![]() ![]() The “Google Activity Controls” panel also allows to you select the option to automatically delete your activity after some time. For those with such concerns, Google has a way to resolve your concerns. ![]() If not for anything else, many people just feel uncomfortable that their entire history is tracked and stored at Google. This is especially true if you use a shared computer where more people use the system when you are not around. In other situations, this same section runs a risk of being a means for others to peek into your life. This feature can be very useful in situations when you want to go back to some work urgently or find some important information regarding your previous activity. That can be difficult to delete separately, shy of deleting the entire backup (a bad idea in case you need the backup for something else).There is a “Google Activity Controls” section in Google accounts that works as an umbrella shed to manage all your activities including the recently visited websites, recent searches, videos viewed, and any other activity performed while logged in using the particular Google account. ![]() If you’re backing up your machine as you should, and daily as I suggest, then yesterday’s browser history is still in yesterday’s backup regardless of what you do today. In theory, those are supposed to be deleted at the same time, but if they’re offline or even if there’s just a hiccup, I wouldn’t count on the delete being complete.Īnd then there’s the matter of your own backups. Similarly, if you’re signed in to some kind of syncing service - like a Microsoft account for Microsoft Edge, or your Google Account for Chrome, or a Firefox account for Firefox, or others - then your history might be replicated across all machines on which you have signed in. However… Browsing history is forever, sort ofĬookies, if left on your machine, could theoretically expose the sites you’ve been to and the terms you’ve searched for. Make sure to scroll through the list and make sure you’re not about to delete something you care about, like cookies. (Screenshot: )īrowsing history is what we care about. CTRL+SHIFT+Del is usually the way to begin the process. (Screenshot: )Įxactly how you see this depends on the browser you’re using, but in most, CTRL+H will display it.Įxactly how you clear this also depends on the browser you’re using. ![]() There’s another copy closer to home: your browser history. So far, we’ve looked at deleting the history of your searches kept by Google online. It depends on what you’ve been searching for and the likelihood that you’re somehow interesting to law enforcement. Here’s the part we don’t know and can never really know: if law enforcement came to Google with an appropriate court order for whatever jurisdiction you’re in, could Google retrieve the records? Perhaps from their own internal backups? They still have records of what you searched for (there’s no way to delete this), they just can’t tell it was you who searched for it. They use this data for a variety of Google-internal activities, including global analytics, resource allocation, end-of-year popularity reports, and probably much more. The fact is Google keeps the search history. In fact, it raises a few interesting issues. “No longer tied to you” is an interesting statement. Google will present a confirmation dialog. Select or de-select as you see fit, and click on Next. You’ll be presented with a list of activities that you can choose to be deleted. Most folks are interested in “All time”, so click that. (Screenshot: )Ĭlick on Delete, and you’ll be presented with some timeframe choices. Scroll down to find the filter, which will also include a Delete control to the right. This page lists all the activity Google has recorded for your account, including searches. Your searches are kept with your account. If, on the other hand, there’s a profile photo or a letter or two, you (or someone else who uses your computer) are signed into a Google account. Search all you like there will be no history for you to delete. Google search page showing no user is signed in. Go to and see if there’s a Sign In button. If you’re not signed in to a Google account, Google cannot record your searches - at least not in a way that would be associated with your account. In both cases, however, there are scenarios where even deleted history might be recovered by Google and/or law enforcement. You might also want to delete the history in your browser. You can delete the history associated with your Google account by visiting and choosing the options to delete some or all of your recorded activity, including but not limited to searches. ![]()
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