How to Clear Your Browsing History on Any Browser or Phone

To clear your browsing history, open your browser’s clearing tool, pick a time range and choose what to delete: in Chrome, Edge and Firefox on a computer, Ctrl + Shift + Delete (⌘ + Shift + Delete on a Mac) opens it directly. Below are the steps for each major browser and phone, how to clear a single site instead of everything, and what each option really removes. Menu names change between versions, so if a label doesn’t match exactly, look for the closest one.

What each option removes

Most browsers let you choose what to clear. Here’s what the usual options do:

Two things to know before you start:

• Sync spreads the change. If you’re signed in to your browser with sync on, as with Chrome, Edge or Safari with iCloud, clearing history on one device clears it on your other devices too.
• Account activity is separate. Searches and activity saved to an online account, such as your search engine account, stay there until you delete them in that account’s settings.

Chrome, Edge and Firefox on a computer

Chrome

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Delete (⌘ + Shift + Delete on a Mac), or select More (⋮) → Delete browsing data. Older versions call it Clear browsing data.
2. Choose a time range, such as Last hour or All time.
3. Select what to remove, such as browsing history, cookies and other site data, and cached images and files.
4. Select Delete data.

Edge

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Delete, or go to Settings and more (…) → Settings → Privacy, search, and services → Clear browsing data and select Choose what to clear.
2. Pick a time range and the types of data.
3. Select Clear now.

Edge can also clear the data you choose every time you close the browser, from the same section.

Firefox

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Delete (⌘ + Shift + Delete on a Mac), or open the menu (three lines) → History → Clear recent history.
2. Choose a time range and what to clear, such as history, cookies and site data, and cached files.
3. Confirm.

Firefox can also clear history automatically when it closes, under Settings → Privacy & Security → History.

Safari on Mac, iPhone and iPad

Safari on Mac

1. Choose History → Clear History.
2. Open the pop-up menu and choose how far back to clear, from the last hour to all history.
3. Click Clear History.

To remove cookies and website data, choose Safari → Settings → Privacy → Manage Website Data, then click Remove All, or select individual sites and click Remove. If Safari syncs through iCloud, cleared history disappears from your other Apple devices too.

Safari on iPhone and iPad

1. In Safari, open your bookmarks, then the History tab (the clock icon). Where the bookmarks button sits depends on your iOS version and tab layout.
2. Tap the option to clear your history (labeled Clear or Clear History, depending on the version), then choose a timeframe below Clear Timeframe. If you use Safari profiles, pick one profile or All Profiles.
3. Tap Clear History.

On iPhone and iPad, this also removes cookies and other browsing data, so you’ll be signed out of most sites. Older versions offer the same through the Settings app, under Safari → Clear History and Website Data.

Chrome and Samsung Internet on Android

Chrome on Android

1. Tap More (⋮) → Delete browsing data.
2. Choose a time range and tap Delete data to remove your browsing history, including open tabs from that period. The default is the last 15 minutes.
3. For more control, tap More options, select the types of data and tap Delete data.

Chrome on iPhone has a similar Delete browsing data option in its menu.

Samsung Internet

1. Tap the menu button (three lines), then Settings.
2. Open Personal browsing data, or the privacy section on some versions, and tap Delete browsing data.
3. Choose what to delete and confirm.

The exact wording can vary by version.

Clear one site instead of everything

Deleting a single site’s data keeps you signed in everywhere else:

• Chrome: on the site, select the View site information icon to the left of the address, then Cookies and site data → Manage on-device site data, and delete the entries. Or go to Settings → Privacy and security → Third-party cookies → See all site data and permissions, search for the site and select Delete.
• Edge: select the icon to the left of the address and open the cookies and site data option.
• Firefox: select the padlock in the address bar and choose Clear cookies and site data. To remove the site from your history too, right-click it in your history and choose Forget About This Site.
• Safari on Mac: in Manage Website Data, search for the site and click Remove.
• Safari on iPhone and iPad: in the Settings app, go to Safari, then Advanced → Website Data, and swipe left on the site to delete it.
• Other Android browsers: on the site, tap the icon next to the address, open the site settings and delete the stored data.

Remove address bar suggestions

The address bar suggests sites from your history, bookmarks and open tabs. To remove a single suggestion without clearing everything, highlight it with the arrow keys and press Shift + Delete in Chrome, Edge or Firefox (Shift + fn + Delete in Chrome on a Mac). Newer versions also show a remove option next to some suggestions. In Safari, suggestions come from your history and bookmarks, so delete the history entry or the bookmark. If a site keeps coming back, check your bookmarks and open tabs, which feed suggestions too.

To avoid saving history in the first place, use a private window: our guide to incognito mode explains what it does and doesn’t hide.

Clear what GIGAXXX stores on your device

GIGAXXX sets no cookies of its own and never receives your lists. Watch later, Favorites, likes, resume points, player settings and your viewing history are kept in your browser’s local storage, and you control them:

• Recently viewed: on the home page, select Clear next to Recently viewed.
• Recent searches: open the search panel and select Clear.
• Stop saving history: switch off History on this device (menu → Preferences, or in the search panel). Both lists are cleared, and nothing new is recorded until you switch it back on.
• Saved items: on your Saved page, remove items from the Watch later, Favorites and History tabs.
• Everything at once: delete the site data for gigaxxx.com as described above. This erases your lists, preferences, resume points and cookie & storage choices, and there’s no copy on our side to restore.

Your browser’s own history is separate, so clear gigaxxx.com from it as well if you want no trace on the device. Our Cookie Policy lists everything the site stores, our Privacy Policy explains the standard server logs we delete after about 5 days, and our guide to Watch later without an account covers local saving in depth.

The bottom line

Clearing your browsing history takes seconds once you know where to look: Ctrl + Shift + Delete on most desktop browsers, or the history and privacy menus on a phone. Clear history alone to remove the trail, add cookies and site data only when you want to sign out and reset sites, and delete a single site’s data when that’s all you need. On GIGAXXX, the Clear buttons and the History on this device switch handle most of it.