Chrome stores browsing history in several places. Here’s how to clear all of it, selectively delete specific sites, and prevent future tracking.
Clear all browsing history
The main history clearing dialog: press Ctrl+Shift+Delete or go to Settings > Privacy and security > Clear browsing data.
Options:
- Basic tab: Browsing history, cookies, cached images
- Advanced tab: Download history, passwords, autofill, site settings, hosted app data
Set the time range – “All time” clears everything. “Last hour” or “Last 24 hours” for targeted clearing.
Check “Browsing history” and click “Clear data.” This removes all visited sites from Chrome’s local history.
Delete specific sites from history
If you want to remove individual sites rather than everything:
- Press Ctrl+H to open History
- Find the site you want to remove
- Check the checkbox next to it (hover over the entry to reveal it)
- Click “Delete” at the top right
You can select multiple entries at once. For removing all visits to a specific domain, use the search bar at the top of History to filter by domain name, then select all results and delete.
What history clearing doesn’t cover
Synced history: If you’re signed into Chrome and have sync enabled, your history is also stored on Google’s servers. Clearing local history doesn’t remove it from your Google account. To clear synced history: myactivity.google.com > Delete activity by > All time > Web & App Activity.
DNS cache: Your PC keeps a DNS cache of recently visited domains independent of Chrome. To clear: open Command Prompt and run ipconfig /flushdns.
Router logs: Your home router may log DNS queries. ISPs may also log traffic. Chrome history clearing doesn’t affect these.
Other browsers: History in Firefox, Edge, and other browsers is separate and must be cleared independently.
Preventing history going forward
Incognito mode (Ctrl+Shift+N): Chrome doesn’t save browsing history, cookies, or form data from Incognito windows. Useful for private sessions without clearing history afterward.
Automatic history deletion: Chrome settings don’t offer auto-delete, but you can install extensions like “History AutoDelete” that automatically remove history older than a set number of days.