How to Delete All Google History Permanently?

Table of Contents:

• What Types of Google History Do You Have
• Difference Between Deleting Google My Activity History and Browsing History
• How to Delete All Google History Permanently
• How to download Google Activity data?
• Risks and Benefits of Not Deleting Google History
• Tips to Enhance Online Privacy in 2025
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Conclusion

Data breach and intrusions into privacy is a common practice by cyberbullies who rely on your digital footprint collected and stored by companies like Google. In today’s modern era, protecting your online privacy is complex than ever because the risks are much higher than before. In 2024 alone, over 22 billion worth of records were exposed due to data breaches, with an average cost said to be $4.65 million.

Every attempt at a search query, YouTube view, Maps route, and voice command is tracked and stored by Google, which processes over 20 petabytes of data daily. That’s why deleting all of your Google history permanently offers a solution that is crucial to protecting your online privacy. You might think that deleting your Google history wouldn’t fix anything, but in fact, it does!

Clearing your Google history isn’t only about cleaning the past slate, but also about asserting control over your personal information and thereby preventing the gathering of your digital footprints in the future. What we are going to tell you in this guide will equip you to understand:

• What type of Google History can you delete permanently
• Step-by-Step guide to delete all Google history permanently
• Tips to stop Google from collecting data in the future

What Types of Google History Do You Have

Typically, a normal user who uses a search engine and a browser has the following information available in Google history:

• Search History
• Web & App Activity
• Download History
• YouTube Watch and Search History
• Media History
• Caches files and images
• Location History
• Passwords
• Automatic Fill Forms

Difference Between Deleting Google My Activity History and Browsing History

They are not the same, a browser history is only saved by your browser, and when you delete it, the data will be removed from your device, i.e, Mac, PC, Smartphone. But deleting Google history is more like a concrete solution that deletes your data on the Google server, which you can call wiping the slate clean!

How to Delete All Google History Permanently

Following these steps, you can permanently delete all Google history in 2025:

Step 1: Go to Google My Activity Hub

This is the place where your data is available in chronological order, such as YouTube History, Web & App Activity, Map usage, Assistant voice recordings, etc. Go to https://myactivity.google.com.

On your browser, go to Google My Activity,  and sign in with your credentials. You can view your activity log organized by date and product.

Step 2: Delete All Activity by Date and Product

If you want to delete your activity, there are three ways to do it:

1. Deleting by data range
2. Deleting by Google product
3. All activity at once

If you want to erase everything from the left sidebar, go to Delete Activity by > Delete by Date > choose All Time > Click Next, then Delete.

Step 3:  Delete Google Chrome History Permanently

If the “sync” is enabled on Chrome, you must log in to a Google account first. To delete synced Chrome history:

• Open Chrome browser
• Go the three-dot menu and click History
• Click “Clear browsing data.”
• In the time range pop-up, select All time.
• Check on Browsing history, cookies and other site data, and cached and image files
• Click “Clear Data.“

Step 4: Delete YouTube Watch and Search History Permanently

• Go to the YouTube History page
• Click Manage all history located on the right sidebar
• A new window will pop up, click Delete > All time
• Confirm by checking Watched Videos and Search Queries

Step 5: Delete Google Maps History Permanently

• Visit the Google Maps Timeline page
• Click the gear icon located at the bottom right
• Select Delete all Location History
• Confirm

You can turn off the location tracking for the future from the same menu.

Step 6: Delete Google Voice and Audio Activity Permanently

Every query you ask Google Assistant or voice search is stored. Here’s how to delete it.

• Visit the Google My Activity page
• Click on the filter icon and select “Voice & Audio.”
• You can delete every item one by one, or simply delete the activity by All time, including Voice and Audio

Step 7: Set Up Auto-Delete for the Future

To prevent your information from going any further, auto-deleting is recommended for each activity type. What you have to do is:

• Go to Activity Control
• Click Auto Delete 
• Select any option from Auto-delete after 3 months, Auto-delete after 18 months, or Auto-delete after 36 months.

How to download Google Activity data?

If you want to get your complete Google history, here’s what you should do:

• Go to Google Takeout site
• Select My Activity, YouTube History, Search & Assistant, Location History
• Click Next step

• Choose Delivery method (email or Drive), Export type, and File Format & size
• Click on “Create export.”
• Download the file from the email link.

Once downloaded, you can find the files in HTML or JSON format. To access .html files, double click on the file to open it in the browser, where you can read it. You can simply open .json files in Notepad.

Risks and Benefits of Not Deleting Google History

What happens if you don’t clear your search history? You can have some helpful benefits in the form of a personalized browsing experience, but you’ll also be exposed to multiple cyberattacks. Let’s assess the risks vs benefits ratio of deleting your Google history permanently:

Tips to Enhance Online Privacy in 2025

• Always use privacy-centric browsers with privacy extensions available.
• Using a VPN like Ivacy VPN will hide your IP address and encrypt your data, which makes it impossible for cyber intruders to gather or read it.
• Going to Incognito mode will not save your browsing data at all.
• Guest browsing will keep your activity on a separate shared device
• You can use a Privacy extension such as HTTPS Everywhere or Privacy Badger.

Frequently Asked Questions

 Is deleted Google history gone forever?

Once you delete your activity, Google removes it from your account and systems. However, some metadata may be retained for legal or operational purposes.

Can I set Google to auto-delete my activity?

Does deleting history from my browser remove it from my Google Account?

How do I delete my search history on mobile devices?

Can I download my Google history before deleting it?

Will deleting my Google history affect personalized recommendations?

Does deleting my Google history remove it from all my devices?

What types of data does Google store in my activity?

Will deleting my Google history affect personalized recommendations?

Conclusion

It started in 2005, when Google started tracking and storing online activity of the users all around the world, including their location data, local searches, YouTube history, and communication with their apps and services. It provides an immensely personalized and convenient experience, but it also creates problems by exploiting their digital footprints.

Let’s be frank, no cybersecurity system is immune to breaches. According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, in the US alone, over 422 users were affected by data breach incidents in 2022, with most of their personal information stored online.

To mitigate risks like financial fraud, identity theft, blackmail, or unauthorized profiling, permanently deleting all of your Google history is the key approach to shielding your online privacy. But if you are into a tailored online experience, it’s also helpful to use a VPN with the latest security protocols that will keep your data encrypted at all times, while allowing you access to restricted content online.