How To Remove Google Search History On Iphone

Google now lets you delete the last 15 minutes of your iPhone search history — here's how

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Google has introduced the ability for users to delete the 15 minutes of their mobile search history on iPhone. For now, the feature is exclusively available on iOS devices, but an Android rollout is expected later in the year.

This new feature was originally announced at Google's I/O 2021 event and will operate alongside the platform's existing auto-delete features. Currently, you can choose to have your search data auto-scrubbed every three, 18, or 36 months, but now you can also remove the last quarter of an hour if you need to quickly remove your most recent search history.

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This feature will be useful in several scenarios. Perhaps you've been browsing for a present for someone on a shared device, or maybe you don't want whatever you've recently been researching to be picked up by the Google algorithm. We've all made some questionable web searches in the past; we're not judging.

Deleting the last 15 minutes of search is a little easier than constantly having to remember to switch to an incognito tab ahead of time. Plus, its integration within the Google iOS app makes it a feature that is extremely user-friendly.

How to delete the last 15 minutes of your search history

After announcing this new feature at I/O 2021, Google has rolled out the ability to delete the last 15 minutes of search history on iOS. Here's how to scrub your recent searches:

1. Open the Google app on your iOS device and click the account icon in the top right-hand corner.

How to delete the last 15 minutes of your search history - 01 — (Image credit: Google)

2. From the account settings window, you will see a subheading for Search history and underneath that the option to delete the last 15 minutes of your search history. Click "Delete last 15 mins".

How to delete the last 15 minutes of your search history - 02 — (Image credit: Google)

3. You should now see a notification alerting you that your last 15 minutes of search is being deleted. If you change your mind you have a small window to click Undo before this pop-up window disappears and your recent search history is permanently erased.

How to delete the last 15 minutes of your search history - 03 — (Image credit: Google)

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Rory is a staff writer at Tom's Guide based in the UK. He covers a wide range of topics including tech news, deals, gaming, streaming and more. When he's not writing hot takes on the latest gaming hardware and streaming shows, he can be found watching a borderline unhealthy amount of movies and being thoroughly disappointed by his terrible football team.