We are independent & ad-supported. We may earn a commission for purchases made through our links.
Advertiser Disclosure
Our website is an independent, advertising-supported platform. We provide our content free of charge to our readers, and to keep it that way, we rely on revenue generated through advertisements and affiliate partnerships. This means that when you click on certain links on our site and make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn more.
How We Make Money
We sustain our operations through affiliate commissions and advertising. If you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, we may receive a commission from the merchant at no additional cost to you. We also display advertisements on our website, which help generate revenue to support our work and keep our content free for readers. Our editorial team operates independently of our advertising and affiliate partnerships to ensure that our content remains unbiased and focused on providing you with the best information and recommendations based on thorough research and honest evaluations. To remain transparent, we’ve provided a list of our current affiliate partners here.
Software

Our Promise to you

Founded in 2002, our company has been a trusted resource for readers seeking informative and engaging content. Our dedication to quality remains unwavering—and will never change. We follow a strict editorial policy, ensuring that our content is authored by highly qualified professionals and edited by subject matter experts. This guarantees that everything we publish is objective, accurate, and trustworthy.

Over the years, we've refined our approach to cover a wide range of topics, providing readers with reliable and practical advice to enhance their knowledge and skills. That's why millions of readers turn to us each year. Join us in celebrating the joy of learning, guided by standards you can trust.

How do I Delete Web History?

Tricia Christensen
By
Updated: May 17, 2024
Views: 8,358
Share

When people use a web browser, it often keeps track of the places they’ve been. If they want to make sure that no one else can gain access to this very open record, they’ll need to find a way to delete web history. Though there are some obvious reasons why people delete their histories that suggest greater interest in private topics, there are plenty of other reasons why deleting histories could make sense. These could include making sure that another member of a household doesn’t see shopping sites where gifts could have been purchased or it could spring from a desire to clean out the history, cookies and all others to see if a browser runs a little more quickly.

Each person wanting to delete web history is usually best served by following directions for the browser used, which are widely available on the Internet. Many browsers do have a command located under a history tab that says something like “clear all history” or “delete history.” Clicking this is only part of the process, and the command may take a while to fully operate if a history is huge, encompassing weeks or months of searching.

Using the delete web history command is usually only step one. People may need to “clean” in a few other areas. They may, for instance, want to get rid of all cookies, and there are several different ways this may be accomplished. Often, people find cookie deletion steps in their preferences or security preferences and can opt to get rid of all cookies. Again, having a guide for specific search engines is useful to locate this area quickly.

Other steps in completely clearing web history might include getting rid of forms, clearing a cache, and deleting files. These steps may be necessary for total security and privacy. That might appear to fully delete history, were it not for the fact that many companies keep track of searches people make on their sites. These could include shopping sites, search engines like Google®, and entertainment sites like YouTube® and others.

To get rid of recent searches, people usually need to perform the above actions, clearing history and dropping cookies before they log in to one of these sites. They then need to search for privacy settings, and can often alter settings so that subsequent searches aren’t tracked and all searches before are deleted. How to delete web history of this type is usually individualized to each site and not always an option.

People who routinely want to delete web history or clean cookies have access to a number of programs that may do this automatically. Cookie cleaners are programs that remove cookies when a computer boots or shuts down. History cleaners can perform cleanings of cookies and search information on many major browsers, and these programs might also be worth investigating.

Share
WiseGeek is dedicated to providing accurate and trustworthy information. We carefully select reputable sources and employ a rigorous fact-checking process to maintain the highest standards. To learn more about our commitment to accuracy, read our editorial process.
Tricia Christensen
By Tricia Christensen
With a Literature degree from Sonoma State University and years of experience as a WiseGeek contributor, Tricia Christensen is based in Northern California and brings a wealth of knowledge and passion to her writing. Her wide-ranging interests include reading, writing, medicine, art, film, history, politics, ethics, and religion, all of which she incorporates into her informative articles. Tricia is currently working on her first novel.

Editors' Picks

Discussion Comments
By Drentel — On Mar 18, 2014

As the article alluded to, with some computers you have to delete your web history to get the machine to operate better. I had a desktop computer that required me to delete the web history every ten to 30 minutes, depending on how much I was surfing the Internet at the time.

I always knew I needed to delete when the computer slowed down, or it started malfunctioning. Sometimes the machine would just freeze and I would have to restart it. The whole process was frustrating.

By mobilian33 — On Mar 17, 2014

When I first began to use a desktop computer it was at work. I didn't have a home computer at the time and I wasn't familiar with computers at all. Of course this was some years ago. Anyway, I was fascinated by the computer and I ended up searching sites that I shouldn't have been on.

Unfortunately, at that time, I didn't have enough experience with computers to even know there was such a thing as browsing history. To make a long story short, I was totally embarrassed when my boss had me come into her office so we could review several of the websites I had visited. Believe me, I couldn't pass them off as work related.

The good news is didn't get fired, and I have been a stickler for deleting my browsing history ever since that day.

Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen
With a Literature degree from Sonoma State University and years of experience as a WiseGeek contributor, Tricia...
Learn more
Share
https://www.wisegeek.net/how-do-i-delete-web-history.htm
Copy this link
WiseGeek, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.

WiseGeek, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.