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At some point, a friend may ask to borrow your superfast smartphone to look up something on the Web. It’s times like these when you really don’t want any of your private search queries popping up in the autocomplete area for your friend to choose. Perhaps you were looking up something medically related, or some other personal matter–you want to keep it as private as possible. Follow these steps to erase the search history on your Android phone.
1. Open your mobile browser on the phone and head to Google.com if it isn’t your default search page.
Screenshot by Nicole Cozma
2. Signed-in users will see a History link near the bottom of the page, which is where you want to press. If you don’t see the History link, click on Sign in and enter your credentials.
Screenshot by Nicole Cozma
3. Once the History area pops up, press on the Edit button near the top left.
Screenshot by Nicole Cozma
4. Use the small “X” boxes on the left of each search query to delete them individually. If you want to clear all of them at once, you will need to do so from a computer Web browser.
Screenshot by Nicole Cozma
Optional steps to disable saved searches:
5. Go back to the main Google page.
6. Press on Settings instead of History.
Screenshot by Nicole Cozma
7. Change the Search History choice to “Do not save searches.”
Screenshot by Nicole Cozma
Feel free to adjust any other settings in this area and you’re done. These settings can also be accessed from the Web, as they are associated with your Google account.
