How to delete your entire Google search history (and stop Google from storing it)
Enjoy today's featured easy-to-follow tech tip.
Rick's Daily Tech Tips Update for Friday, May 2, 2025
[Standard Edition]
I welcome your questions and comments. Simply Reply to this email and let me know what’s on your mind - or just say hi!
(Note: Replies help keep my emails landing in your inbox.)
Like my tips?
If you find my tips useful, you can help me keep them coming by opting for a Premium (Paid) subscription. Here are the details:
1 - Premium subscriptions help offset my blogs’ web hosting and other related fees, which are substantial. In other words, they help ensure that I’ll be able to keep sending you my tips well into the future.
2 - Premium issues do not contain sponsorship ads.
3 - Premium subscribers have double the chance to win my Monthly Tech Giveaway.
4 - Premium subscribers have full 24/7 access to all previous issues in the Newsletter Archives.
If you’d like to enjoy these benefits while helping me out, just click this button now:
Today's issue is sponsored by...
Batteries+ lets you buy your laptop battery online at a discount and then pick it up at your local Batteries+ store.
————
Want to sponsor this newsletter and speak directly to over 16,700 engaged subscribers? Click here for info.
Today’s featured gadget pick...
Every day I feature a tech item that I’ve hand-picked to be among the best of the best.
Click here to see what I’m loving today.
Monthly Tech Giveaway....
We have a winner for April...
Congratulations to Carol S. from Georgetown, Kentucky. Carol won the P3 Lite Mini Gaming PC in April's Tech Tips Giveaway.
May's winner will receive a fantastic TCL 50-Inch Class S4 4K LED Smart Roku TV (click for details).
The prizes featured in my Monthly Tech Giveaways include a combination of the best items I have received for testing / review and brand new items provided directly by partner companies.
This month’s winner will be selected at random on May 31.
Note: Want to double your chance to win? All Standard subscribers have an equal chance to win. All Premium (Paid) subscribers have double the chance to win (their email addresses are added to the ‘pot’ twice).
In other words, you can double your chance to win by upgrading to any Premium subscription.
Today’s featured tech tip…
How to delete your entire Google search history (and stop Google from storing it)
Did you know Google keeps a record of every search you've ever made?
Well, they do. And they'll keep it forever unless you tell them to delete it.
As you can probably guess, there are many reasons why you might not want a record of every Google search you've ever made hanging around year after year.
Luckily, it's quite easy to delete your entire Google search history in one fell swoop. Just follow the steps below. (Note: This works on both computers and mobile devices.)
1 - Open a web browser and visit myactivity.google.com/product/search on the Google website, then sign in if you are prompted to do so.
2 - On the line containing the magnifying glass, click (or tap) the Delete button.
3 - Select Delete all time from the drop-down menu, then click (or tap) the Delete button in the Confirmation dialog.
That's all there is to it. Your Google search history has now been deleted. Pretty easy, right?
Just be sure to keep in mind that Google will start compiling a brand new search history beginning with your very next search. It likely won't be long before you've built up another fairly lengthy record of your online activities.
That's why you'll need to repeat this procedure on a regular basis if you want to keep the content of all of your searches confidential. Most people I know do it about once a month, but if you're the paranoid type you might want to shoot for once or twice a week.
Alternatively, you can tell Google not to store your search history at all. Here's how:
1 - Open a web browser and visit myactivity.google.com/product/search on the Google website, then sign in if you are prompted to do so.
2 - Click (or tap) Saving to Web & App Activity.
3 - Click (or tap) the Turn off button.
4 - Select Turn off from the drop-down menu.
Bottom line: Google has a very long memory when it comes to the things you search for on their site, but a little regular cleanup using the procedure outlined above can help keep the amount of data they store on you to an absolute minimum.
Bonus tip : This post gives 8 great tips for searching Google like a pro.
If you find this tip (and this newsletter) useful, please consider sharing it with your friends.
Picture of the Day...
“Sunset over the Tiber”
Today’s POTD features the last rays of the setting sun placing Rome's St. Peter's Basilica in silhouette and painting the Tiber River a golden hue. I hope you like it.
Bonus tips from some the web’s best Tech sites...
Every day I hand-pick five of the best tips I found on my favorite tech sites and share them with you, my wonderful subscribers. Here is today’s selection:
• Update your Apple devices now to keep them safe from new vulnerability
• 10 ways to make your important documents disaster-proof
• How to use Voice Control on your Mac to navigate hands-free
• 6 tricks to improve Internet performance on Windows
• How to backup and update your LG phone before servers shut down
Today's post from 'Living (and loving) Life'...
Did you know frozen dinners were invented to fix a huge mistake?
Today’s tech news headlines...
• Employment platform beWanted leaks 1.1 million job seekers’ details
• Google Messages rolling out ‘Unsubscribe’ button to stop SMS and RCS spam
• IBM pledges massive $150 billion investment in US technology sector
• Visa and Mastercard unveil AI-powered shopping
• WordPress plugin disguised as a security tool injects backdoor
Have a question, comment or suggestion? Hit the Reply button and reply to this email. I love hearing what you have to say...
Thanks so much, and have an amazing day.
Your tech buddy,
Rick Rouse
Want to help support my work and keep this newsletter coming for all to enjoy? Your upgrade to a paid subscription will help a lot (and be greatly appreciated).