How-To

Turn Off Recent Google Search History on Android

By Austin Krause

Updated March 15, 2024

On Android Google can give you suggestions based on your recent search history. This setting is on by default but you can turn it off.

Google likes to keep track of your search history and other data so it’s easier to get the data that you need. However, if you prefer to keep your search experience more private, you can turn off Google search history on Android.

While you can’t prevent Google from keeping track of all your activity on Android, there are steps you can take to keep your search activity more private. By disabling the history feature, you can achieve a more “organic” search experience.

If you have an older Android phone (think version 4.1 aka Jellybean), you can use the steps in the section below to stop search history. But if you have a modern Android phone (version 9.0 aka Pie) and higher, we’ll show you how to do it.

Note: For this article, we’re using a Pixel 7a running Android version 14, but the steps on your phone may vary. However, this will give you an outline of what to look out for.

How to Turn Off Google Search History on Android

Again, it’s important to reiterate that Google keeps track of your search and other activities internally. But you can turn off search history for a natural search experience on Android.

1. Swipe down one or twice from the top of the screen and select Settings (gear icon).
2. Swipe down the screen and tap Google.
3. Tap Manage your Google Account.
4. Select the Data & privacy tab.
5. Under the History Settings section, tap Web & App Activity.
6. Under the Web & App Activity section tap the Turn off button.
7. Tap the Turn off option from the dropdown menu that appears.
8. Once you follow the steps, you will see a message that your search activity is turned off for Google Search, Maps, Chrome, Assistant, and Play Store – tap the Got it button in the lower right corner of the screen.

Turn Off Search History and Clear Search and App Data

In addition to turning off Google search history, you may want to turn it off and clear the existing data. The good news is that you can do it using the following steps.

1. Navigate to Settings > Google > Manage your Google account > Data & privacy > Web & App Activity as shown in the steps above.
2. Tap the Turn off button and select Turn off and delete activity.
3. Tap each Google product you want to clear search and activity history for and tap Next.
4. On the confirmation screen, tap the Delete button in the lower right corner of the screen.
5. On the Deletion Complete screen tap Got it.

Turning Off Google Search History and More

That’s all there is to it. So, in addition to turning off search and other Google app activities, your history will be cleared. You may want to do this for an impersonalized search experience or for privacy reasons.

When you select the option to turn off web and app activity, note that all Google products are selected by default. If you want to turn off activity and delete data, it clears the history for Google Search and Google products like Maps, Location, Play Store, and more.

Turn Off Recent Google Search History on Android 4.1 and Lower

If you are still rocking an older device that is running previous versions of Android, you can turn off Google’s recent search history.

Some data is tied directly to your Google account and can be disabled within the account settings. Other recent history searches are stored in your mobile browser. These are not directly attached to Google’s Recent Search History and must be cleared separately. Other searches are stored within individual apps, such as what you search for on Google Play.

To turn off Recent Search History on an Android device, we’ll have to go into System Settings. You can do this by pressing the menu button on the home screen or launching the Settings app from the app drawer. Once in the settings menu, tap the Google button under the Accounts subheading.

In the Google settings page, tap Search. Under Privacy & accounts, uncheck the Show recent searches setting.

Moving forward, you should no longer see recent Google searches on your legacy Android device.

Please keep in mind that no matter how many settings you disable for your Google account & search history, Google still tracks it internally. However, according to the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation), it does make a difference if you disable these features.