Where to find the clear history option on your Samsung

The fastest way to clear your history depends on which app you're using. If you want to clear your web browser history, open Samsung Internet (the default browser on most Samsung phones) and tap the three horizontal lines in the bottom right corner. Then tap Settings, scroll down to Privacy, and select Delete browsing data. A menu will appear asking what you want to delete — you can choose history, cookies, cached images, and more.

If you use Google Chrome instead, the process is similar but slightly different. Open Chrome, tap the three vertical dots in the top right corner, go to Settings, then Privacy and security, and tap Clear browsing data. You'll see checkboxes for the types of data you want to remove, along with a time range dropdown at the top — you can clear just today's history, the last week, the last month, or all time.

For other browsers like Firefox or Edge, the location of the clear history button varies, but it's always in the settings menu under a privacy or history section. The principle is the same: find Settings, look for Privacy or History, and select the option to clear or delete.

Key Takeaways

  • Samsung Internet's clear history option is in Settings > Privacy > Delete browsing data, accessible from the three-line menu icon.
  • Chrome users should go to Settings > Privacy and security > Clear browsing data and can choose a specific time range before clearing.
  • You can select which types of data to remove — history, cookies, cached images, and passwords — rather than clearing everything at once.
  • Clearing history from your browser does not delete your Google account history or activity stored on Google's servers.

What data gets deleted when you clear history

When you tap "Delete browsing data" or "Clear browsing data," you're removing the record of websites you've visited from your phone's storage. This includes the list of URLs in your browser's history, the text you've typed into search boxes, and thumbnails of pages you've viewed. Most browsers let you choose whether to delete cookies (small files that websites use to remember you) and cached images (copies of pictures and files stored locally to load pages faster).

Clearing your browser history does not delete your Google account history, YouTube watch history, or any activity stored on Google's servers. If you want to remove those, you need to visit myactivity.google.com on a computer or phone and delete them separately. Similarly, clearing history from your phone doesn't affect the history stored on other devices — if you use the same browser account on a tablet or computer, that device keeps its own history unless you clear it there too.

How to clear app data and cache on Samsung

Beyond browser history, you may want to clear data stored by individual apps. Go to Settings > Apps (or process Manager on older Samsung phones), then find the app you want to clear. Tap the app name, and you'll see options for Storage or Storage and cache. From there, you can tap Clear cache to remove temporary files the app has stored, or Clear data to remove everything — including login information, saved preferences, and downloaded content.

Be aware that clearing an app's data will log you out and reset the app to its default state. You'll need to sign back in the next time you open it. Clearing cache is safer if you're just trying to free up space or fix an app that's running slowly — it removes temporary files without erasing your account information or settings.

Clearing search history from Google and Samsung accounts

If you use Google Search on your Samsung phone and have a Google account, your searches are saved to your Google account activity. To clear this, open a web browser (on your phone or computer) and go to myactivity.google.com. Sign in with your Google account, and you'll see a timeline of your searches, YouTube views, and other Google activity. You can delete individual items by clicking them, or delete everything from a specific date range using the delete button at the top.

Samsung also keeps a search history if you use Samsung's own search features or Bixby voice assistant. To clear this, go to Settings > Apps > Samsung Search (or Bixby), tap Storage, and select Clear data. This removes the record of what you've searched for using Samsung's tools, but it won't affect your Google account activity.

Using Samsung's find Folder to manage private browsing

If you want to browse without creating a history in the first place, Samsung phones include a find Folder feature that lets you create a private space with its own apps and data. You can open Samsung Internet inside find Folder, and any history you create there stays separate from your main phone. To set this up, go to Settings > Biometrics and security > find Folder and follow the prompts to create a PIN or biometric lock.

Once find Folder is set up, you can add a copy of Samsung Internet to it. Any browsing you do in that copy won't show up in your main browser history. This is useful if you want to keep certain searches or websites private without having to manually clear history every time.

Automatic history clearing on a schedule

Both Samsung Internet and Chrome let you set up automatic history clearing so you don't have to do it manually. In Samsung Internet, go to Settings > Privacy and look for Delete browsing data on exit — toggle this on, and your history will clear every time you close the browser. You can also choose which types of data to delete automatically.

Chrome has a similar option called Delete cookies and site data when you quit Chrome, found in Settings > Privacy and security. Turning this on means your history, cookies, and cached files disappear as soon as you close the app. This is convenient if you want privacy without thinking about it, but it also means you won't be able to use autofill or have the browser remember your passwords.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does clearing history delete my passwords?

Not automatically. When you clear browsing data, you can choose whether to delete passwords — most browsers show this as a separate checkbox. If you want to keep your saved passwords but delete history and cookies, uncheck the password option before clearing. If you do delete passwords, you'll need to type them in again the next time you visit those websites.

Can someone recover my history after I delete it?

Once you clear history from your phone, it's gone from the browser. However, your internet service provider and the websites you visited may still have records of your activity. If you're concerned about privacy, using a VPN (virtual private network) prevents your ISP from seeing which sites you visit, though the sites themselves will still know you visited them.

Will clearing history free up storage space on my phone?

Clearing browser history alone frees up very little space — history files are small. Clearing cached images and data from apps can free up more, sometimes several gigabytes if apps have accumulated a lot of temporary files. If you're running low on storage, clearing app cache is more effective than clearing browser history.

What's the difference between clearing history and clearing cache?

History is the list of websites you've visited; cache is temporary copies of images, videos, and files that websites store on your phone to load faster next time. Clearing history removes the record of where you've been. Clearing cache removes the temporary files but doesn't erase the list of sites you visited.

Does clearing my phone's history affect my Google account?

No. Clearing history from your Samsung phone only removes data stored locally on the device. Your Google account keeps its own activity log on Google's servers. To remove that, you must visit myactivity.google.com and delete it separately from any device.