours a day on their smartphones. That's over five hours of your phone potentially accessing, retrieving, and saving cache and cookies, which can negatively impact your iPhone's storage space .

What is cache?

Cache is the temporary storage of some data, like parts of a website from the last time you visited it, for example. Browser cache is content from a website that is stored on your phone during a browser session to help the browser execute faster the next time you visit that page.

Also:  How to clear Google search cache on Android

Cache data can slow down your phone's overall browsing performance, however, since it takes up storage space on your device, so it's good to clear it out regularly. In this article, we mainly focus on clearing web browser cache on an iPhone, but you should know that other types of cache include mobile app cache and CPU cache.

How to clear cache on iPhone

What you'll need: Everything you need to clear your browser cache is within the iPhone's settings app or the Safari app, so grab your iPhone to get started.

Keep in mind that clearing the cache can clear private data, which can close all open tabs in Safari. This is also likely to log you out of all your websites, prompting you to sign in again the next time you open them. 

How do I clear the cache from Chrome on iPhone?

If Google Chrome is your preferred browser, it may have a substantial amount of data stored on your device, which could also slow down performance. 

To clear the cache in Chrome, open the Google Chrome app and follow these steps:

• Tap  Settings .
• Go to  Privacy and Security .
• Select  Clear Browsing Data .
• Select the time from which to delete the data (if you want to delete all your browsing history, choose All Time ).
• Go through the items you'd like to delete, like your Browsing History, Cookies and Site Data, Cached Images and Files, Saved Passwords , and Autofill Data.
• Confirm by tapping  Clear Browsing Data  at the bottom of the screen.
• Tap Done when you've deleted the Chrome cache.

Also: Apple releases iOS 17.4 with podcast transcripts, new emojis, and EU app store changes

Clearing the browsing and cache data in Google Chrome doesn't close all open tabs, but it will refresh each tab and log you out of websites. Once you tap on one of the tabs you want to access, you'll have to log back in.

How can I browse on Safari without history?

If you're learning how to clear cache on an iPhone, you may also be wondering if there's a way to use Safari without saving any browsing history. You can turn on Private Browsing by following these steps:

• Open  Safari .
• Tap on  Tabs .
• Choose Private .

You can also enable private browsing by going to your iPhone Settings, finding Safari, and toggling on the private option. 

How do I clear my app cache on my iPhone?

To clear the app cache from your iPhone Settings app, you can either delete the app and reinstall it, offload it, or try to clear the cache from within the app. Unfortunately, iOS apps don't have consistent settings across the board that would allow you to clear the cache of every app.

Also: Apple warns: Don't put your wet iPhone in rice. Do this instead

Apps like TikTok and CapCut, for example, have options to Clear Cache within their respective settings. Amazon lets users delete their browsing history, while the Reddit app can clear local history. It all depends on what the app's settings let you do. 

Is "clear cache" the same as offloading?

Not exactly, though app offloading can help if your phone is slowed down by low storage. To offload an app  means to uninstall an app without deleting any documents or data associated with it. 

Also: Apple secures iMessage against threats from the future

To offload an app, go to  Settings , then  General , choose  iPhone Storage  and select the app to offload, then tap  Offload App . If you ever download it again, you'll pick up where you left off for that app.

Are cookies and cache the same thing?

Cookies and cache are not the same. Cookies are data files that websites send to your phone, including things like saved passwords to keep you logged into an account or even the website preferences from the previous time you visited. 

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Though they do sound harmless, cookies can also track how you browse the internet. They monitor patterns in your browsing and search history, even seeing what you clicked on or what your mouse hovered over. Ever made an innocuous search on Amazon only to find ads for it on all the apps you use? Cookies likely made that possible.

Can I block cookies on my iPhone?

While you can block cookies on Safari, the ranks are divided on whether you should. Blocking cookies entirely means that websites won't be able to get information from you, but it also means that some websites may not even work correctly on your browser. A lot of users actually enjoy a more personalized browsing experience, so cookies are a good thing for them.

 If you'd like to block cookies in Safari, follow these steps:

• Go to  Settings  and select  Safari .
• Tap on the toggle next to  Block All Cookies .

There are also third-party extensions that help you block cookies and trackers in Google Chrome, like Ghostery and Disconnect .

How do I check iPhone storage?

On an iPhone, Settings can show you what's taking up most of your media storage, like photos, videos, and music. You can also see what each particular app's storage consumption is, which includes temporary data. To view the details of your iPhone's storage space, follow these steps:

• Go to the iPhone Settings .
• Tap on General .
• Select iPhone Storage .
• Scroll through to find the app you're looking for.
• Tap on the app to view storage status and options.

Unfortunately, you can't clear your iPhone cache for third-party apps by going into your Settings app, but this gives you a visual of your iPhone's storage and the option to delete or offload apps.

Also: Here's the fastest way to declutter your iPhone and free up Gigabytes of space

When you look at your device's storage space, you'll probably see recommended steps you can take to optimize your iPhone's storage, like offloading unused apps.

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Clear the history, cache and cookies from Safari on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch

Find out how to delete your history, cookies and cache in Settings.

Delete your history, cache and cookies

Clear your cookies and the cache, but keep your history

Delete a website from your history, block cookies, use content blockers, delete history, cache and cookies.

Go to Settings > Safari.

Tap Clear History and Website Data.

Clearing your history, cookies and browsing data from Safari won't change your AutoFill information.

When there’s no history or website data to be cleared, the button to clear it will turn grey. The button may also be grey if you have web content restrictions set up under Content & Privacy Restrictions in Screen Time .

To visit sites without leaving history, turn Private Browsing on .

Go to Settings > Safari > Advanced > Website Data.

Tap Remove All Website Data.

When there’s no website data to be cleared, the button to clear it will turn grey. The button may also be grey if you have web content restrictions set up under Content & Privacy Restrictions in Screen Time .

Open the Safari app.

Tap the Edit button, then select the website(s) that you want to delete from your history.

Tap the Delete button.

A cookie is a piece of data that a site puts on your device so that site can remember you when you visit again.

To block cookies:

Go to Settings > Safari > Advanced.

Turn on Block All Cookies.

If you block cookies, some web pages may not work. Here are some examples:

You'll likely not be able to sign in to a site even when using your correct user name and password.

You may see a message that cookies are required or that your browser's cookies are turned off.

Some features on a site may not work.

Content blockers are third-party apps and extensions that let Safari block cookies, images, resources, pop-ups and other content.

To get a content blocker:

Download a content blocking app from the App Store.

Tap Settings > Safari > Extensions.

Tap to turn on a listed content blocker.

You can use more than one content blocker. If you need help, contact the app developer .

Information about products not manufactured by Apple, or independent websites not controlled or tested by Apple, is provided without recommendation or endorsement. Apple assumes no responsibility with regard to the selection, performance or use of third-party websites or products. Apple makes no representations regarding third-party website accuracy or reliability. Contact the vendor for additional information.

Related topics

Contact Apple Support

Need more help? Save time by starting your support request online and we'll connect you to an expert.

How to search your browsing history on an iPhone, in Safari or Google Chrome

• It's easy to search the history on your iPhone's web browser to return to a specific webpage you've visited previously. 
• You can search the history on your iPhone in the Safari or Google Chrome browsers with these steps. 
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The search history on your iPhone's web browser can be helpful in taking you back to a site you want to see again, but scrolling through the whole list can be time consuming and annoying. 

Luckily, there's a search tool to help you get back to websites you may have visited a while ago — without going through the trouble of trying to remember the date you visited it. 

This feature is available on both the Safari and Google Chrome browsers. Here's how to use it to search your web history on an iPhone . 

Check out the products mentioned in this article:

Iphone 11 (from $699.99 at best buy), how to search the history on your iphone in safari .

1. Open the Safari app.

2. Tap the book icon at the bottom of your screen. It is the second icon from the right. This will bring up your search history.

3. Pull down on this History menu to reveal a bar at the top labeled "Search History" with a magnifying glass to the left of it.

4. Tap the search bar you just revealed to bring up the keypad, and type your search query. The query doesn't have to be exact to bring up results.

5. The result you are looking for should appear. Tap it to return to the website you visited.

How to search history on your iPhone in Google Chrome

1. Open the Google Chrome app.

2. Tap the three dots in the bottom right hand corner of the screen. This will bring up an options menu.

3. Tap "History," which is the second to last option on the list of items in blue. The icon looks like a clock with an arrow around the outside pointing counterclockwise.

4. On the new History page, tap the search bar at the top to bring up your keyboard.

5. Type your search query into the search bar. 

6. Tap the name of the site you were looking for. This will bring you back to the page.

Related coverage from How To Do Everything: Tech :

How to close all of the open tabs on your iphone's safari browser at once, how to stop pop-ups from appearing on your iphone's safari browser, how to add bookmarks and favorites on an iphone's safari browser for quick access to your preferred webpages, how to clear the safari search history on your iphone in three different ways.

On February 28, Axel Springer, Business Insider's parent company, joined 31 other media groups and filed a $2.3 billion suit against Google in Dutch court, alleging losses suffered due to the company's advertising practices.

Insider Inc. receives a commission when you buy through our links.

Watch: I'm a diehard iPhone user who switched to Android for a week — here's what I loved and hated about the Google Pixel 3 XL

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Home › Privacy basics › How to delete your search history

How to delete your search history

Posted on April 18th, 2024 by Douglas Crawford in Privacy basics .

Your search history is a window into your inner life . Anyone with access to it knows what your hobbies and interests are, your sexual orientation and preferences, the things that worry you (for example your medical concerns), your political affiliations, your financial situation, and much more. 

In this article, we’ll explore why it’s important to delete your search and (closely related) browsing history and how to do it, but also the limitations of deleting your search and browsing history. Unfortunately, you can’t delete everything that’s out there.

However, moving forward, you can take steps to prevent others from seeing and logging your search and browsing history in the first place. We’ll also discuss these. 

Why you should delete your search history

• How to delete Google search history on your desktop
• How to delete Google search history on mobile apps

How to delete search history in Play Store

How to delete youtube search history, how to delete google maps search history, how to delete gmail search history, how to delete search history in firefox, how to delete search history in chrome, how to delete search history in edge, how to delete search history on iphone and in safari.

• How to delete search history on Samsung Internet

Search history you can’t delete

Does turning off personalized ads prevent google from tracking me.

• Prevention is always better than a cure

As we noted above, your search history and browsing history reveal a great deal about you. This highly personal information is extremely valuable for the purposes of surveillance and influencing your behaviors.

Targeted advertising

The more advertising and analytics companies know about you, the more successfully they can target you with ever more personalized ads. Our analysis found that your data may be worth over $600 a year for advertising purposes alone.

Alphabet (Google’s parent company) is now worth over $1.9 trillion , a staggering fortune, made by offering services that are almost entirely “free” to use, but which it monetizes by selling your search queries to advertising and analytics companies.

Google so dominates the search engine landscape that searching for anything online is now commonly referred to as “googling”, and its search services form the backbone of the other services it offers, such as Google Maps, Gmail, Google Calendar, and more.  

Government mass surveillance

In 2013, Edward Snowden exposed the stupefying scale and ambition of the United States and United Kingdom’s mass surveillance programs, which operated on a “ collect it all ” principle to harvest data from almost everyone on the planet. Little has changed in real terms since then, and in many ways, things are now worse . 

And it’s not just NSA and its 5 Eyes, 9 Eyes, and 14 Eyes allies that spy on your search history. Almost all governments have some form of mass surveillance system, even if it’s only legislation that requires internet service providers (ISPs ) to log their customers’ browsing histories and store this data where it can be accessed by government agencies for a certain amount of time. 

How to delete Google search history

You can tell Google to delete your search history. Whether it really deletes it is hard to know, but doing this probably prevents Google from using past search history to directly target you with ads or selling it to third-party advertising and analytics companies. It’s anybody’s guess whether governments can still access this “deleted” data.

How to delete Google search history on your desktop 

The easiest way to delete your entire Google search history across all apps and devices is using a desktop browser. To do this:

1. Visit myactivity.google.com/myactivity and sign in with your Google account. You can now review the information Google keeps about you. When you’re ready, click Delete .

2. Select All time (or whatever time range you prefer)

3. Click Select all (or select which apps you wish to delete your search history from). You can delete the search history from all Google apps here, including Google Search, Gmail, Google Maps, Google Play, and more. Click Next when you’re ready.

4. Click Delete to confirm you’d like to delete your activity.  

How to delete Google search history on mobile apps 

On mobile devices, each individual Google app allows you to delete your search history. In some cases, doing this only deletes your search history for that app, while in others, you can delete your search history for that app across all your devices. 

In some apps, you get taken to the My Google Activity page, where you can manage and delete your search history for all Google apps and services you use. For example:

Deleting your search history in the Google Play Store only deletes your search history on the Play Store app on the current device.

Open the Play Store app on your Android device or Chromebook. Tap your profile picture and go to Settings →  General → Account and device preferences → Clear device search history .

Deleting your YouTube search history deletes your YouTube search history (only) across all your apps and devices. 

On Android, iOS, and iPadOS, open the YouTube app and tap your profile picture → Settings → Manage all history → Saving your YouTube history → Turn off .

On Android, iOS, and iPadOS, open the Google Maps app and tap your profile picture → Settings → Maps history → Delete → Delete all (or select whatever timescale you prefer). From here, you can also tap the Controls tab to manage your Google search history across all apps. 

On Android, deleting your search history in the Gmail app only deletes your search history for the Gmail app on the current device. Open the Gmail app and go to ☰ → ⚙ Settings → General settings . Tap ⋮ at the top right corner → Clear search history .

On the Gmail app for iPhone and iPad, you effectively get access to the full My Google Activity web app. Open the app and go to  ☰ → ⚙ Settings → Account → tap on your account → Your info, privacy, and security → Data and Privacy tab → History settings → Web & App Activity → Turn off .

How to delete your browser search history

Of course, it may not just be Google and your government that you’d rather not see your search history. Deleting your browser search history prevents friends, family, and colleagues who have physical access to your device from seeing what you’ve been up to online. 

In this section, we’ll look at how to delete your search history in a selection of popular browsers on different platforms. Please be aware, though, that much like using incognito/private mode , deleting your browser history does nothing to prevent anyone on the internet from seeing your search history , such as your ISP or the websites you visit. 

Learn about browsers that are good for your privacy

On the desktop, open Firefox and go to ☰ → Settings → Privacy & Security → History → Clear History… → T ime range to clear → select Everything from the dropdown menu (or whichever time range you prefer) → Clear now .

You can also set Firefox to automatically delete your search history every time you close the app. To do this, go to ☰ → Settings → Privacy & Security → History → ensure Clear history when firefox closes is selected . 

On Android, open the Firefox app and tap ⋮ → History → Settings → Privacy and security → Delete browsing data .

On an iPhone or iPad, open the Firefox app and go to ☰ → Settings ⚙ → Privacy → Data Management → Clear Private Data .

On your desktop, open Chrome and go to ☰ → Clear browsing history → select All time from the dropdown menu (or whichever time range you prefer) → Clear data .

On Android, open the Chrome app and tap ⋮ → Clear browsing data → select All time from the dropdown menu (or whichever time range you prefer) → Clear data .

On an iPhone or iPad, open the Chrome app and go to  … → History → Clear Browsing Data… → select All time from the dropdown menu (or whichever time range you prefer) → Clear Browsing Data .

Open Microsoft Edge in Windows and go to … → ⚙ Settings → Privacy, search, and services → Clear browsing data → Clear browsing data now → Choose what to clear → select All time from the dropdown menu (or whichever time range you prefer) → Clear now .

You can also set Edge to automatically delete your search history every time you close the app. To do this, go to  … → ⚙ Settings → Privacy, search, and services → Clear browsing data → Choose what to clear every time you close the browser . Toggle Browsing history and any other data you’d like deleted between sessions on . 

On macOS, open Safari and go to the macOS menu bar → History → Clear History…. → Clear → select All History from the dropdown menu (or whichever time range you prefer) → Clear History .

On an iPhone or iPad, open the Settings app (not the Safari app) → Safari → Clear History and Website Data → Clear Timeframe → select All History (or whichever time range you prefer) → Clear History .

How to delete search history on Samsung Internet 

On your Android device, tap ☰ → History → ⋮ → Clear history (to delete all your search history).

You can ask Google to delete your search history from its apps, and you can delete any search history stored locally on your devices. However, your ISP can see every website you visit online, and almost all ISPs log this information (in many countries, they are required to do so by law). 

In some counties (such as the United States), ISPs are permitted to sell customer data to advertisers . In almost every country, they will hand over the data at the request of law enforcement or government agencies.  

No ISP will delete your browsing history just because you ask it to, so there’s little you can do about the data it already has. However, moving forward, you can prevent your ISP from seeing what you do by subscribing to a VPN service such as Proton VPN. 

A VPN routes your internet connection from your device to a VPN server run by a commercial VPN service such as Proton VPN. The connection between your device and the VPN server is securely encrypted so that no one sitting between your device and the VPN server can see the contents of your data. 

DNS queries , which translate human-friendly URLs into computer-friendly numerical values, are usually handled by your ISP. But when you connect to a VPN, it routes these DNS queries through the encrypted VPN tunnel and handles them itself. 

Learn more about how a VPN works

Your ISP can see that you’re connected to an IP address belonging to the VPN server but can’t see which websites you connect to after that.

This means that connecting to a VPN prevents your ISP from seeing what you do online. And because most government mass surveillance programs rely on requiring ISPs to log their customers’ browsing activity, a trustworthy VPN is effective at preventing governments from collecting your search history through untargeted surveillance. 

[ Protect your browsing history with Proton VPN ]

To prevent Google from using your browsing history to serve you personalized ads, head over to Google’s My Ad Center , sign in with your Google account, and toggle the Personalized ads switch off . 

Please be aware, though, that turning off personalized ads in Google’s settings doesn’t stop Google from tracking your browsing history . But it does change how that data is used. When you opt out of personalized ads, Google will no longer use your browsing history to serve you ads based on your interests and behavior. Instead, you’ll receive ads based on factors like your general location or the content of the site you are visiting.

However, Google may still collect and use your data for other purposes, such as improving its services, developing new features, or ensuring the security of its systems. This data collection can include your search history, the videos you watch on YouTube, and your interactions with other Google services.

Final thoughts: Prevention is always better than a cure

Asking Google (and other online services) to delete your search history from within its apps is probably better than doing nothing at all to protect your privacy. But a far better way is to use apps and services that don’t collect your search history in the first place. For example:

• Use Proton apps. When you search for emails in Proton Mail, events in Proton Calendar, or files in Proton Drive, the search is performed locally on your device . Just as our zero-access encryption ensures no one but you can access your data stored on Proton services, we also have no access to your search history. 
• Use your browser’s private or incognito mode . While your browser’s private or incognito mode will do nothing to prevent anyone on the internet from knowing what you do online, it will at least protect your online privacy from others who share your devices. 
• Use a privacy-focused search engine — Alternative search engines to Google, such as DuckDuckGo, don’t log your IP address or record your search history.
• Block third-party cookies to prevent websites from tracking you across the internet. 
• If you must use Google, don’t search while signed in to your Google Account, and use a VPN so Google can’t link your IP address to your searches. 

It’s not easy to stay private on the internet, but with some common sense and the help of privacy-focused services such Proton, it is possible to avoid most online tracking. 

Douglas Crawford

Starting with ProPrivacy and now Proton, Douglas has worked for many years as a technology writer. During this time, he has established himself as a thought leader specializing in online privacy. He has been quoted by the BBC News, national newspapers such as The Independent, The Telegraph, and The Daily Mail, and by international technology publications such as Ars Technica, CNET, and LinuxInsider. Douglas was invited by the EFF to help host a livestream session in support of net neutrality. At Proton, Douglas continues to explore his passion for privacy and all things VPN.

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School of art & art history, college of architecture design and the arts, what are the most meaningless jobs.

Overall, one third of Britons say their job is not making a meaningful contribution to the world

In 2015, a YouGov study found that 37% felt that their job “is not making a meaningful contribution to the world”.

Nine years later, a repeat of that study shows that this figure has since fallen fractionally, to one in three (33%). Most Britons (56%) do feel their job makes a meaningful contribution to the world.

This latest study is conducted with a much larger sample – 5,889 working Britons – allowing us to break the results down by industry to see in which fields the public believe their work has meaning and find their jobs fulfilling.

Those who work in ‘medical and health services’ are the most likely to feel that their job makes a meaningful contribution to the world, at 80%, shortly followed by those in education, at 77%. Only 13% and 16% in these industries respectively feel that their jobs are meaningless.

How-To Geek

How to clear your history in any browser.

Looking to delete your browsing history?

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Quick links, clear browsing history in google chrome for desktop, clear google chrome browsing history on android, iphone, or ipad, clear browsing history in safari on iphone and ipad, clear browsing history in mozilla firefox, clear browsing history in microsoft edge, clear browsing history in safari on a mac, internet explorer, key takeaways.

Press Ctrl+Shift+Delete to clear your browsing history on a Windows PC, or press Command+Shift+Delete on a Mac. Check your browser's settings to find this option on a mobile device.

All web browsers remember a list of the web pages you've visited. You can delete this list at any time, clearing your browsing history and erasing the tracks stored on your computer, smartphone, or tablet. Each browser has its own separate history, so you'll need to clear the history in multiple places if you've used more than one browser.

In the future, you can use private browsing mode to browse sensitive websites without your browser saving any history. You won't have to clear your history afterward.

To clear your browsing history in Chrome , on Windows , Mac , or Linux , click the three-dot menu icon found in the top-right corner of the browser, hover your mouse cursor over "More Tools," and choose "Clear Browsing Data." You can also press Ctrl+Shift+Delete to open this screen on Windows, or press Command+Shift+Delete on a Mac.

On a Mac, the backspace key is labeled "Delete." Pressing the Delete key beside the Home and Edit keys doesn't work.

To delete your entire browsing history, select from "the beginning of time" in the drop-down box at the top of the screen and check the "Browsing history" option. You can also choose to clear other private data from here, including your download history, cookies, and browser cache.

Related: How to Clear History in Google Chrome

To clear your browsing history in Google Chrome on Android , iPhone , or iPad , tap the three-dot menu icon > Settings > Privacy and Security > Clear Browsing Data.

You'll need to choose a time range that you want to delete from the drop-down list at the top of the screen. Select from the "beginning of time" to clear everything.

Related: How to Clear Your Browser History on Android

Ensure the "Browsing history" option is checked here and tap the "Clear Data" or "Clear Browsing Data" button. You can also choose to clear other types of personal data from here, including cookies and cached files.

Related: How to Clear Your Browsing History in Chrome for iOS

To clear your browsing history on Safari on an iPhone or iPad , open the Settings app and then navigate to Safari > Clear History and Website Data. Tap the "Clear History and Data" option to confirm your choice.

This button will clear all sensitive browsing data, including your cookies and cache.

Related: How to Clear Your Browsing History in Safari for iOS

To clear your browsing history in Firefox  on the desktop, click the three-line menu icon in the top-right corner of the browser and then navigate to History > Clear Recent History. You can also press Ctrl+Shift+Delete to open this tool on Windows or press Command+Shift+Delete on a Mac.

To delete your entire browsing history, select "Everything" at the top of the window and check "Browsing & Download History" in the detailed list of items to clear. You can also choose to clear other types of private data from here, including your cookies, browser cache, offline website data, and website-specific preferences.

Related: How to Clear Your Browsing History in Firefox

To clear your browsing history in Microsoft Edge , click the Three-Dot Menu > History > Three-Dot Menu Button > Clear Browsing Data. You can also press Ctrl+Shift+Delete to open these options on Windows or Command+Shift+Delete on Mac.

Ensure the "Browsing History" box is checked and click "Clear." You can also choose to clear other types of private data from here, including your download history, cached data, cookies, and tabs you've set aside . Just check the type of data you want to delete and click the "Clear" button.

Related: How to Clear Your Browsing History in Microsoft Edge

To clear your browsing history in Safari on a Mac , click History > Clear History from the menu bar at the top of your screen. Select the time period you want to clear history from and click "Clear History." To clear everything, select "all history".

Safari will delete your browsing history as well as your cookies, cached files, and other browsing-related data.

Related: How to Clear Safari's Browsing History and Cookies on macOS

To clear your browsing history in Internet Explorer , click menu > Safety > Delete Browsing History or press Ctrl+Shift+Delete.

Ensure the "History" option is checked here and click "Delete". You can also choose to delete other types of private data from here, including your temporary Internet files, download history, and cookies.

Microsoft has removed Internet Explorer and urges everyone to switch to Edge. Internet Explorer has repeatedly been used by  hackers to attack Windows users.  We recommend you immediately stop using Internet Explorer if you're still able to launch it.

By default, Internet Explorer will keep cookies and temporary Internet files for websites you've saved as favorites. Uncheck "Preserve Favorites website data" here to ensure Internet Explorer deletes everything.

If you're using another browser, you should be able to easily find a "clear browsing history" option somewhere in its menus or on its settings screen. For example, in Opera, this option is at menu > More tools > Clear browsing data.

Related: How to Clear Your Internet Explorer Browsing History