# How do you clear past searches in Google

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-clear-past-searches-in-google/218788>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 13, 2003, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-clear-past-searches-in-google/218788 "2003-12-13T16:40:38Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![frazeb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d26b3c/32.png) [@frazeb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/frazeb)\
**Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-clear-past-searches-in-google/218788/1 "2003-12-13T16:40:38Z")

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I notice that when I go to Google and click on the text box to enter my search that it opens a drop down list with all of my previous searches still there ready to be used. Call me private but I don’t like that feature. How can I keep it from saving my past searches and how can I erase the entries that are already there?  
Thanks!

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**Author:** ![Berkut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e57/32.png) [@Berkut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Berkut)\
**Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-clear-past-searches-in-google/218788/2 "2003-12-13T16:45:50Z")

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In IE,

Tools\>Internet Options\>Content

Click on Autocomplete, and uncheck everything for “Use Autocomplete for”, and also click on Clear forms and passowrds.

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**Author:** ![aerodave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f08c70/32.png) [@aerodave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aerodave)\
**Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-clear-past-searches-in-google/218788/3 "2003-12-13T20:13:18Z")

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You can delete individual entries in IE but making the drop down box appear, highlighting the desired entry, and pressing the “delete” key.

Or you could stop googling for porn. 😛

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**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\
**Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-clear-past-searches-in-google/218788/4 "2003-12-13T20:46:31Z")

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The others implied, didn’t exactly say it: Google isn’t the culprit.

Your local copy of IE is remembering everything you type into every text box on every page you ever see. And next time you go to the exact same URL, whatever you typed in those boxes on all every previous visit will be available listed in a dropdown. Name, password, credit card #, you name it. Sorta handy if you’re the only person using your computer, but less so otherwise.

Berkut and Audilover explained how to turn that feature off completely or selectively, so I won’t add anything there.