How to clean your history: A complete guide

Nowadays, we spend more time online than ever before, and much of what we do is recorded. For every browser, device, and online platform we use, there is a history of our activities. In a lot of ways, this can be useful, as it helps us to have a more personalized experience that takes our preferences and interests into account. 

However, there are also times when your activity day may accumulate to the point of slowing performance on your device, or when you may want to guard your online privacy more closely. In instances like these, it’s good to know how to clear your history. In this guide, we’ll show how to do just that, so that you can have full control, no matter what application or device you’re using.

How to clear history on Google

1. Open your browser and navigate to Google.com.
2. Click on your profile picture in the top right corner of the page, then click “Manage your Google Account”.
3. On the left side of the screen, click “Data & privacy”, then scroll down to “History settings” and click on “My Activity”.
4. On the “My Google Activity” page, press the “Delete” button. Specify your desired time range, then confirm to erase your Google history.

How to clear history on Bing

1. Open your browser and navigate to Bing.com.
2. Click on the three horizontal lines in the top right corner.
3. Select “Search history” from the dropdown menu.
4. In the “Search history” page, you will see a box next to the search bar in the “Activity” section. Check this box then click “Clear” to erase your Bing history.

How to clear history on iPhone/iPad/Safari

1. Open the “Settings” app on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Scroll down and select “Safari”.
3. Scroll down again, then tap “Clear History and Website Data” and confirm to erase your history.

How to clear history on Android/Chrome

1. Open the Chrome app on your Android device.
2. Click the three dots in the top right corner of the screen, then select “Clear browsing data…”.
3. Select the data you want to delete, then click on the “Clear data” button to erase your history.

How to clear browsing history on Mozilla Firefox

1. Open the Firefox app on your device.
2. Click on the three horizontal lines in the top right corner of the browser window, then click on “History” and select “Clear recent history”.
3. Specify the time range and data types to delete, then click the “Clear Now” button to erase your Firefox history.

How to clear history from Microsoft Edge

1. Open the Microsoft Edge app on your device.
2. Click on the three dots in the top right corner of the browser window, then select “History” from the dropdown menu.
3. In the “History” pop-up window, click on the trash icon. This will take you to the “Clear browsing data” section.
4. Specify the time range and data you want to delete, then click the “Clear now” button to erase your Edge history.

How to clear search history from YouTube

1. Go to YouTube.com, then click on the three horizontal lines in the top left corner of the page.
2. Select “History”, then choose “Manage all history” from the options provided on the subsequent page.
3. Above your recorded YouTube activity, you will see a “Delete” option. Click on it, then specify a time range or choose “Delete all time” to erase your YouTube history.

How to clear history on Google Maps

1. Open the Google Maps app on your device. 
2. Tap on your profile picture, then select “Settings”.
3. Scroll down and tap on “Maps history”.
4. On the next page, you will see all of your recent Google Maps searches. Above them, you will see a “Delete” option. Click on it, then specify a time range or choose “Delete all time” to erase your YouTube history.

How to clear history on Instagram

1. Open the Instagram app on your device.
2. Tap on your profile picture in the bottom right corner, then tap the three horizontal lines in the top right corner of your profile page and select “Your activity” from the dropdown menu.
3. Scroll down to the “How you use Instagram” section, then select “Recent searches”.
4. Tap “Clear All” in the top right corner of the screen, then confirm to erase your Instagram history.

Conclusion

Having an online history can be useful in a lot of ways, but if privacy and device performance are of greater importance to you than a personalized experience, then clearing your history may be the way to go. Using this guide from 1ClickVPN, you can clear your history on any device or application you may be using so that you can have complete control over every aspect of your online experience.