Clear the History on an iPad
Have you been looking at things you shouldn't have, or want to hide your browsing history from others? Clearing your browser history is a skill that every web user should know, especially if you're sharing your iPad with others. The process depends on what browser you are using. See Step 1 below to learn how to clear browsing history for both Safari and Chrome on an iPad.
Steps
Safari
- Open the Settings app. This is located on your iPad's Home Screen. Tapping the app will open the Settings menu.
- Tap Safari. Scroll down the Settings list and tap on Safari. This will open a list of Safari option in the right pane.
- Delete your browsing history. you can delete your browsing history by tapping the "Clear History" button. you will be asked to confirm that you would like to delete all the entries. This cannot be undone.
- If the button is unavailable to tap, then there is no history to delete. You may be using a different browser for surfing, such as Chrome. If that is the case, see the next section.
- Delete your cookies. You can delete the cookies that sites have placed on your iPad and other caching data by tapping the "Clear Cookies and Data" button located directly beneath the "Clear History" button. You will be asked to confirm that you want to remove these items.
- Browse privately in the future. If you find yourself deleting your history regularly, you may want to browse using private windows instead. When using this mode, Safari will not log any browsing history. To start a private browsing session, click the "+" icon in the toolbar of Safari to open a new tab. At the bottom of the new tab, tap the "Private" button. You will be asked if you want to keep any existing tabs open.
Chrome
- Open the Chrome browser. You will need to delete your Chrome browsing history from within the Chrome browser, instead of through the Settings app. Tap the Chrome icon on your Home Screen to launch the app.
- Tap the Menu (☰) button. This is located in the upper-right corner of the screen. Select "Settings" from the menu.
- Tap the "Privacy" button. This is located in the Advanced section of the Settings menu. This menu will allow you to delete various data related to web browsing.
- Delete your history. Tap the "Clear Browsing History" button to erase all of your browsing history in Chrome. You will be asked to confirm your decision.
- Delete other browsing data. You can also delete your cookies, cache, and site data by tapping the appropriate Clear options in this menu. You can delete everything at once by tapping "Clear All".
- Browse privately in the future. If you find yourself deleting your history regularly, you may want to browse using an Incognito window instead. When using this mode, Chrome will not store any browsing history or cookies for the sites you visit. You can start an Incognito window by tapping the Menu (☰) button and selecting "New Incognito Tab". Any browsing done in this tab will not be logged by the iPad.
Tips
- You can also delete data for specific websites by tapping Advanced and then Website Data. From here you can tap the Edit button and remove data for any of the listed sites.
- On the Website Data screen you can also tap the Remove All Website Data button to delete information for all sites.
Warnings
- By clearing cookies and data, your browsing experience may be slowed down as sites will load slightly slower and login information will have to be reentered.
- If you share your iPad with others, clearing the history and cookies in Safari should be something you do each time you finish browsing.
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- Transfer Photos from an iPad to a Computer
