Quick Links

Key Takeaways

Press Ctrl+Shift+Delete to clear your browsing history on a Windows PC, or press Command+Shift+Delete on a Mac. Check your browser's settings to find this option on a mobile device.

All web browsers remember a list of the web pages you've visited. You can delete this list at any time, clearing your browsing history and erasing the tracks stored on your computer, smartphone, or tablet. Each browser has its own separate history, so you'll need to clear the history in multiple places if you've used more than one browser.

In the future, you can use private browsing mode to browse sensitive websites without your browser saving any history. You won't have to clear your history afterward.

Clear Browsing History in Google Chrome for Desktop

To clear your browsing history in Chrome, on Windows, Mac, or Linux, click the three-dot menu icon found in the top-right corner of the browser, hover your mouse cursor over "More Tools," and choose "Clear Browsing Data." You can also press Ctrl+Shift+Delete to open this screen on Windows, or press Command+Shift+Delete on a Mac.

On a Mac, the backspace key is labeled "Delete." Pressing the Delete key beside the Home and Edit keys doesn't work.

To delete your entire browsing history, select from "the beginning of time" in the drop-down box at the top of the screen and check the "Browsing history" option. You can also choose to clear other private data from here, including your download history, cookies, and browser cache.

Clear browsing data settings menu in Google Chrome for desktop

Related: How to Clear History in Google Chrome

Clear Google Chrome Browsing History on Android, iPhone, or iPad

To clear your browsing history in Google Chrome on Android, iPhone, or iPad, tap the three-dot menu icon > Settings > Privacy and Security > Clear Browsing Data.

You'll need to choose a time range that you want to delete from the drop-down list at the top of the screen. Select from the "beginning of time" to clear everything.

Related: How to Clear Your Browser History on Android

Ensure the "Browsing history" option is checked here and tap the "Clear Data" or "Clear Browsing Data" button. You can also choose to clear other types of personal data from here, including cookies and cached files.

Clear browsing data settings menu in Google Chrome for iPhone

Related: How to Clear Your Browsing History in Chrome for iOS

Clear Browsing History in Safari on iPhone and iPad

To clear your browsing history on Safari on an iPhone or iPad, open the Settings app and then navigate to Safari > Clear History and Website Data. Tap the "Clear History and Data" option to confirm your choice.

This button will clear all sensitive browsing data, including your cookies and cache.

Tap "Clear History and Website Data" from Safari's settings and then select the "Clear History and Data" button

Related: How to Clear Your Browsing History in Safari for iOS

Clear Browsing History in Mozilla Firefox

To clear your browsing history in Firefox on the desktop, click the three-line menu icon in the top-right corner of the browser and then navigate to History > Clear Recent History. You can also press Ctrl+Shift+Delete to open this tool on Windows or press Command+Shift+Delete on a Mac.

To delete your entire browsing history, select "Everything" at the top of the window and check "Browsing & Download History" in the detailed list of items to clear. You can also choose to clear other types of private data from here, including your cookies, browser cache, offline website data, and website-specific preferences.

Clear "Everything" to remove your entire search history on Mozilla Firefox.

Related: How to Clear Your Browsing History in Firefox

Clear Browsing History in Microsoft Edge

To clear your browsing history in Microsoft Edge, click the Three-Dot Menu > History > Three-Dot Menu Button > Clear Browsing Data. You can also press Ctrl+Shift+Delete to open these options on Windows or Command+Shift+Delete on Mac.

Ensure the "Browsing History" box is checked and click "Clear." You can also choose to clear other types of private data from here, including your download history, cached data, cookies, and tabs you've set aside. Just check the type of data you want to delete and click the "Clear" button.

Clear Browsing Data menu in Microsoft Edge

Related: How to Clear Your Browsing History in Microsoft Edge

Clear Browsing History in Safari on a Mac

To clear your browsing history in Safari on a Mac, click History > Clear History from the menu bar at the top of your screen. Select the time period you want to clear history from and click "Clear History." To clear everything, select "all history".

Safari will delete your browsing history as well as your cookies, cached files, and other browsing-related data.

Clearing history menu in Safari on Mac

Related: How to Clear Safari's Browsing History and Cookies on macOS

Internet Explorer

To clear your browsing history in Internet Explorer, click menu > Safety > Delete Browsing History or press Ctrl+Shift+Delete.

Ensure the "History" option is checked here and click "Delete". You can also choose to delete other types of private data from here, including your temporary Internet files, download history, and cookies.

Microsoft has removed Internet Explorer and urges everyone to switch to Edge. Internet Explorer has repeatedly been used by hackers to attack Windows users. We recommend you immediately stop using Internet Explorer if you're still able to launch it.

By default, Internet Explorer will keep cookies and temporary Internet files for websites you've saved as favorites. Uncheck "Preserve Favorites website data" here to ensure Internet Explorer deletes everything.

Delete Browsing History menu in Internet Explorer

If you're using another browser, you should be able to easily find a "clear browsing history" option somewhere in its menus or on its settings screen. For example, in Opera, this option is at menu > More tools > Clear browsing data.

Related: How to Clear Your Internet Explorer Browsing History