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Delete Google Search History

Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008

You may have noticed that when you type a search into Google’s search box, a list of previously searched for terms are displayed. These previous searches are not saved by Google, but are actually saved by your web browser through a feature called "AutoComplete".

AutoComplete is used by most major Web browsers, including Internet Explorer and Firefox, to assist users in filling out web forms and performing web searches. With the AutoComplete turned on, the browser keeps track of information that you’ve recently typed (such as Web addresses, form data and search queries), attempts to anticipate what you are typing and offers possible matches.

This means that when you start typing in a Google search box, a dropdown list of previosuly searched terms can appear. With increasingly more Web users concerned about privacy on the Web, it is no surprise that keeping one’s Google search history private has become an important issue for many.

(Note: to remove search history from the Google toolbar, please see Delete Google Toolbar History)

How to Delete Google Search History

To manually delete your saved Google searches (AutoComplete history), you can perform the following steps:

Internet Explorer 7:

Open Internet Explorer
From the Tools menu, select Internet Options
Choose the tab labeled General
Under Browser History, select Delete
Next to Form data, choose Delete forms…
Click Yes

Internet Explorer 6:

Open Internet Explorer
From the Tools menu, select Internet Options
Choose the tab labeled Content
Under Personal Information, select Autocomplete
Select Clear Forms
Click Yes

Firefox:

Open Firefox
From the Tools menu, select Options
Choose the tab labeled Privacy
Select Clear now…
Put checkmark next to the box labeled Saved Form and Search History
Click Clear Private Data Now

For steps on how to stop your browser from recording this information, please see: Turning Off AutoComplete.

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