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How to Clear Search History in Instagram

How to Clear Search History in Instagram

As one of the most popular social media platforms, Instagram boasts 500 million active daily users. Most people browse Instagram by hashtag, location, etc. by way of the search function. If your Instagram search history has become so cluttered that it’s impossible to find a shortcut, you might want to consider clearing it.

Why Instagram Keeps Your Previous Searches

Of course, all online services memorize your previous searches nowadays, with your convenience in mind. On Instagram, people tend to search for the same things over and over again. For instance, if you often look up “#trees” a lot, the search engine is going to memorize this and display it as a search suggestion.

Instagram would assume that you’d want to see the latest posts that include that hashtag (or any other relevant info). The search history isn’t flawless, though. After a heavy session, so many of them might show up that you can’t find what you’re looking for. Annoying as this may be, it is fairly easy to solve.

instagram

Clearing the Search History

Like any other search boxes, the one on Instagram can be cleared of all the suggestions, allowing you to start from scratch. Unfortunately, though, it probably won’t be long before you’ll have to perform another clean-up. The good news is that you only have to learn how to clear your Instagram search history once.

Mobile App

  1. Open the Instagram app by tapping its icon on your phone.
  2. Tap on the profile icon located in the bottom-right part of the screen.
  3. Go to the three horizontal lines in the upper-right corner.
  4. Tap Settings (the gear icon towards the bottom).
  5. Navigate to Security.
  6. Select Clear Search History.
  7. Tap it one more time, just to be safe.
    clear search history

Web Browser

  1. Go to instagram.com.
  2. Go to your profile by clicking on the person-shaped profile icon in the upper right corner of the screen.
  3. Tap the gear icon next to the Edit Profile button.
  4. Click on Privacy and Security.
  5. Scroll down until you see the View Account Data link and click it.
  6. Under Account Activity, navigate to Search history and click View All.
  7. Click Clear Search History.
  8. Select Yes, I’m sure.
    profile

Once you’ve done this, try visiting the search bar on Instagram. You’ll see that all of the search items are now gone. This being said, you should bear in mind that these search history wipes are temporary. If you search for a particular item that you have searched extensively before, it may reappear.

Things to Keep in Mind

First of all, you aren’t safe in a browser’s Incognito/Private mode. While this mode does not leave any browser history, as soon as you log into your Instagram account, you are using it as yourself and all the searches that you make will be memorized. You can clear the search history once in a whole, but some items might come back in no time.

Before you clear your search history, remember that some of them may be impossible to find after the deletion.

Finally, the only way to ensure a permanent history deletion is to delete your Instagram account. Temporary disabling your account won’t work here. Naturally, Instagram doesn’t want to shed its user base easily, but they are legally obliged to make permanent account deletion available and public.

However, you can’t find this option on your typical Instagram account. You’ll need to follow this link to do it. Enter your credentials and click Permanently delete my account. There is no turning back after this point. All your content will be permanently deleted and you won’t be able to create another Instagram account using the same username. However, your search history will be forever gone, if that’s what you’re after.

Clearing the Search History

Although it is fairly easy to clear your search history using your app or browser, it will start afresh. The only way to truly clear your search history is permanently deleting your profile.

What’s your reason for clearing your search history (if you don’t mind sharing)? Ever considered permanently deleting your account? Feel free to share your thoughts, opinions, and questions in the comments section below.

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Sep 21, 2019

1933 Articles Published

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