Where to find and clear your browsing history

The steps to delete browsing history depend on which browser you use — Safari on iPad, Chrome on Android, or Firefox on either. Each browser stores this information in a different place and offers slightly different options for what you can delete. The good news is that all of them let you clear everything at once or pick a specific date range.

Before you start, know that deleting history removes the record of sites you visited, but it does not erase the sites themselves from the internet or prevent your internet provider from seeing where you went. It also does not log you out of accounts you are signed into — you will still be logged in to email, social media, and other services until you manually sign out.

Key Takeaways

  • On iPad, open Settings, tap Safari, and choose "Clear History and Website Data" to remove your browsing record.
  • On Android tablets using Chrome, tap the three-dot menu, select History, then tap "Clear browsing data" and choose your time range.
  • You can delete just history, or also remove cookies, cached images, and saved passwords — each browser lets you pick what goes.
  • Clearing history does not sign you out of accounts or stop your internet provider from seeing your activity.
  • If you want history deleted automatically every time you close the browser, most browsers have a setting for that.

Clearing history on iPad with Safari

On an iPad, the default browser is Safari. To clear your browsing history, open the Settings app (the gray gear icon on your home screen), scroll down and tap Safari, then scroll to the bottom of that screen and tap "Clear History and Website Data." A popup will appear asking you to confirm — tap "Clear History and Website Data" again.

By default, this clears everything from the last hour. If you want to clear a longer period, tap "Clear History and Website Data" again before confirming, and you will see options for the last hour, today, today and yesterday, or all time. Choose the range you want, then confirm.

If you want to delete only certain types of data — for example, keep your history but remove cookies and cached images — you can do that too. In the same Safari settings screen, look for "Clear History and Website Data" and tap it, but this time look for checkboxes next to "Cookies and Site Data" and other options. Uncheck anything you want to keep, then confirm.

Clearing history on Android tablets with Chrome

On an Android tablet using Chrome, tap the three vertical dots in the top right corner of the browser window. Scroll down and tap "History," then tap "Clear browsing data" at the top of the screen. A popup will appear with options for what to delete and how far back.

At the top of the popup, you will see a dropdown menu that says "All time," "Last hour," "Last 24 hours," "Last 7 days," "Last 4 weeks," or "Last 90 days." Select the time range you want. Below that, checkboxes let you choose what to clear: "Cookies and site data," "Cached images and files," "Passwords," and others. By default, "Browsing history" is always checked. Uncheck anything you want to keep, then tap "Clear data."

Clearing history on Firefox

Firefox works similarly on both iPad and Android. Tap the three horizontal lines (the menu icon) at the bottom right of the screen, then tap "Settings." Scroll down and tap "Clear Private Data," then tap "Clear Private Data" again to confirm when ready, or tap the dropdown to choose a time range first.

If you want to choose what gets deleted, go back to Settings, scroll down to "Privacy," and look for "Clear Private Data." Tap it, and before confirming, you will see checkboxes for "Browsing history," "Cookies," "Cached images and files," and others. Uncheck anything you want to keep, then confirm.

What gets deleted and what does not

When you clear browsing history, you remove the list of websites you visited. This also typically removes cookies (small files that websites use to remember you) and cached images (copies of pictures and files stored on your tablet to load pages faster). However, it does not remove saved passwords unless you specifically check that box.

Clearing history does not sign you out of any accounts. If you are logged into Gmail, Facebook, or your bank, you will stay logged in. To log out, you have to do it manually on each site. It also does not prevent your internet service provider, your employer (if you are on their network), or the websites themselves from knowing you visited them — it only removes the local record on your tablet.

Setting your browser to clear history automatically

If you want your browser to delete history every time you close it, you can turn on that setting. On iPad Safari, go to Settings > Safari and toggle on "Clear History and Website Data." On Android Chrome, tap the three dots, go to Settings, tap "Privacy and security," and toggle on "Clear browsing data." On Firefox for either device, go to Settings > Privacy and toggle on "Clear private data."

When you turn this on, your browser will delete your history, cookies, and cached data each time you close it completely. This does not happen when you just switch to another app — you have to actually close the browser. Note that this also clears saved passwords and login information, so you will have to sign back into accounts each time you open the browser.

Clearing individual sites from your history

You do not have to clear all your history at once. On iPad Safari, open the History menu (tap the clock icon at the bottom of the screen), find the site you want to remove, swipe left on it, and tap "Delete." On Android Chrome, tap the three dots, go to History, find the site, and tap the X next to it. On Firefox, long-press the site and tap "Remove."

This removes only that one entry, not your entire history. It is useful if you want to keep most of your browsing record but remove a few specific sites.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does clearing history delete my saved passwords?

Not by default. When you clear history, passwords usually stay saved. To delete passwords, you have to go into your browser settings and find the password manager, then delete them individually or clear all passwords. On Safari, this is in Settings > Passwords. On Chrome, it is in Settings > Passwords. On Firefox, it is in Settings > Passwords.

Will clearing history log me out of my email and social media?

No. Clearing history removes the record of sites you visited, but it does not affect your login sessions. You will stay logged into Gmail, Facebook, and other accounts until you manually sign out. To sign out, go to each site and look for a logout or sign-out button, usually in account settings or a menu.

Can someone see my browsing history after I delete it?

Not from your tablet. Once you delete it, it is gone from your device. However, your internet service provider, your workplace network (if you are on one), and the websites you visited can still see that you went there — they have their own records. Deleting history only removes the local record on your tablet.

What is the difference between clearing history and clearing cache?

History is the list of websites you visited. Cache is the copies of images, videos, and files that your browser saved to load pages faster next time. Most browsers let you clear both at once, but you can also clear one without the other. Clearing cache frees up storage space on your tablet but does not hide where you have been.

Why does my browser still show me ads for things I looked up after I cleared history?

Clearing your browser history does not stop advertisers from tracking you. Websites and ad networks use cookies and other tracking methods that survive a history clear, or they track you across the internet using your device's advertising ID. To reduce tracking, turn on "Do Not Track" in your browser settings, but know that not all websites honor this request.