Privacy is becoming more and more of a concern these days, especially when we use our smartphones for everything. One question we keep getting is how to delete or clear your browser history on an Android smartphone or tablet.
There are many different reasons why a user might want to delete their internet browser or search history and we’re sure you have reasons, here’s how to do it.
As for removing your browser history on Android, here are a few different scenarios. Firstly, a wide variety of different browsers are available for Android users, not to mention manufacturers like Samsung have their own browser options on top of Google Chrome. That said, below we’ll explain how easy it is to remove your history in Chrome.
If most of you are logged into your Google account, every website you visit or do will be recorded. This is as long as you don’t turn off your history or use an incognito tab, which we’ll talk more about below.
Whether you want to clear your browser history so your spouse can’t see what you got him for his birthday, or for other reasons, read on for a few details and quick videos that show how easy it really is. However, removing your browser history and search history are two different things.
Instructions
Now, as we mentioned above, the Google Play Store has a wide selection of 3rd party browsers readily available by users and manufacturers. However, Google Chrome is the most popular, so we will explain it below. However, the same process is almost the same for all browsers on smartphones, tablets and even your home desktop.
In Google Chrome, you have to enter the menu by pressing the 3 dots at the top or, for most Android devices, the physical menu button, and then you’ll see “History” halfway through the popup. Tap that and you’ll see a full curated list of your browser history. From here you can remove them one by one so it looks like you’re not hiding your tracks, or tap the “clear browsing data” button below for a complete wipe.
From here you can select only your history, all your cache and cookies, as well as site data. It’s also a good idea to do this occasionally as your phone stores a lot of data, and it can free up some space and speed up your Chrome browsing experience. It is not recommended to check the last two, as this will delete saved passwords and login usernames and automatically fill in the data remembered by the browser. However, if you’re worried, a full wipe may be appropriate.
Choose what you want to clean and hit the “clean” button and let it do its magic. From there, you’ll have a long (or short) wait depending on how often this is done, and you’re done. The video below quickly demonstrates how this can be done in person.
That is all. If you’re using a Samsung Galaxy S4, Galaxy S5, Note 3 or any other Samsung device, Chrome is probably an option, but they have their own “Internet”. If you want to clear your history on a Samsung device, you have to enter the same menu, go to settings, tap on privacy and select “Clear personal data” to complete the above-mentioned task.
Avoid This In The Beginning
Of course, you can always take precautionary steps to stop Google or your browser from saving your history on startup. It’s called the Incognito Tab. While in the Chrome hit menu, open a new Incognito tab. They don’t remember or save any history, passwords, logins, or track what you’re doing. This is your best bet and is something many users should consider.
That’s not all. There are multiple browsers in the Google Play Store that do this by default and will never, ever remember any of your data. Dolphin Zero It’s a good one, and Opera also has a browser-wide privacy mode that you can enable.
What we do on our smartphones is our own business, so be sure to take the steps outlined above to prevent it from being recorded or to delete it whenever you do something you don’t want others to see. Whatever this is.
