Clear Your YouTube History

You can clear your YouTube search history on almost any device, although for some stream-to-television devices, logging on using a computer may be the easiest solution. To remove all traces of your viewing, remember to clear your search history as well as your videos watched history. Learn how to clear your history from a computer, an iOS device, an Android device, and your Smart TV or video game console.

Steps

Clearing YouTube History on a Computer

  1. Log in to YouTube. You should already be signed in if you navigate to YouTube's homepage. If not, click the Sign In button in the top right, then enter your Google Account information.
  2. Open the Guide menu by clicking the horizontal bars. In the top left of the YouTube screen, directly next to the YouTube logo, there should be an icon that looks like three horizontal grey bars and an arrow. Click this to open up a list of links on the left of the screen, if it isn't already there.
    • Or visit your history directly by navigating to youtube.com/feed/history, then skip ahead to the "delete all" step below.
  3. Click History. On the options on the left hand side, near the top of your list, click "History."
  4. Delete all watched videos. You should see a list of all the videos you've watched, with the most recent ones at the top. If you want to delete your entire watch history, click the "Clear all watch history" button at the top of the page.
  5. Remove just one video from your history. To remove one video at a time from your history, mouse over the video, and look for three gray dots that appear on the far right of the screen. Click them, and select "Remove from Watch History."
    • If you do not see the three dots, try a different browser, such as the latest Firefox.
  6. Stop videos from entering your history in the future. If you don't want any videos to be stored in your history in the future, click Pause watch history. To start adding future videos to your history again, return to this page and click the Resume watch history button in the same location.
  7. Manage your search history. Look for the "Search history" link near the top of the page, to the right of "Watch history." Click it to be taken to a list of the searches you've made on YouTube. This list works exactly the same as the "watch history" list:
    • Clear all search history permanently removes all searches.
    • Mousing over an individual search will reveal an icon to the right with three grey dots (only available on certain browsers, such as the latest Firefox). Click this to remove that single item from the search.
    • Select Pause search history to prevent future searches from entering your history.
  8. Remove YouTube from your browser history. You've now cleared any undesirable information from the YouTube site, but your browser (such as Internet Explorer or Chrome) will still remember which videos you've seen. Delete your browsing history, or navigate to "History" –> "Show All History" (or similar) in the top menu, and remove the YouTube videos individually.

Clearing YouTube History on an iOS Device

  1. Open the YouTube app on your device. Use this method for your iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, or any other device running iOS.
    • If you only use the YouTube mobile website, and do not have the YouTube app, you cannot clear your entire search history at once.[1] Download the app or log in at a computer instead.
  2. Touch the Guide icon. This icon looks like three horizontal grey bars. Touch it to open up a list of menu items.
  3. Select History. Touch the "History" option and you'll see a list of all the videos you've watched.
  4. Touch the trash icon. Press the icon that looks like a grey trash can. This will delete all videos from your watched videos history.[1]
    • If you only want to delete one video without clearing your entire history, you'll need to use the mobile website instead, or log in to YouTube at a computer. Either way, follow the instructions in the computer method.
  5. Sign out to clear your search history. What you type into the YouTube search bar on the YouTube app is only stored for as long as you are signed in.
    • If the YouTube app becomes unresponsive and won't let you sign out, Kill-Apps-in-iOS-7 by double-tapping the Home button, swiping left or right to reach the YouTube app, then swiping the YouTube icon upward.

Clearing YouTube History on an Android Device

  1. Open the YouTube app. Use this method for any phone or tablet that runs Android. If you use the YouTube mobile website instead of the app, download the app or log in on a computer to get access to all history clearing functions.
    • On the mobile website, you can remove individual videos from your history, but not all of them at once.[1]
  2. Touch the Guide icon. On Android devices, this icon looks like three horizontal gray bars with the red YouTube "play" icon next to them.[1] Touch this to open up a list of menu items.
    • In some versions of the YouTube app, you may need to select a "Settings" icon instead.[2]
  3. Select History. Choose this option from the list to be taken to your watched videos history.
  4. Use Menu items to remove your watch history. Select "Menu" to open up more options. "Remove from Watch History" will remove the individual video you are looking at from your history. "Clear History" removes every video at once.
  5. Clear your search history. Return to the main screen of the YouTube app. Go to Menu → Settings → Search → Clear search history to make YouTube forget all searches you have made on YouTube.[3]
    • You can also prevent future searches from being stored in your history, by selecting "Never remember history" or "Pause search history" in the same Search menu where you found the "Clear search history" option.[4]

Clearing YouTube History on Your Television or Console

  1. Open the Guide. Open YouTube on your gaming console, television, or streaming device. Different devices may have different organization, but generally the Guide options can be accessed by selecting one of the following:
    • An icon with three horizontal grey bars.
    • The red YouTube icon, usually next to or superimposed over three grey bars.
    • The word "Guide."
  2. Select Settings. The Settings option should take you to a list of all videos you have watched.
  3. Clear your watch history. Select Clear watch history to remove all watched videos from your viewing list. If this option is not available on your device, you may need to log in to the same YouTube account using a computer in order to remove your history.
  4. Clear your search history. On most devices, you can also remove your search history, so phrases or titles you've searched for will not show up as suggestions in future searches. Click the search icon (usually a magnifying glass) and select Clear search history.[3]



Tips

  • The old "check box" method of deleting videos is no longer available.

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/95725?hl=en
  2. ↑ http://www.androidcentral.com/operation-clean-slate-clearing-your-history-youtube
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/57711?hl=en
  4. ↑ http://www.tomsguide.com/faq/id-2357632/clear-search-history-youtube-app.html
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