Search history can really clutter any browser. Google Chrome makes it very simple to look at your past activity, delete certain items from it, and clear your cache. However, Gmail’s search history is a little more complicated to delete outright.
In this guide, we’ll show you how to delete individual search items on Gmail, and we’ll show you how to locate a place to delete search items in bulk. Let’s get started!
How to delete individual search items on Gmail
It’s a really good idea to keep your Gmail organized. One great way to do that is to delete unimportant searches from your history. That way you can see the most used ones! Let’s go through how to delete individual items from Gmail history.
Step 1: Log into your Gmail account
First and foremost, you need to log in to your Gmail account. Go to Gmail and sign in with your login credentials.
Your inbox should open up like this:
Step 2: Open the search bar
At the top of your inbox page, you should see the search box. This is where you can find specific emails you’re searching for, such as finding emails from a specific user.
If you click on it, a menu will open up. This is where your past searches will show up. In the example below, the only past search was “google docs.”
Step 3: Click ‘x’ to delete
When you hover over the item, you should see a small “x” on the far right. If you click it, you’ll delete the item from your past searches.
How to delete your Gmail search history in bulk
Step 1: Go to Google’s My Activity page
You can delete Gmail searches in batches with Google My Activity. This is the central hub for all activity on Google products, including Gmail.
Step 2: Click ‘Other activity’
In the leftmost menu, select “Other activity.” This is where you’ll be able to find Gmail searches specifically. There are other ways to get there, but this requires less scrolling.
Step 3: Navigate to Google Workspace search history
Once there, scroll down to where it says “Google Workspace search history.” There should be a link that says “Manage Google Workspace search history.” Click it!
It should take you to a page that looks like this:
Step 4: Delete your Gmail search history in batches
Scroll down near the bottom and you’ll see individual items. Here, you can see any activity from Google Workspace, and Gmail activity will be labeled as so.
Activity is given in batches by date. If you wish to delete a day’s worth of Google Workspace activity, you can press the “x” to the right of the date.
Deleting search history on Gmail isn’t straightforward, but it is easy!
Unfortunately, because searches on Gmail aren’t as common, Google has tucked away the ability behind their My Activity webpage. Luckily, it’s super easy to navigate there and bookmark it for easy access.Thanks for reading! YAMM wants everyone to have access to free resources to improve their Google experience. For more tips and guides on Google Workspace products and features, check out the YAMM blog!