Have you ever encountered a situation where you want to revisit a Google Search term but need help remembering it? That’s one of the reasons why Google stores your search history in your Google account. Even if you delete the Chrome browsing data, your Google search history will stay intact in your account. We will elaborate on how to view your search history and delete it if required.
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How to View Google Search History
You can view your Google Search History by accessing Google’s My Account portal. Since it is a web service, you can access it using Chrome or any other browser, via an Android phone’s Settings or Google Play Store app, or via any Google app on an iPhone or any other device.
Remember that Google search history contains only the searches you did using Google products (search, image search, Maps, and more). It doesn’t save any other websites that you visit. Here’s how to view it:
1. Log in to the Google My Account portal.
2. Click on the Data & privacy tab.
3. Scroll down to the Your data & privacy options section. Click on the Things you’ve done and places you’ve been option.
4. Locate the Web & App Activity option. Click on the arrow button next to it.
5. Navigate to the Subsettings section and click on the Include voice and audio activity to select it, if you want to include that data as well. Then, click on the View all button above.
6. The Web & App Activity page will launch. Scroll down and you will see all the Google search history categorized by date and time.
7. You can also use the search bar to search for a term and press Enter to display the results.
How to Filter the Google Search History
The Web & App Activity page displays all the search history in one go. It also includes the searches you do in Maps, Image Search, and other Google products. But if you want to filter the search results and only display results from a specific product or period, you can do that too. Here’s how:
1. Click on the Filter by date & product option.
2. If you want to view the search history between specific dates, click on the arrow icon. Then select any time range that suits your needs. You can also manually input the dates.
3. After that, scroll down to the Filter by Google product section. Click on the check box next to the service that you want to include in the search results.
4. Lastly, click on the Apply button.
The page will now display the search history based on the filters you chose.
How to Delete Google Search History
The simplest way to delete a Google search history is by clicking on the cross (x) icon next to it. You will see a prompt to confirm your action. Click on the Delete button and the search entry will be wiped from your account.
How to Delete Google Search History by Time Range
To delete Google search history by time range, follow the below-mentioned steps:
1. Click on the Delete button.
2. Pick any date range option that you prefer. You can also pick the Custom range option and select the Google search history between two dates for deletion.
Google will remove all the search history within the selected time range.
How to Delete All Google Search History
To delete your complete Google search history in a single click, follow the below-mentioned steps:
1. Click on the Delete button.
2. Then, click on the All time button.
3. Select all the products by clicking on the checkboxes and then click on Next.
4. Click on the Delete button to wipe all the search history data permanently.
How to Setup Automatically History Deletion
Google automatically deletes all the search history after eighteen months. But if you want to modify the time, here’s how to do it:
1. Click on the Delete button.
2. Now, click on the Auto-delete option.
3. You can set up auto-delete for 3, 18, or 36 months only. There is no custom range option. Select any one option and then click on the Next button.
Google will save your preferences and wipe the search history after the chosen time duration.
FAQs
1. How do I see my past Google searches?
Visit Google’s My Account portal and navigate to the ‘Your data & privacy options’ section to view your past searches. You can also use the browser history to find past Google searches, but it will be slightly difficult due to the sheer volume of the browser search history.
2. Is all my search history saved?
Google saves all the search history based on the Web & App Activity settings. All the search history is saved, maintained, and then automatically deleted at pre-defined intervals. There is also an option to stop Google from deleting your search history.
3. Is deleted history really deleted?
Google deletes most of the search history immediately but may retain a small portion of data for specific purposes. You can read more about the deletion process on the Google page.
4. Can deleted search history be recovered?
You can recover Chrome’s deleted history using a variety of methods. But if you delete your Google search history from the My Account portal, there is no means to recover it.
View and Delete Your Google Search History
These were the methods to view, filter, and delete your Google search history. You don’t have to worry even if you delete Chrome’s browsing history. Moreover, you can delete one or multiple entries using the deletion options. Even if you don’t delete the search history manually, Google will flush it after every eighteen months.
