# Purging searches in Google

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purging-searches-in-google/177282>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 24, 2003, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purging-searches-in-google/177282 "2003-05-24T20:45:54Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Zazie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Zazie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zazie)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2003, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purging-searches-in-google/177282/1 "2003-05-24T20:45:54Z")

</div>

Google is to me the best search engine around.  
I use it a lot on my home PC.  
It keeps the searches I make, when I start typing a word I get the little drop down of everything I have searched in the past starting with the same letter…  
How can I purge this list…? I looked around for some options, preference, I couldn’t find anything.  
Any ideas?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2003, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purging-searches-in-google/177282/2 "2003-05-24T20:48:16Z")

</div>

That’s not a Google feature, that’s a browser feature. Tell me which one you have and I’ll tell you how to turn it off and delete entries

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Zazie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Zazie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zazie)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2003, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purging-searches-in-google/177282/3 "2003-05-24T21:13:37Z")

</div>

Ohhhh that makes sense…  
I did try first to delete Internet Files etc etc from Internet Option in my control panel, but it didn’t work.  
I have Windows XP (home) and my browser is Internet Explorer 6.0 I believe.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2003, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purging-searches-in-google/177282/4 "2003-05-24T21:19:56Z")

</div>

Tools \> Internet Options \> Content tab \> AutoComplete button. You can check and uncheck what to use autocomplete for or click the Clear Forms button to purge all the saved text.

If you want to delete only a few selected ones you can do so by typing the first few letters in the web form in question and clicking the one to delete in the drop-down box and then hit the Delete key.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Zazie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Zazie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zazie)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2003, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purging-searches-in-google/177282/5 "2003-05-24T21:27:26Z")

</div>

Q.E.D. you are the man!  
Thank you so much, it’s all nice and clean.  
At the present time, you are my heroe.

😃