{"id":231965,"date":"2022-05-16T14:26:16","date_gmt":"2022-05-16T14:26:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jv16powertools.com\/?p=231965"},"modified":"2024-07-23T06:48:18","modified_gmt":"2024-07-23T06:48:18","slug":"how-to-clear-your-browsing-and-search-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jv16powertools.com\/blog\/how-to-clear-your-browsing-and-search-history\/","title":{"rendered":"How to clear your browsing and search history in any browser"},"content":{"rendered":"

Your browsing and search history are big parts of our daily life. It\u2019s estimated that an average person does Google searches between three to four searches each day. That\u2019s approximately 3.5 billion searches per day<\/u><\/a> and 1.2 trillion searches per year worldwide!<\/p>\n

While we search and browse for different reasons, for personal or professional purposes, the web history collected could quickly pile up. When it happens, they can potentially slow down your computer and affect your system performance. And if you\u2019re the type of person that cares about your privacy, letting your personal info be stored in the browser history isn\u2019t an ideal situation. That\u2019s why it\u2019s important to clear your Google search and delete your browsing history at least from time to time.<\/p>\n

How do web browsers work?<\/h2>\n

Before we move to the steps on how to clear your search and browsing history, let\u2019s take a look at how web browsers work. Put simply, a web browser is a translator that calls a server for you and then displays it into a web page that you can see and read.<\/p>\n

When doing so, a web browser will save several types of information, such as browsing history, download history, cookies, cached images and files, password and other sign-in data, autofill form data, and site settings.<\/p>\n

\"Type<\/a><\/p>\n

Browsing history, cookies, caches, and other saved data<\/h2>\n

Let\u2019s have a look at the type of data that browsers save and what it does. These will help you to decide which type of data and how further the history you’d like to delete.<\/p>\n

Browsing history<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Your browsing history contains the list of all the websites you visited. Whether you type the site address directly in the address bar, or you come across them from all your searches, the data will all be saved in the browsing history. This history will help you to retrace the web pages you visited, and bring you back to the specific site you want or to your favorite sites quickly.<\/p>\n

\"List<\/a><\/p>\n

By removing browsing history, browsers will no longer be able to autofill the URL of your frequently visited websites. But, you can simply use the bookmarks feature to visit your favorite sites easily.<\/p>\n

Download history<\/strong><\/h3>\n

This history contains the list of files you’ve downloaded. Not to be confused with the actual file itself, the history is simply a reference to the file downloaded which is available somewhere on your computer. If you want to find the exact location of the file, or if you want to download the same file again, you can simply refer to this history.<\/p>\n

\"View<\/a><\/p>\n

Cookies<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Cookies are small codes that websites saved inside your system to help recognize who you are. Examples of cookies at work are when you stay logged in to a website, when you still have your site preference the next time you revisit a site and when you’re able to see previous items in the cart from shopping sites. Though cookies are harmless for your computer, you might not like the constant tracking.<\/p>\n

\"View<\/a><\/p>\n

In addition to standard cookies, there are also other data called “Third-party cookies”. This type of cookie is placed inside the ads you come across, rather than the actual site pages. The third-party cookie will track your behavior across the sites and be responsible for personalized ads.<\/p>\n

Cached data<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Caches contain local copies of images and other elements of web pages to help you load a site quicker. An example of caches at work is when you go to a site that you visited before, browsers will pull the site images from cached files, rather than downloading the images all over again. This will reduce the amount of data downloaded so that the page loading process is faster.<\/p>\n

Saved passwords and sign-in data<\/h3>\n

Many browsers have built-in password managers that allow you to save passwords within the browsers. You may have seen that whenever you’re logging in to a new website, a new browser pop-up will ask whether you want to save the credentials to use later. If you want to have more control over your passwords and sign-in data, a password manager is a better option rather than saving your credentials in web browsers.<\/p>\n

Autofill form data<\/h3>\n

Autofill allows you to automatically fill in data that you previously submit through the browsers, such as personal data or credit card details. However, you may want to disable autofill to clear data that contains sensitive information to prevent potential cybercrime-related problems.<\/p>\n

Site settings<\/h3>\n

Site settings consist of site preference and permissions you gave to the browsers, such as enabling or disabling pop-ups, allowing or disallowing access to cameras and microphones, and more.<\/p>\n

How to clear search history<\/h2>\n

There are various reasons why clearing search history is a good practice. You may delete your search history if you want to have more control over the data and sensitive information you shared with the browsers, for example. Clearing search history also allows you to get rid of unused data that browsers saved over time, which prevents your computer to slows down.<\/p>\n

Each browser usually makes it easier to clear browsing data, but the steps to do it might be slightly different depending on the browser. Here is the step by step on how to do it:<\/p>\n

How to clear Google search history<\/h3>\n

There are two different ways how to clear your Google search history depending on how much history you want to delete. You can either delete your Google search history from your Google account, or from the Google Chrome browser on your desktop.<\/p>\n

Delete your Google search history from your Google Account<\/strong><\/h4>\n

This option is suitable for when you want to delete the entire history of your Google search. Clearing the search history from your Google account will erase not only the search history in your Google chrome, but it will also clear Google history on all of your devices (including the mobile browser of your Android device).<\/p>\n

Here are the steps on how to clear history from your Google account:<\/p>\n