How to Delete Facebook or Instagram Search History Permanently
In this post, you’ll see the steps to view and clear your Facebook and Instagram search history. Let’s start.
Delete Facebook Search History
Note that:
- Facebook saves your search and every visit you make to a profile, page, or group via search. The history of those is called search history.
- You can’t find deleted searches since search deletion is permanent.
- You can’t retrieve the deleted search history.
Let’s see the steps.
PC
Sign in to your Facebook account and hit your name in the left sidebar.
Click on the three horizontal dots button beneath the cover photo, and then hit “Activity log.”
From the left sidebar, click “Logged Actions and Other Activity.”
Click on “Search history” above the “Videos you’ve watched.” You can now view the visits and searches.
To remove an individual search or visit:
Click on the three horizontal dots beside the one you want to remove. Hit “Delete” and click “Delete” in the confirmation popup.
Click “Clear Searches” at the top right to remove all searches and visits simultaneously.
Here is an alternative method:
At the top left of Facebook, click the search bar. You can now see a few searches and visits.
You can remove any of them by clicking the “X” icon.
Hit “Edit” to view all searches and visits. The rest are the same as above.
See: How to Hide Likes Count from Facebook Posts
Android or iPhone
In the Facebook app, tap on the “Menu.”
Hit Settings & Privacy > Settings. If you see “Profile settings,” tap it.
Tap Activity log > Logged actions and other activity > Search history.
You can view your searches and visits now.
Hit the three horizontal dots beside the one you want to remove. Tap “Delete.” In the confirmation pop-up, hit “Delete.”
Hit “Clear Searches” at the top to remove all the searches and visits.
Here is an alternative method:
Open the Facebook app and hit the “Search” icon in the top right.
The “Recent searches” section shows a few of your recent searches and visits.
You can remove an individual one by hitting the “X” icon.
Tap “See all” to see all your visits and searches.
Select “Searches” at the top if you only want to view searches.
Hit “Visits” at the top, which only shows visits to a profile, page, or group through search.
To remove a search or visit, hit the “X” icon.
To completely erase your search history, select “Clear all” and hit “Clear all” in the popup.
Delete Individual Search Suggestions and Entire Search History on Instagram
Instagram saves your every search by default, which you can’t stop.
But you can delete individual search suggestions and your entire search history on Instagram. Let’s see how.
Please remember that deletions are permanent, and the steps for the Instagram desktop version also apply to the Instagram Desktop app.
PC
Log in to your Instagram account on your browser.
At the left sidebar, click “Search.” You can now view your previous searches.
To delete individual search suggestions, click the “X” next to the one you like.
To delete the entire search history, click “Clear all” beside “Recent.”
In the pop-up, select “Clear all.”
Android or iPhone
Launch the Instagram app.
Go to “Search & Explore” (the “Search” icon) at the bottom.
Hit the search box at the top. Locate the search suggestion you want to erase and hit “X.”
Hitting “See all” next to “Recent” will take you to the “Recent Searches” screen, where you can view all your searches.
To remove an individual one, hit “X” beside the one you like.
To remove the entire search history, hit “Clear all” at the top right. In the pop-up, select “Clear all.”
That’s it.
Here are the alternate methods to reach the “Recent Searches” screen:
Method #1
In the Instagram app’s bottom, tap your profile picture.
Tap the Hamburger icon (three horizontal lines) at the top right and select “Your activity.”
Hit “Recent searches,” and you can see all your searches.
Method #2
In the Instagram app, hit your profile picture at the bottom.
At the top right, tap the “Hamburger” icon (three horizontal lines).
Go to “Settings.” In the search box, type search and hit “Recent searches.”
See: How to Turn Off Similar Account Suggestions on Instagram
