Stop Google from saving new searches
You can turn off Google Search History from a browser on an iPhone, Android phone, or Samsung phone. The setting is tied to your Google account, so start by making sure you are signed in to the correct account before changing anything.
The process gives you two choices. You can stop future search activity from being saved while keeping the activity already in your account. Or, you can turn the setting off and delete the activity currently saved at the same time. Pick the option that matches what you want to keep.
Video Tutorial
Turn off Google Search History on your phone
You do not need a separate app for this. Open a browser and use the Google website. The screens may look slightly different depending on your phone and browser, but the account controls shown here are the same place to manage the setting.
- Open a browser on your iPhone, Android phone, or Samsung phone.
- Go to google.com.
- Confirm that you are logged in to your Google account.
- Select your profile icon in the top-right corner of the Google page.
- Select Search history from the menu that appears.
- When the Search history page loads, find the Search services history setting. It will show that it is on if Google is currently saving your search activity.
- Select the small arrow for that setting to open its history controls.
- Select the dropdown that says On.
- Choose one of the available options to turn the setting off.
- Select Got it after making your choice.
Choose what happens to activity already saved
When you turn the setting off, Google presents two different options. Take a moment to read them before confirming, because they affect the search activity that is already stored in your account.
The first option turns off Search history but leaves your current saved activity in place. This is the right choice if you only want to stop Google from saving searches going forward and do not want to remove earlier activity.
The second option turns off Search history and deletes the activity that is currently saved. Use this option if you want to stop future saving and remove the existing activity in the same process.
If you choose to turn the setting off without deleting activity, the confirmation screen may state that your activity has not been deleted. That is expected. It means the setting is now off, but your past activity remains in the account. If you chose the option that includes deletion, the saved activity would be deleted instead.
What changes after you turn it off
Once you turn off the Search services history setting, searches you make will no longer be saved in your Google account. This is useful when you want more control over the searches associated with that account.
Remember that this setting is managed through the Google account you selected at google.com. If you have more than one Google account, check the profile icon before changing the setting. You want to make sure you are viewing the account whose Search history you intend to manage.
If the setting still appears to be on, return to the Search history page and check the dropdown again. The important part is that the Search services history setting no longer shows On. Once the change is confirmed, future searches are not saved to that Google account.
Quick check before you finish
Use this short checklist to confirm you made the choice you intended:
- You opened google.com while signed in to the right Google account.
- You selected Search history from your profile menu.
- You opened the Search services history setting.
- You changed the On dropdown to turn the setting off.
- You chose whether to keep or delete activity already saved.
- You selected Got it to confirm the change.
That is all you need to do to stop Google from saving new search history for that account on your iPhone, Android phone, or Samsung phone.
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