There are many reasons why you might want to delete your search history other than simply trying to cover your tracks.
- Privacy: Your web search history can be a goldmine of information for anyone who wants to learn more about you. Your search history will reveal your interests, your hobbies, your political views, and your relationships.
- Security: Your search history can also be used to track you online. This information can be used to target you with advertising. Or even worse, it can be used by scammers to orchestrate scams against you.
- Peace of mind: If you’re the type of person who worries about what other people might think of what websites you’ve visited, deleting it can give you peace of mind. Knowing that your search history is no longer available to anyone can help you to relax and focus on other things.
In this guide, I’ll show you how to delete your search history from your browser Google Chrome & Microsoft Edge. And also how to delete it from Google and Bing.
How To Delete History From Google Chrome.
All web browsers maintain a history of the web pages that you visit. Your browser history helps you to easily return to pages you that you’ve visited previously.
That’s really handy. On the other hand, it can be used against you. Targeting ads and tracking your movements across the web.
To delete your search history from Google Chrome, open Chrome and then click the 3 vertical dots in the top right hand corner.
On the menu that opens, hover your pointer over More Tools. On the More Tools menu click Clear Browsing History.
Alternatively you can use the keyboard shortcut CTRL + Shift +Del.
Clear Your Browsing Data In Google Chrome
The Clear Browsing Data window will open. Across the top of the window you’ll see two tabs, Basic (which is the default) and Advanced.
The Advanced tab gives you a few more options of what type of data to delete. Below the 2 tabs is the Time Range box. Click in the Time Range box to see more options.
If you want my advice I’d click the Advanced tab and select everything except Passwords. For the Time Range I’d choose All Time.
When you’ve made your selections, click the Clear Data button.
How To Clear History From Microsoft Edge.
To clear your search history from Microsoft Edge, launch Edge and then click Settings icon (3 horizontal dots) in the top right hand corner.
On the menu that appears, click History.
Alternatively you can use the keyboard shortcut CTRL + H.
When the History tab opens, click the More Options icon (3 dots) and then click Clear Browsing Data.
Clear Your Browsing Data In Edge.
The Clear Browsing Data window will open. By default it will select to clear data from the last hour. But your can change that by clicking the drop down arrowhead in the Time Range box.
Scroll down the list of items and select the ones that you want to delete. Personally, I’d delete everything except your saved passwords.
Once you’re done selecting, click the Clear Now button.
How To Delete Your Web Search History From Google.
Google keeps a record of everything you’ve ever searched the Internet for. And it will keep these records forever. It doesn’t matter what you searched for or why, Google will simply note it down and keep it.
To clear your web search history from Google, click the link https://myactivity.google.com/product/search
After clicking the Delete button, a small menu will open giving you various options for how far back in time you want to go. Delete All Time sounds pretty good to me.
Next you get to choose which type of activity history you want to delete. Make your selections and click the Next button.
You’ll see a confirmation window appear. Assuming you want to clear your web search history from Google, click the Delete button.
How To Delete Your Web Search History From Bing.
Bing is a search engine, similar to Google. Although you may not have heard of it, it’s run by Microsoft. If you use Edge as your browser and you haven’t changed any settings, then you’re most likely using Bing as your search engine.
Just like Google, Bing collects and stores all kinds of data about you and what you’re doing on the Internet. And just like with Google, you have the right to delete that data from Bing.
To delete your web search history from Bing, click the link https://www.bing.com/
Once you’re on the Bing webpage, click the 3 horizontal lines in the top right hand corner. On the menu that opens, click Search History.
If you’re asked to sign in, you’ll need to sign in with your Microsoft account details.
Note that the Bing website is a “live” site and is constantly changing. So it might not look exactly like this image when you arrive there.
The Bing Website.
Note that the Bing website is a “live” site and is constantly changing. So it might not look exactly like this image when you arrive there.
Regardless of how the site looks, the 3 horizontal bars should still be there, roughly in the same position as in my image.
Clearing Your Search History In Bing.
On the Search History page of Bing, scroll down to the Activity section. Click in the empty box to select all your history.
When you select all your activity the Clear button will appear. Click the Clear button to delete your web search history from Bing.
Summary.
As more and more of our daily lives moves online, you simply have to be aware of just how much personal data is being collected. It’s not something that you can ignore.
Delete your browsing history regularly. This will help to keep your browsing habits private and secure.
Other options include using a VPN (virtual Private Network) and Virtual Computers.
At Home Computer Course.
Got A Picture, Find Out Who Or What It Is.
Normally you’d type something into Google to find out more information, but you can upload a picture as well.
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