How to Delete YouTube History (Watch & Search)

You can delete your YouTube history from the app or a browser, and you can even auto-delete it over time or pause it completely for more privacy.

Quick Scoop

  • You can delete watch history (what you’ve viewed) and search history (what you’ve typed) separately.
  • You can clear a few items, a specific time range, or all time.
  • You can also pause YouTube history so new activity stops being saved.
  • All of this is linked to your Google Account, not just one device.

On YouTube App (Android & iOS)

Delete watch history

  1. Open the YouTube app and sign in to your account.
  1. Tap your profile picture in the top-right.
  1. Go to Settings → Manage all history.
  1. You’ll see a list of videos you watched.
 * Tap the **X** next to a video to delete a single item.

 * Use the **DELETE** option to remove more than one at a time (for example, a specific day or a custom range, depending on the interface shown).

Delete search history

  1. In the app, tap your profile picture → Settings.
  1. Go to the activity / history section (this may open a “YouTube History” or “My Activity” page in your browser).
  1. Switch to search entries if needed, then:
 * Tap the **X** next to individual search terms to remove them.

 * Use a **Delete** or **Delete all time** option to wipe them in bulk.

Note: Deleting via the “DELETE” control for a selected time range can remove both watch and search history for that period.

On Computer (Desktop Browser)

Method 1: From YouTube’s History page

  1. Go to YouTube in a browser and sign in.
  1. Click your profile icon and open your channel or main YouTube page if needed.
  1. On the left sidebar, click History.
  1. On this page:
    • You can click the X next to individual videos to remove each one from watch history.
 * Use a **Clear all watch history** or similar button to remove everything at once.

Method 2: From Google “My Activity / YouTube History”

  1. Open the “My Activity” page for your Google Account and select YouTube History.
  1. Click Manage history to view your activity list.
  1. To delete:
    • Click the menu / X next to a single video or search to remove it.
 * Use the **DELETE** control to remove items for: “Last hour,” “Last day,” a custom range, or “All time” (options may vary).

Pause or Auto-Delete YouTube History

If you don’t want YouTube to keep recording everything you watch or search, you can pause or automatically wipe it after some time.

Pause watch/search history

  1. Go to your YouTube History / My Activity page.
  1. Look for the toggle or option to turn YouTube History off or to pause watch history.
  1. Turn it off or pause it; YouTube will stop logging future watch and search activity while it’s paused.

Set auto-delete

  1. On the same YouTube History page, choose Auto-delete.
  1. Pick how long YouTube should keep your history (for example, 3, 18, or 36 months depending on the options shown).
  1. Confirm your choice so older items are automatically removed as time passes.

Key Options at a Glance

[1][3][5] [3][9] [4][3] [3][9] [5][9] [9]
Action Where to find it What it does
Delete single video History list → X next to video (app or desktop) Removes that specific video from watch history.
Clear all watch history History page → “Clear all watch history” or “DELETE” Removes all recorded videos you’ve watched.
Delete search term YouTube History / search list → X next to term Removes an individual search from history.
Delete all time “DELETE” → “Delete all time” Wipes history for your account over its entire life.
Pause history YouTube Settings / YouTube History controls Stops saving new watch and search history until you turn it back on.
Auto-delete YouTube History → Auto-delete Automatically removes history older than a set time window.

Mini “Why This Matters” View

  • Privacy: Clearing history hides what you’ve watched or searched from others using the same device or account.
  • Recommendations: Deleting or pausing history can reset or reduce “weird” recommendations that came from one-off videos.
  • Control: Auto-delete and pause give you more long-term control instead of manually clearing things all the time.

TL;DR

To delete YouTube history, go to your **History / YouTube History** page on the app or desktop, remove individual items with the **X** , or use **CLEAR / DELETE** to wipe larger chunks or all time, and optionally pause or auto-delete your history for better privacy and cleaner recommendations.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.