Where to find and clear your search history on Samsung tablets

Your Samsung tablet stores search history in two places: your web browser and your Google account. To clear it completely, you need to wipe both. The fastest way is through your browser's settings, which takes about two minutes. If you want to remove searches tied to your Google account across all devices, you'll do that in a separate step.

The exact steps depend on which browser you use — Samsung Internet (the built-in one) works differently from Chrome. Both are free and come pre-installed on most Samsung tablets.

Key Takeaways

  • Samsung Internet and Chrome store search history separately, so clearing one does not clear the other.
  • In Samsung Internet, go to Settings > Privacy > Delete browsing data and check "Search history" before tapping Delete.
  • In Chrome, open the menu, tap History > Clear browsing data, set the time range to "All time", and check "Cookies and site data" and "Cached images and files".
  • To remove searches from your Google account across all devices, sign into myactivity.google.com from any browser and delete items there.
  • You can set either browser to delete history automatically every time you close it.

Clearing search history in Samsung Internet

Samsung Internet is the default browser on most Samsung tablets. To clear your search history, open the app and tap the three horizontal lines (menu icon) in the bottom right corner. Then tap Settings.

In Settings, scroll down and tap Privacy. You'll see an option called Delete browsing data. Tap it. A popup will appear with several checkboxes. Make sure Search history is checked — you can also check Browsing history, Cookies and site data, and Cached images and files if you want to clear those too. At the top, you can choose the time range: All time clears everything, or you can pick the last hour, day, or week. Once you've made your choices, tap Delete.

Clearing search history in Chrome

If you use Chrome instead, the process is similar but the menu locations are different. Open Chrome and tap the three vertical dots in the top right corner. Tap History, then tap History again (it appears twice in the menu).

At the top of the screen, tap Clear browsing data. A popup will appear. Make sure the time range is set to All time at the top. Below that, check the boxes for Cookies and site data and Cached images and files — these are usually checked by default. Tap Clear data to finish.

Removing searches from your Google account

When you search on a Samsung tablet signed into a Google account, Google stores those searches in your account activity. This means the searches can appear on other devices you use with the same account. To remove them, you need to visit Google's activity page.

From any browser on your tablet, go to myactivity.google.com. Sign in with the Google account you use on your tablet. You'll see a list of your recent searches and activity. You can delete individual searches by clicking the trash icon next to each one, or you can delete everything by tapping the three-dot menu at the top left, selecting Delete activity by, and choosing All time. Confirm the deletion.

Setting your browser to delete history automatically

If you want your tablet to delete search history every time you close the browser, you can turn on automatic deletion. In Samsung Internet, go to Settings > Privacy and toggle on Delete browsing data on exit. The browser will then clear your history, cookies, and cached files whenever you close it completely.

In Chrome, tap the three vertical dots, go to Settings, tap your account name, then tap Privacy and security. Toggle on Delete browsing data and choose what you want deleted automatically.

What gets cleared and what doesn't

When you clear search history in your browser, you remove the list of searches you've typed into the search bar and the websites you've visited. This does not remove your saved passwords, unless you specifically check that box. It also does not remove bookmarks or autofill information unless you select those options.

If you clear history in your browser but not in your Google account, your searches will still appear on myactivity.google.com and on other devices signed into that account. The two are separate, so you may need to clear both depending on your privacy goals.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will clearing my search history delete my saved passwords?

No, not unless you specifically check the "Passwords" box before deleting. In most cases, clearing browsing data leaves passwords alone. If you want to remove a specific saved password, go to Settings > Passwords in your browser instead.

Can I delete just one search instead of all of them?

In your browser's history list, yes — you can tap and hold a single search result and delete it. But if you want to remove a search from your Google account, you have to go to myactivity.google.com and delete it there individually or in batches.

If I clear history on my tablet, does it clear on my phone too?

No. Clearing history on your tablet only affects that device. If you sign into the same Google account on your phone, the searches will still be there. You'd need to clear history on your phone separately, or delete them from myactivity.google.com, which removes them from all devices at once.

What's the difference between Samsung Internet and Chrome?

Samsung Internet is made by Samsung and comes pre-installed. Chrome is made by Google. Both work well, but Samsung Internet is slightly faster on Samsung tablets because it's optimized for the hardware. The privacy settings are in different places, but both let you clear history and set automatic deletion.