Are you one of the many YouTube users looking to find out how to clear YouTube history on their devices? Then you’ve come to the right place where you’ll learn how to delete YouTube search history and watch history!
Unfortunately, while we’re watching YouTube videos, YouTube saves every activity that we engaged in on the platform. Perhaps you’ve been browsing some embarrassing videos that you don’t want anyone to know about, or maybe you just need YouTube to start saving activity on your channel afresh.
Whatever your reason may be, we know, there isn’t any “automatically delete” option. However, you can delete your YouTube search history and watch history in a quick and easy way, to completely erase your browsing activity from the platform. You can even delete your entire search history or learn more about the “delete history” feature.
In this article, we’ll be discussing the differences between YouTube search history and YouTube watch history, and providing step-by-step instructions on how to delete both types of history on various devices, including PCs, iOS, Android, and even Smart TVs. We’ll also be covering how to pause watch history and search history, in case you want to temporarily stop YouTube from tracking your viewing activity.
So, whether you’re trying to keep your browsing activity private or just looking to tidy up your YouTube account, keep reading to learn what you should know before and during the process of entire search history deletion. Also learn how to clear YouTube search history, watch history and pause search history for good!
YouTube Search History vs. YouTube Watch History
You should know the difference between these two before moving on to learn how to clear YouTube history. YouTube search history and YouTube watch history are two different types of data that YouTube collects and stores about your activity on the platform.
YouTube search history is a record of all the individual searches you’ve made on the platform. This includes both the search terms you’ve entered in the search bar and the filters you’ve applied to refine your search results. Your search history makes suggestions for future searches and personalizes your YouTube experience based on your interests.
On the other hand, YouTube watch history is a record of all the videos you’ve watched on the platform. This includes videos you’ve watched in the past as well as those you’re currently watching. Your watch history is used to make suggestions for future videos and to personalize your YouTube experience based on your viewing habits.
The main difference between YouTube search history and YouTube watch history is the type of data they collect. Search history records your search activity, while watch history records your viewing activity. However, both types of data are used by YouTube to personalize your experience on the platform and make suggestions based on your interests and habits.
The steps on how to clear YouTube history also clearly differentiate these two concepts. While you are still curious, let’s learn to find out all details from the “clear search history” button to the ” pause watch history” setting in our how to clear YouTube history journey!
Quick Steps on How to Clear YouTube History
Tired of the search suggestions YouTube keeps serving you? Don’t worry, clearing your YouTube search history is a quick and easy way to delete individual searches from the platform. Whether you’re using a PC, iOS, or Android device, clearing your search history has a similar process for each device. If you are ready with your device to delete individual searches, let’s get right into the steps to clear your search history!
Clear Search History on PC:
People tend to use the search history button to delete YouTube search history regularly but there are easier steps you can follow:
- Sign in to your Google account and go to YouTube.com.
- In the left-hand menu, select “History”.
- Click on “Search history” to view your search activity. It may appear as “Watch and search history” on some devices.
- To delete YouTube search history, click on “Clear search history” and confirm the action.
By the way, you may just need to click the “Remove” button if you want to remove your history from your search bar where you see suggestions for a specific video or videos on YouTube. It’s an auto-delete option, but you must remove each of your previous searches one by one.
It basically shows the search history from the previously watched videos to your past searches on YouTube, and it starts from the bottom up.
All you need to do, is tap remove. If you prefer this process, here’s what you need to do below:
Clear Search History on a Mobile Device:
Luckily, there is no difference between the Android or iOS Mobile App for the clear history process. Let’s go!
- Open the YouTube app and tap on your profile icon in the top-right corner of the screen.
- Tap on “Settings”.
- Tap “History & privacy”. Some may see it as “Manage all history”.
- Select “Clear search history” or “Delete”
- Confirm the action by tapping on “Clear” or “Delete” whatever choice you want.
It’s important to note that, on mobile devices, it is not possible to remove suggestions from the search bar just like we showed for the PC’s search history.
Now, let’s dive into the entire watch history details and steps for deletion on YouTube!
Clear YouTube Watch History
Deleting your YouTube watch history is a great way to keep your viewing activity private and prevent others from seeing what you’ve been watching. That’s why there are a lot of Google searches on the “how to clear YouTube history” process.
In this section, we’ll provide step-by-step instructions on how to delete your YouTube watch history on PC, iOS, Android, and Smart TV devices.
Clear Watch History on PC
- Sign in to your Google account and go to YouTube.com.
- Click on your profile picture in the top-right corner of the screen and select “Settings”.
- In the left-hand menu, click on “History”.
- To delete individual videos from your watch history, click on x that appears next to the three-dot menu beside the video and select “Remove from watch history”.
- To delete your entire watch history, click on “Clear all watch history” and confirm by selecting “Clear watch history”.
Clear Watch History on iOS & Android Mobile App
- Open the YouTube app and tap on your profile icon in the top-right corner of the screen.
- Tap on “Settings”.
- Click “History & privacy” or “Manage all history”.
- Tap “Clear watch history”. If you see or click the “Delete” button, you’ll see the other available options.
- Choose the option that you want and confirm the action.
Clear YouTube History on Smart TV:
- Open the YouTube app on your Smart TV.
- Navigate to the “Settings” menu.
- Select “Privacy”.
- Select “Clear watch history”.
- Confirm the action by selecting “Clear”.
Steps to Pause Watch History on YouTube
Good news for the “how to clear YouTube history” process! If you’re concerned about privacy or want to avoid YouTube recommendations based on old preferences, pausing your YouTube watch history to also pause your search history can be helpful.
If the pause search history button is off, YouTube will pause your search history and stop keeping a record of the videos you watch. This way your watch history won’t be used to recommend new videos or channels for you anymore.
How to Pause YouTube Watch History on PC
Step 1: Open YouTube and sign in to your account.
Step 2: Click on the three horizontal lines in the top left corner of the screen.
Step 3: Select “History” from the sidebar menu.
Step 4: Click on “Pause Watch History” at the top of the screen.
Step 5: Confirm your choice by clicking “Pause” in the pop-up window.
How to Pause YouTube Watch History on Mobile:
Step 1: Open the YouTube app and go to “Library”.
Step 2: Click YouTube “History” or “View All”.
Step 3: Tap the three dots and click “Pause watch history”
Step 4: Click “Pause” again to confirm.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take for YouTube history to be deleted?
When you clear your YouTube history, it should be deleted immediately. However, keep in mind that it may take some time for the changes to take effect across all your devices, especially if you’re using multiple devices or if you have synced your YouTube account with other devices.
Will clearing my YouTube history affect my recommendations?
Yes, clearing your YouTube history will affect your personalized recommendations on the platform. YouTube uses your watch history to recommend videos to you based on your interests and viewing habits. If you clear your watch history, YouTube will no longer have that information to use in its recommendation algorithm.
However, clearing your YouTube history doesn’t necessarily mean that your recommendations will be worse or less accurate. YouTube also takes other factors into account when making recommendations, such as videos that are currently popular or related to the video you’re currently watching.
If you want to start fresh with your recommendations, learn from our article – how to clear YouTube history. However, if you want to keep your watch history but don’t want it to affect your recommendations, you can also pause your watch history instead of clearing it. This will prevent YouTube from using your watch history to recommend videos to you while still keeping a record of your viewed videos.
What are the advantages of Incognito Mode?
Firstly, it helps you maintain your privacy by preventing your viewing and search history from being saved. Secondly, when you watch videos in incognito mode, YouTube will not suggest videos based on your previous activity, which can be useful if you don’t want your recommendations to be influenced by your recent activity.
Finally, incognito mode is temporary, meaning that once you exit the mode, your activity will be tracked and saved as usual. This allows you to browse YouTube without leaving a permanent record of your activity.
However, it is important to note that incognito mode does not make you completely anonymous online, as your internet service provider and the websites you visit can still track your activity – which means you may still have to delete activity from your account.
Can I recover my cleared YouTube history?
No, once you clear your YouTube history, you cannot recover it. Clearing your watch history permanently deletes the record of videos you have watched on the platform, and there is no way to restore this data once it has been deleted.
If you accidentally cleared your YouTube history, there is no way to undo the action. However, if you want to keep a record of your watched videos without affecting your recommendations, you can pause your watch history instead of clearing it. This will prevent YouTube from using your watch history to recommend videos to you, but it will still keep a record of your viewed videos that you can access in the future.
To pause your watch history on YouTube, go to your YouTube account settings, select “History & privacy,” and toggle off the “Watch history” option. To resume your watch history, simply toggle the “Watch History” option back on.
How often should I clear my YouTube history?
How often you should clear your YouTube history depends on your personal preferences and privacy concerns. Some people may choose to clear their history on a regular basis to keep their viewing habits private or to prevent YouTube from recommending videos based on outdated preferences.
Others may choose to keep their watch history for more extended periods of time to help them find videos and rewatch videos that they have previously watched. You may also want to keep your watch history if you frequently share your YouTube account with others who may want to see what videos you have recently watched.
Ultimately, how often you should clear your search history or watch history is up to you. If you’re concerned about your privacy, you may want to clear your history more frequently. If you’re not concerned about privacy, you may choose to keep your history for longer periods of time.
Daisy Hoda, is a freelance copywriter with experience in the Social Media world and a perfectionist when it comes to Youtube SEO services.
