How to Delete YouTube Watch History (Phone, PC and TV)

Your YouTube watch history is a running list of everything you've played while signed in. It's handy when you want to find that video again, and a nuisance when it holds something embarrassing, or when it's clogging up your homepage with the wrong topics. I use mine as a quick log when I'm researching, and I clear it when a project ends. YouTube's help pages explain how to remove one video, a batch, or the lot, and how to stop it recording in the first place.

Deleting YouTube watch history on a computer

1. Go to My Activity and sign in.
2. Click YouTube History, then Manage history.
3. To remove a single video, click the X next to it.
4. To remove several, click DELETE and choose what to delete.

One detail catches people out. YouTube's help centre says that using DELETE to remove several items also removes your search history for the time frame you select. If you only wanted to clear what you watched, read the options on screen before you confirm.

You can also find a video in the middle of a long list. Open Manage history and click the search icon to look for a title.

Deleting YouTube watch history on the YouTube app

1. Open the YouTube app and make sure you're signed in.
2. Tap your profile photo.
3. Tap Settings, then Manage all history.
4. Tap the search icon to find a video, or the calendar icon to browse a date range.
5. Tap the X next to a video to remove it, or tap DELETE to remove several at once.

The steps are the same on Android and on iPhone or iPad according to the help pages. Menu names can shift between app versions, so if yours looks different, start from your profile photo and Settings.

Clearing watch history on a smart TV or game console

On a TV or console, YouTube's help pages say to go to Settings in the left-hand menu. To clear your history, select Clear watch history, then select the Clear watch history button to confirm. If you just want to stop it recording, there's a matching Pause watch history option.

Clearing watch history when you're signed out

Signed-out viewing keeps its own history on that device. On the YouTube website, select History, then choose Pause watch history or Clear all watch history. In the app, tap your profile picture, then Settings, then History & privacy, and tap clear watch history. If you share a device, this is worth doing before you hand it over. My walkthrough of signing out of YouTube helps if you're not sure which account you're in.

Pausing YouTube watch history instead of deleting it

Pausing is the gentler option. Nothing already saved disappears, but new views stop being added. On a computer, YouTube's help centre says to open the Controls tab for YouTube in My Activity and select Turn off. On the app, open Manage all history, tap Controls, and untick Include the YouTube videos you watch.

While it's paused, videos you watch don't appear in your history. Turn it back on when you're done, and your list picks up again. That's the setting I'd use for client research or anything you don't want shaping your feed.

Setting YouTube watch history to delete itself

On a computer there's an auto-delete choice. According to the help pages, open Manage history, click Auto-delete, choose a time range, click Next, then Confirm. Once set, older history clears itself after the period you chose. The help pages don't describe an auto-delete setting for the phone app, so use the computer if you want this.

What deleting YouTube watch history changes

Deleting history affects what YouTube suggests next. The help centre says that after you delete it, YouTube won't base future video recommendations on that content. For many people that's the main reason to do it, because one odd evening of viewing can take over a homepage for weeks.

It doesn't always bring the old suggestions back to neutral overnight. If you've also liked lots of videos, those still count, and you may need to adjust those too. And if your homepage looks short or thin afterwards, my article on why the YouTube feed can look so short explains what's going on.

What YouTube watch history doesn't remove

• Videos you've liked, which sit in a separate playlist.
• Comments you've posted on other people's videos.
• Playlists you've made, and videos saved to Watch later.
• Anything stored in another Google Account or on another device you signed in with.

Think of history as a log of what you played, not a record of everything you've done on YouTube.

A business owner's reason to clean up YouTube watch history

If you use YouTube for work, a tidy history has real use. You might present from a shared laptop, share a TV in a waiting room, or screen-share in a client call. An old history can pop up in suggestions on screen at the worst moment. Clearing it, or pausing it before a session, keeps your tabs professional.

If you can't delete YouTube watch history

• Check you're signed in to the right account. My guide to switching accounts on YouTube shows how to check.
• Update the app and reload the page, since older versions use different menu names.
• Look for Manage all history in your profile Settings rather than the History tab.
• On a computer, use the My Activity route if the YouTube page won't let you delete.
• Remember the history may be managed by a school or workplace account with restrictions.

If a setting still won't save, use the feedback option inside YouTube to report it.

I keep every related walkthrough in the YouTube Help: 30 Guides to Channels, Subscribers, Monetisation, Thumbnails and Fixes.

Frequently asked questions

How do I delete my YouTube watch history?

On a computer, go to My Activity, click YouTube History, then Manage history, and delete a video with the X or several with DELETE. On the app, use your profile photo, Settings, Manage all history.

Does deleting watch history delete search history?

YouTube's help pages say using DELETE to remove several items also removes your search history for the time frame you select.

Can I stop YouTube saving my watch history?

Yes. Pause it from the Controls tab in My Activity, or in the app untick Include the YouTube videos you watch.

Can YouTube delete my history automatically?

On a computer, yes: open Manage history, click Auto-delete, pick a time range, then Next and Confirm.

Will deleting history change my recommendations?

YouTube's help centre says it won't base future recommendations on content you've deleted from your history.