Do you want to find a webpage or website you visited a while ago but cannot remember how to get back to it? Perhaps you found it on your phone back then, but you’re having trouble finding it again on your PC. Luckily, Google keeps track of all websites and links you’ve ever opened.
You can use the history feature to find any webpage you’ve explored and revisit it as if you never lost it in cyberspace. Here’s how to use Google’s search history function.
Note: You can access your Google account history anytime and from any device, as long as your Gmail profile is synced on all your devices. Google keeps a detailed history of web and product searches, viewed images, watched videos, apps used, and blog posts you’ve read.
Viewing Your Google Search History with Your Google Account
You can access your Google account history from any device with a browser, such as a Windows PC, Mac, mobile phone, or tablet. The process is very simple as you need only your username and password. Here is what you need to do:
- Open your browser and load the “Google” homepage. Click on the “Sign In” button located in the top right corner (if you are not currently logged in) and enter your credentials.
- Click on your profile icon in the top-right corner and select “Manage your Google Account.”
- Select the “Data & Privacy” tab.
- Scroll down and select the “Things you’ve done and places you’ve been” section.
- Click on the “My Activity” option.
- Scroll down the page to use the general search bar or the Filter by date & product option (Android, Maps, YouTube, etc.), or just scroll down the list and browse by date and time.
When using the various view options above, you get a list that includes websites, apps, and/or updates for all devices tied to your Google Account. The “search bar” allows you to find specific activities, apps, or websites. The “filtered options” include sorting by date, date range, and apps.
The activity page used above remembers everything you did through your Google account since the last time you deleted the history, if ever.
Viewing Your Google Search History on Android
Even though the process is similar to viewing your Chrome history on a computer and phone, let’s cover how to do it.
- Open the “Chrome” app and click on your “profile” icon in the upper right-hand corner.
- Now, click on “Search History.”
- Review your history on this page.
If you’re signed in to Google on your device and want a detailed view of your History, go to “My Activity.”
Viewing Your Google Search History on an iPhone or iPad
Although Google does a great job of streamlining its applications, the instructions are quite different for iOS users. Here’s how to recover your search history:
- Open the “Chrome” app and tap on the “horizontal ellipsis” (three horizontal dots) in the lower right-hand corner.
- Now, click on “History.”
- Review your Google History on this page. If you don’t have your Google account synced, no history will appear.
As with the other devices we’ve mentioned, you can search and filter specific web pages you’ve previously visited.
Overall, the Google Account history feature can be handy if you can’t remember the name of a particular website you want to visit again or if you want to find a specific page from a website you visited. Google saves everything for you, and you can quickly go back to any link at any time. You can also delete your Google search history to clear your locations, device updates, and other items.
Google Search History FAQs
Why don’t I see my Google search history?
If you don’t see any history when accessing Google My History, the most likely culprit is that you aren’t logged into the correct Google account. Tap on the profile icon in the upper right-hand corner and select the option to “Add Another Account.”
Another problem may be that you’ve set your history for automatic deletion. This setting gets done on the “My Activity” page. Google lets its users turn off search history on their accounts or set it to delete data every 3, 18, or 36 months. No history may appear because Google isn’t storing your search history if this setting is turned off, or if it recently deleted it.
Can I recover my deleted Google Search history?
For assistance with this matter, check out how to recover your deleted Google history. First, you can check your “My Activity” page. If there still isn’t any history available, you can search for data in your computer’s drive or use data recovery software.
Do you prefer keeping a history of your Google account actions? Which tracking options do you use? Tell us what you think about this feature in the comment section below.
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