Are you tired of having a cluttered search history on your Instagram? Do you want to hide or clear your Instagram searches because you don’t want kids or your partner to see them? If so, there are several ways to easily clear and declutter your search history on Instagram. No more embarrassing or unwanted search suggestions popping up, especially when someone is watching over your shoulder.
Table of Contents
1. Remove Specific Searches
We all have some embarrassing searches on Instagram and might want to clear the username coming up in the search history. You can easily clear that specific search. Here’s how.
1. Tap on the magnifying icon and then tap on search bar at the top.
2. Tap on the cross icon next to the specific search query that you want to remove.
2. Clear Complete Search History
Deleting individual search queries on Instagram is inconvenient when there are many search queries to remove. Here is an easy and quick way to delete all search history in one go.
1. Go to Search tab (magnifying glass icon) and tap on the search bar as mentioned in the previous method. Then, tap on See All.
2. Here, a list will appear of your recent searches. Tap on the Clear All option available on the top right.
3. Now Instagram will ask for a confirmation to clear all the search history. Tap on Clear All.
3. Remove Search History From a Time Frame
Instagram provides the option to clear your search history within a period. This can be helpful when only partial history needs to be deleted.
1. Go to your profile and tap on the hamburger button(Three horizontal lines).
2. Now, tap on Settings and Privacy and select Accounts Center.
3. Meta Accounts Centre will appear. Here, in the Account settings section, jump to Your information and permissions.
4. Now, tap on Search history.
5. After this, tap the Clear all searches button at the bottom and select the timeframe from which the history needs to be cleared. After selecting the timeframe, tap on Clear all searches.
Pro Tip: Knowing how to sign out of Instagram on all devices is crucial to protect your privacy and we have a guide for you on how to accomplish that.
4. Remove Search History Using Browser
Instagram in web browsers has become more usable than before. While working on the desktop, using Instagram on your browser is more convenient than being on the mobile side-by-side. Here is how to clear search history in the browser.
1. Open Instagram on your browser and click on Search.
2. In the search section, click on Clear all.
3. Instagram will ask for a confirmation to clear all the search history. click on Clear All.
Also Read: Do you know that you can pause/resume search history and watch history on YouTube from the Google Activity page on the desktop web, Android, and iPhone?
5. Enable and Setup Auto Clear Search History
Is it too much to keep clearing history now and then? Worry not for there is a setting hidden in Instagram that automatically keeps clearing your search history without manual intervention. Here is how to enable it.
1. Go to your Profile > tap on the Hamburger Menu (Three horizontal lines) > Settings and privacy > Accounts Center as mentioned in the previous method.
2. Here, tap on Your information and permissions and then on Search history.
3. In the search history, tap on Keep searches for. By default, Instagram searches are saved for 30 days. Select the timeframe after which you want the history deleted automatically.
4. Now Instagram will ask for a confirmation to enable auto clearing the search history, tap on Confirm.
Also Read: What if you want to go incognito on ChatGPT and don’t want it to save any chats? Here’s how you can disable chat history on ChatGPT on both desktop, iOS, and mobile web apps.
Untold History
Search history records the searches and lets us dig into the past. It becomes super useful when we keep thinking about an Instagram account that we visited in the past but forgot to follow and now want to check on it. On the other side, it may also serve as evidence of all your online searches and potentially be uncovered by your annoying friend or sibling. But now you know how to manage your searches and keep them under control.