Where to find and delete your YouTube searches
YouTube stores your searches in your account's history. To delete them, sign into your YouTube account on a computer or phone, then go to your account menu (the profile icon in the top right corner) and select History. From there, click or tap Search history to see all your past searches.
Once you're in your search history, you can delete individual searches by clicking the X next to each one, or delete everything at once by clicking Clear all search history at the top of the page. YouTube will ask you to confirm before removing anything.
On a phone, the steps are the same: tap your profile icon, select History, then Search history, and use the X buttons or the clear-all option. The menu layout is slightly different between iPhone and Android, but both lead to the same place. If you're using the YouTube app rather than the mobile website, the profile icon appears in the bottom right corner instead of the top right.
Key Takeaways
- You can delete individual YouTube searches by clicking the X next to each one in your search history, or clear all searches at once using the Clear all search history button.
- Search history is separate from watch history — deleting searches does not remove videos you've watched, and you must delete them separately if you want both gone.
- Turning off search history in your account settings stops YouTube from recording new searches going forward, though it does not delete searches you've already made.
- Your search history is tied to your account, not your device, so deleting searches on one device removes them everywhere you use YouTube.
The difference between search history and watch history
YouTube keeps two separate records: what you searched for and what you watched. Deleting your search history does not touch your watch history, and vice versa. If you want to remove both, you need to delete them separately in different sections of your account.
Watch history lives in the same History menu but under a different tab. You can clear that independently if you want to hide the videos you've watched while keeping your searches, or delete searches while keeping your watch history intact. This separation gives you control over which parts of your activity you want to keep or remove.
How to stop YouTube from recording searches
If you don't want YouTube to save future searches, you can turn off search history in your account settings. Go to your profile icon, select Settings, then Privacy, and toggle off Save search history. YouTube will stop recording new searches immediately, though it will not delete searches you've already made.
Turning off search history means YouTube won't use your searches to recommend videos or personalize your feed. Your recommendations will be based only on videos you watch, not what you search for. This can make your recommendations less personalized overall, since YouTube has less information about your interests.
What happens when you delete searches
Once you delete a search, it's gone from your history. YouTube won't show it in your search suggestions when you start typing in the search box, and it won't use that search to recommend videos to you in the future.
Deleting searches does not affect videos you've already watched or liked. It also does not change what YouTube knows about your overall viewing patterns — the platform still has data about what you watch, even if you remove the record of how you found it. Your deleted searches won't appear in your account activity either.
Deleting searches on different devices
Your YouTube search history is tied to your account, not to a specific device. If you delete a search on your phone, it disappears from your history on your computer too. The same is true in reverse — clearing searches on a desktop browser removes them from your phone, tablet, or any other device where you're signed into the same account.
This means you only need to delete your history once, and it takes effect everywhere you use YouTube. You don't have to go through each device separately. The changes sync across all your devices within a few minutes.
Using Incognito mode to avoid recording searches
If you want to search YouTube without saving those searches to your history, you can use Incognito mode in your browser. In Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge, open an Incognito or Private window, then go to YouTube and search normally. YouTube won't record those searches in your account history.
Incognito mode is useful for one-off searches you don't want saved, but it doesn't hide your activity from your internet service provider or network administrator. It only prevents YouTube from linking those searches to your account. When you close the Incognito window, your browsing data from that session is deleted from your device.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I delete just one search instead of all of them?
Yes. In your search history, click or tap the X next to the search you want to remove. You can delete searches one at a time without clearing your entire history.
If I delete my search history, will YouTube stop recommending videos to me?
Deleting past searches won't change your current recommendations much, because YouTube bases suggestions on videos you watch, not just what you search for. However, turning off search history going forward means new searches won't influence future recommendations.
Does clearing my search history also delete my watch history?
No. Search history and watch history are separate. You can clear one without affecting the other. If you want to remove both, you need to delete them in two different places within your History menu.
Will deleting my YouTube search history affect my Google search history?
No. YouTube search history and Google search history are stored separately, even though both are part of your Google account. Deleting one does not touch the other.
What if I accidentally delete a search I wanted to keep?
YouTube does not have an undo button for deleted searches. Once you confirm the deletion, the search is permanently removed from your history. If you need to find that video again, you can search for it by topic or keywords.