Remove Items From Your Watch History (and Search History)
The YouTube Android app has an Incognito Mode that you can enable to prevent it from collecting history. However, if you have watched a video already, Incognito Mode will not help you remove it, you will have to do that yourself.
To do this in your web browser,
- Go to the YouTube site, click on the menu button at the top left corner and then click “History” beneath Library in the sidebar.
To remove an item from your watch history,
- Click on the “X” by the right. note that you have to move over the video with your mouse to see the “X” on the desktop website.
Or you can select “Search History” to see the entire list of searches you have made on YouTube and then click “X” to delete it.
To delete items from your watch history in the YouTube app for iPhone, iPad, or Android,
- Click on the “Library” icon on the toolbar at the bottom of the app, and afterwards tap the “History”.
- Hit the menu button by the right of a video after which you tap “Remove From Watch History”
We don’t see a way to view your entire search history and remove individual searches from it in the YouTube mobile app. You can use the YouTube website to remove individual searches. You can also clear your entire YouTube search history from the app using the below instructions.
Clear Your Entire Watch History (and Search History)
You can clear the entire history of videos you have watched although this will cause YouTube to not have any idea of videos you like and so it can’t provide proper recommendations.
To do this on the YouTube site,
- Click the menu button at the top-left corner and then click “History”. By the right of videos you’ve watched, click “Clear All Watch History”.
You will get a prompt dialog box asking you to confirm after which you have to click “Clear Watch History” again to do so.
To delete your YouTube search history,
- Select “Search History” under History Type after that, click “Clear All Search History”.
In the mobile app,
- Go to the Library and then to History. Hit the menu at the top of the app and afterwards tap “History Settings”.
- Scroll down to History & Privacy and under it you’ll find “Clear Watch History”. Tap on it.
On the same page you could also opt to “Clear Search History” to clear your entire search history.
Use YouTube’s Incognito Mode
If you’re about to watch some embarrassing videos you don’t want YouTube remembering later, try using YouTube’s Incognito Mode.
If you intend watching a video that’s embarrassing and you don’t want YouTube having any record of it, use the YouTube Incognito Mode.
At the moment, only the Android app has this mode, Google may later include it in the iOS version.
To activate Incognito Mode,
- Tap your profile picture at the top right corner of the YouTube Android app after which you hit “Incognito Mode” on the menu screen that will appear.
Pause YouTube History Collection
There are platforms where you cannot activate the Incognito Mode, but you can Pause your YouTube watch history before watching something you don’t want in your history. However, you must be signed into YouTube with whatever device you are using.
To do this,
- Head to the YouTube site and click “History” in the sidebar and then click “Pause Watch History” by the right of the YouTube watch history.
You will get a warning from YouTube saying you won’t collect any watch history, to proceed, click “Pause”.
Or, you can select “Search History” on the same page and then click “Pause Search History”.
On the YouTube app on Android, iPhone, or iPad,
- Got to the Library and then to History. From the history page, open the menu, and then hit “History Settings”.
- Scroll down to History & Privacy and tap “Pause Watch History”.
- On that page, you could also “Pause Search History” so YouTube will stop collecting your search history.
- If you want, you can go back and “Turn On Watch History” on the website or disable the “Pause Watch History” in the app.
