# How can I delete past search words that pop up when I use google?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-delete-past-search-words-that-pop-up-when-i-use-google/241557>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 23, 2004, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-delete-past-search-words-that-pop-up-when-i-use-google/241557 "2004-04-23T02:54:58Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![JoeSki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b487fb/32.png) [@JoeSki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoeSki)\
**Post date:** [April 23, 2004, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-delete-past-search-words-that-pop-up-when-i-use-google/241557/1 "2004-04-23T02:54:58Z")

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_ahem_

Let me try to rephrase the question starting with why I want to. About half an hour ago I was sitting at my desk searching for anything about a certain historical figure and the way in which he ruled at [google.com](http://google.com). I was doing a makeup exam at home, and needed some answers on some questions. nothing popped up so I went to [yahoo.com](http://yahoo.com) and tried over there. I guess I must have paused after typing in G into the search engine, because then the list of past phrases and words that I searched for popped up. And lo and behold, one of them was “Girl’s mouth full of cock”. Uh huh. I never typed that into any search engine. If I look up something I don’t want anyone to find out about, _I_ cover my tracks. This is most likely the work of a friend of mine who visited last month or so. I knew he had been to some porn sites after taking a glimpse into “history”. I’m not so annoyed that he visited porn sites while on my computer, but Jesus, you’d think he’d put some effort into making sure no one would find out once we got home from school and/or work. Now anyone typing G into a search engine will see this and think I had something to do with it. How do I erase this?

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**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\
**Post date:** [April 23, 2004, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-delete-past-search-words-that-pop-up-when-i-use-google/241557/2 "2004-04-23T03:13:48Z")

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When the recall box pops up, highlight the offending phrase and hit the “delete” key.

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**Author:** ![Rex\_Fenestrarum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rex_fenestrarum/32/7265_2.png) [@Rex\_Fenestrarum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rex_Fenestrarum)\
**Post date:** [April 23, 2004, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-delete-past-search-words-that-pop-up-when-i-use-google/241557/3 "2004-04-23T03:17:30Z")

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Or, Tools \> Internet Options \> Content \> AutoComplete \> Clear Forms

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**Author:** ![JoeSki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b487fb/32.png) [@JoeSki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoeSki)\
**Post date:** [April 23, 2004, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-delete-past-search-words-that-pop-up-when-i-use-google/241557/4 "2004-04-23T05:21:12Z")

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Offending phrase gone. Thank you both 🙂 .