How to clear mobile browsing history: The integration of Google services in Android devices has generated many advantages for its users. Among other things, it monitors all the browsing activity of the device to offer you a better experience.
Now, did you know that this can be a double-edged sword if you share sensitive information? In these cases, clearing Google search history on mobile is the best solution.
Today, at webinfozones, we explain all the methods to delete Google history and why it is important to do so. Each of the procedures updated to this 2022 to erase all traces of your Internet browsing: in Chrome, in your account or in other browsers.
Our team has always been concerned about the security and privacy of users. For this reason, today we wanted to shed a little light on what actually happens with navigation data.
Are you interested? Read on and make sure you delete Google search history safely and effectively.
How to Clear Mobile Browsing History
When you browse the Internet, keep in mind that both the data of the pages you visit and the passwords you use are stored in your browsing history. Also if you choose to browse privately or incognito.
Here’s how to delete Google history on your Android. Throughout the article we will explain how to do it in different browsers, although we will start with Chrome. These are the steps to follow:
Open the Google Chrome app on your Android phone or tablet.
Go to the top right of the screen and tap the dropdown menu (the three vertical dots icon).
In the list, look for the “History” option.
Click on “Clear browsing data”.
Select the time range of the data you want to delete. Choosing the “Forever” option will erase all data.
Select the “Browsing history” option and the rest of the data you want to delete.
Finally, click on the “Clear data” option.
Your search history will be completely empty.
How to delete something specific from the history
In the event that you don’t want to delete all of your histories, Chrome gives you the option of deleting a specific page or search. To do so, also enter the “History” section of the browser and consult the list of all the pages you have visited. Once here, simply click the X icon to the right of each page to delete it from your history.
It is an ideal option if you want a page not to appear in your browsing data or if you have used a mobile that is not yours and you prefer not to leave a trace of your searches.
Clear Google history from “My Activity”
So far, we have seen how to delete Google history from the browser. Now, did you know that part of our browsing activity is also stored in the Google account? And it is that apart from the websites that we visit, Google also registers the activity of the apps or services that we use. All this information can be found and deleted in the “My Activity” section.
For a much more complete erasure and leave no trace of your browsing, we recommend that you pay attention to the following two processes:
How to clear all activity.
Open the browser on your Android phone or tablet and go to My Google Activity.
Once inside the page, click on “Delete”.
To delete all information, select the option “Forever”.
Finally, click on “Next” and then on “Delete”.
How to delete a specific element
As in the previous case, enter My Google Activity from your Android mobile or tablet.
Scroll down the page until you see all your activity.
Search for the one you want to delete by date or using the search engine that appears at the top.
When you’ve selected the item, tap the X icon to remove it. And ready!
In both cases, the process is irreversible: the deleted data cannot be recovered. That is why it is very important that you value if you are going to need them before eliminating them.
How to clear Google Chrome history automatically
The process of deleting Google history manually can be somewhat cumbersome when you have to do it regularly. However, the Google account also has an option to automatically delete activity. It will save you a lot of time and allow you to clear the history without having to log into the browser or your Google account. These are the steps to follow:
Access the settings of your Android mobile or tablet and go to Google> Manage your Google Account.
Tap “Data & Personalization” at the top of the screen.
Under “Activity controls”, select “Manage your activity controls”.
Now, hit the “Auto-Delete” option within the “Web & App Activity”, “YouTube History” and “Location History” sections.
Finally, indicate how long you want the activity to be saved. Click on “Next” and then on “Confirm” to apply the changes. And now you have it!
How to delete pages visited from other browsers
Google Chrome is not the only browser for Android. Others like Firefox or Edge also store the search history and all the data of the visited web pages. If you want to know how to delete the history in these two browsers, we detail the procedure in each case:
How to clear mobile history from Firefox
When we browse in Firefox for Android, its system makes a record of all the searches that are made in the application. It also saves your browsing data. However, your system allows you to delete all these data and searches individually or by deleting everything:
Remove specific items from the browser
Tap the Menu button at the bottom right of the screen.
Next, go to “Settings” and press the “Clear private information” option.
To delete an item, check the box next to it and select “Clear Data”.
In case you want to delete a search, go to the main screen, press the search term and slide your finger to the right to delete it.
Clear all Firefox search and browsing history
Go to the home screen and go to the “History” section.
Swipe down on the screen and tap “Delete browsing history”.
Press “OK” to confirm the process.
To clear all search history, go to the bottom right of the browser and tap the settings button.
Once inside, select “Clear search history”.
On the next screen, Firefox will ask, “Delete search history on this device?” Select “OK” to confirm.
Clear Microsoft Edge search history
Microsoft Edge is one of the most used browsers by Android users. As in the previous case, its system saves all browsing data so that you can find the pages more easily. Now, if you prefer to delete the history, its interface allows you to do it quickly and intuitively. We show you the step by step:
Go to the bottom bar of Edge and tap the three-dot icon in the center.
A dropdown menu will then open. In it, select “Settings”.
Inside, look for the “Advanced” > “Privacy and security” section.
Hit “Clear browsing data” at the bottom of the screen.
Choose the type of data you want to delete and press “Delete”. You will only have to confirm to apply the changes.
Also, Microsoft Edge gives you the option to automatically clear your browsing data every time you close the app. To do this, check the “Clear browsing data on exit” option on the screen where you previously selected the type of data to delete.
What is browsing data?
Browsing data is all the elements that are saved in the browser each time a web page is visited. Its purpose is to speed up searches. This data includes browsing history, cookies or passwords, among others. We explain what each of them consists of:
Browsing history: is the data of each website visited in the browser.
Cookies and site data: they are intended to help websites remember your preferences.
Cached files and images – Help websites you’ve previously visited load faster. If they accumulate they can slow down the device. In that case, you can choose to clear Android cache.
Saved passwords – The browser also stores login details for all websites that require an account. Remember that you can save this data in the apps to save passwords.
Data to autofill forms: this includes personal data, credit card numbers that you have used or postal addresses.
Site Settings – These are all the permissions you accept from a web page. For example, the download or the use of the camera or microphone.
What happens when we delete this browsing data?
Clearing your browsing data will stop Chrome (or any other browser) from suggesting the websites you’ve visited. And it is that this action completely cleans the history, in addition to:
Delete all passwords saved in the browser.
Clear cookies. Thanks to this, you will gain space on the hard drive and the websites will stop recognizing you.
Load some websites faster.
Remove data to autocomplete when you fill out a questionnaire. Your Google Play account payment information will not be affected.
Cancel all the permissions that you have granted to the websites. In other words, these are reset to default values.
Is your Google history really deleted?
Whether you choose to delete your activity manually or automatically, you are instructing Google to proceed with the deletion of all history and activity related to its services.
First, this action will cause the data to no longer be visible. With this, Google will not be able to access said data to personalize your browsing experience. Afterwards, the data will be completely erased from its storage systems following a strict and secure protocol.
However, Google may retain certain data in the account for a period of time for specific purposes. They are related to:
Security and prevention of fraud and abuse.
Financial records.
Compliance with legal or regulatory requirements.
Information shared with other people.
Direct communications with Google.
Lastly, it is also important to note that Google may delete certain activity without consulting you. This is data that is no longer useful, thus improving your browsing experience.
Security and privacy
Is it really necessary to clear Android browsing history? The answer to this question depends on several factors, but experts generally recommend deleting your history on a regular basis to protect your privacy and security.
And it is that everything we do on the Internet is registered and your personal information can fall into the hands of third parties. Zero risk does not exist.
This is especially important on mobile phones and tablets. They are devices that can be easily lost, either because of their small size (compared to a computer) or because we carry them around all day. If this happens and someone else finds it or you are the victim of a theft, your personal data could be exposed.
On the other hand, if you use a device that is not yours, the risk increases substantially. For example, when filling out a form or making a payment with your bank card, all the data will be stored in the browser. If you don’t delete the history, someone else could access them.
Now, we must bear in mind that it is practically impossible to completely erase the traces we leave when browsing the Internet. There is a lot of data that is stored in the background automatically and can travel through the servers that we access. This is why it is so important to clear your browsing data.
Even though it is not 100% effective, it allows practically everything to be eliminated.
In short, as a user you must be aware of the dangers of sharing sensitive information on the Internet. You will never be totally secure, but you can gain protection if you follow the right guidelines. For this reason, the most advisable thing is not to save sensitive data and delete the browsing history whenever you can.
Clear Google history: all your doubts solved
Where to see Google history?
You can check your Google history online on the My Activity page. In it you have access to all the data stored in Google Chrome, in the applications installed on the mobile and in other Google services such as YouTube. By default, activity is sorted from newest to oldest. You also have a search engine to find a specific activity, either by date or by product.
How to recover Google history?
If you have an Android mobile and you have deleted the history in Google Chrome by mistake or you need to search for a specific website, you have the option of recovering the data. To do this, enter the My Activity page from the mobile phone as follows:
1. Open the phone settings.
2. Go to the Google section and tap on Account.
3. Now, go to the Data & Personalization tab.
4. Finally, select My Activity.
Once inside My Activity, you will be able to view all the activity of your Google Account, including the websites visited.
How to delete Samsung mobile history?
The process to delete the history on Samsung mobiles is exactly the same as that of any other device with the Android operating system. That is, through the browser or by accessing the My Activity page.
How to make Google searches not appear?
You have an option in your Google Account to stop saving searches and other types of activity. This is the path on Android:
1. Open the settings of the phone or tablet.
2. Go to Google > Manage Google Account.
3. Now, tap on Data and Personalization.
4. Under Activity controls, select Manage your activity controls.
5. Once inside, disable the option to save searches. And ready!
Why can’t I clear Google history?
If you can’t clear Google Chrome history, the only likely cause is a bug. That was the case of the one detected in 2019 in version 72 of the browser. It was a punctual error and it was corrected in the following updates.
In the hypothetical case that a new bug appears, you would need to use one of the apps to clean Android. Cleaner or SD Maid are some of the most prominent.
Conclusion: How to Clear Mobile Browsing History
Okay now you know how to clear your mobile browsing history, hope you enjoy this list post of clear mobile browsing history for android and iOS, if you know some more please let me know via comment, and I will update for sure.
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