How to Delete YouTube History on iPad

To delete your YouTube history on an iPad, open the YouTube app, tap your profile photo, then tap Settings > Manage all history. Tap the X next to a video or search to remove it, or tap DELETE to clear a whole time range at once. To stop YouTube from saving new history, open the Controls tab on the same screen and turn history off.

The steps below follow YouTube’s current iPhone and iPad help pages, View, delete, or turn on or off watch history and View or delete your YouTube search history, as checked in October 2026. YouTube updates its app often, so a label or icon on your iPad may look slightly different.

Before You Start

YouTube keeps two kinds of history. Watch history is the list of videos you have played. Search history is the list of things you have typed into the YouTube search box. Both are used to choose the videos YouTube recommends to you.

• You need the YouTube app and a Google Account. The main method only works when you are signed in. There is a shorter, more limited option for signed-out use further down.
• History belongs to your account, not your iPad. It is saved in your Google Account, so removing it on the iPad also removes it from YouTube on your phone, computer, and TV when they use the same account.
• Check which account is active. If you use more than one Google Account, tap your profile photo and confirm the name shown before you delete anything.
• Update the app if a setting is missing. Open the App Store, search for YouTube, and tap Update if that button appears.

Warning: YouTube’s help pages do not describe any way to restore history after you delete it. Treat deleting as permanent. If you only want YouTube to stop recording for a while, pause your history or use Incognito instead. Both are covered below.

How to Delete YouTube Watch History on iPad

1. Open the YouTube app and sign in if you are not already signed in.
2. Tap your profile photo.
3. Tap Settings, then tap Manage all history. A page for your Google Account’s YouTube history opens. If the app asks which account to use, choose the one you watch YouTube with.
4. Scroll through the list of videos you have watched.
5. Tap the X next to a video to delete just that video.
6. To delete more than one video at a time, tap DELETE and choose the time range you want to clear, then confirm.

Read this before using DELETE: YouTube states that using DELETE on your watch history also deletes your search history from the selected time frame. If you want to keep your searches, remove videos one at a time with the X instead.

What to expect: the videos disappear from the list. YouTube says that when you delete some or all of your watch history, it will not base future video recommendations on that content.

Find a specific video first

Scrolling through months of history is slow. On the Manage all history screen, YouTube provides two tools:

• Search: tap the search icon and type part of the video title or channel name.
• Calendar: tap the calendar icon to view your history from a specific date range.

Once the video shows up, tap the X next to it.

How to Delete YouTube Search History on iPad

Search history is managed from the same screen as watch history.

1. Open the YouTube app and tap your profile photo.
2. Tap Settings > Manage all history.
3. Find the search you want to remove. Use the search icon or the calendar icon if the list is long.
4. Tap the X beside the search to delete it.
5. To remove more than one search at a time, tap DELETE and choose a time range.

The same caution applies in reverse. YouTube notes that using DELETE to clear your search history also deletes your watch history from the selected time frame.

What to expect: YouTube says search entries you delete no longer influence your recommendations, and after you clear your search history, your past searches stop appearing as suggestions in the search box.

How to Pause YouTube History on iPad

Deleting removes what is already saved. Pausing stops YouTube from saving anything new. If you want a clean slate that stays clean, do both: delete first, then pause.

1. Open the YouTube app and tap your profile photo.
2. Tap Settings > Manage all history.
3. Tap the Controls tab.
4. Unselect Include the YouTube videos you watch to pause watch history.
5. Unselect Include your searches on YouTube to pause search history.

What to expect: YouTube says videos you watch while history is turned off will not show up in your history, and searches you enter while search history is paused will not be saved.

To undo this, go back to the Controls tab and select both options again. YouTube suggests pausing for short-term situations, such as researching a topic you are not personally interested in, and reminds you to turn history back on when you are done.

Delete or Pause Watch History While Signed Out

If you use the YouTube app without signing in, the Manage all history screen is not part of the route. YouTube documents a shorter path for this case:

1. Open the YouTube app.
2. Tap the profile picture icon.
3. Tap Settings.
4. Tap History & privacy.
5. Tap clear watch history or pause watch history.

YouTube’s signed-out instructions mention watch history only. This clears what the app has stored on the iPad while signed out. It does not touch the history saved in any Google Account.

Use Incognito to Keep Videos Out of Your History

Incognito is a temporary mode in the YouTube app. While it is on, the app behaves as if you are signed out, so what you watch and search for is not linked to your account. It is handy when someone else borrows your iPad, or when you want to watch something without changing your recommendations.

1. Open the YouTube app while signed in.
2. Tap your profile picture.
3. Tap Accounts at the top.
4. Tap Turn on Incognito.

A black bar at the bottom of the screen reminds you that Incognito is on. According to YouTube’s page on browsing while incognito on mobile devices, the session ends by itself if you are inactive for more than 90 minutes, and you are returned to the account you were using before. Incognito does not delete history that was saved earlier. Our guide to going Incognito in the YouTube iPhone app walks through the same feature in more detail.

Delete YouTube History From a Browser Instead

You do not need the YouTube app. Because the history lives in your Google Account, you can manage it in Safari or any other browser on the iPad through Google’s My Activity page, which lists the activity saved to your account.

1. Open a browser and go to myactivity.google.com. Sign in if asked.
2. To narrow the list to YouTube, tap the search icon and select YouTube as the product. You can filter by date with the calendar icon at the same time.
3. Tap Delete on a single item to remove it, or tap Delete next to the search bar and then Delete Results to remove everything the filter found.

Warning: the Delete > All time option above your activity on that page removes activity from every Google product that saves to My Activity, not only YouTube. Apply the YouTube filter first if YouTube is all you want to clear. Google’s Delete your activity page has the full instructions.

Set history to delete automatically

Google can remove older activity on a schedule, so you do not have to remember to do it. Google’s instructions for iPhone and iPad are:

1. Go to myaccount.google.com, or open the Gmail app and tap your profile picture > Manage your Google Account.
2. Tap Data & privacy.
3. Scroll to History settings and tap the YouTube history setting.
4. Scroll down and tap Auto-delete.
5. Choose how long to keep your activity, then tap Next > Confirm.

The time periods offered are chosen by Google and may change, so pick from the choices shown on your screen.

How to Confirm Your History Is Gone

• Return to Settings > Manage all history. The deleted videos and searches should no longer be listed.
• Tap the YouTube search box. Searches you cleared should not appear as suggestions.
• Open the Controls tab. If you paused history, both options should be unselected.

Your Home feed may look different afterward. YouTube explains that if you have no significant recent watch history and have chosen not to get recommendations based on it, features such as recommendations on the Home page are removed. That is expected behavior, not a fault. Recommendations return as you watch videos with history turned on.

Troubleshooting

I do not see Manage all history

You are probably signed out. Signed-out users see History & privacy in Settings instead. Tap your profile picture and sign in with your Google Account, or use the signed-out steps above. If you are signed in and the option is still missing, update the YouTube app from the App Store.

Deleted videos still show on another device

Google notes that when you delete items on one device, they can still appear on other devices that are offline. They are removed once that device connects to the internet. Also confirm that the other device is signed in to the same Google Account.

The history list is empty but I have been watching videos

Check three things: the wrong account may be selected, history may already be paused on the Controls tab, or you may have been watching in Incognito or while signed out.

I still get recommendations I do not want

History is only one signal. YouTube says recommendations are also based on videos you have liked and on other activity in your Google Account. In the app, tap the More menu next to a video on the Home feed and choose Not interested or Don’t recommend channel. YouTube’s guide to managing your recommendations and search results lists every control.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does deleting YouTube history on my iPad delete it everywhere?

Yes, when you are signed in. Watch and search history are saved to your Google Account rather than to the iPad, so deleting an entry removes it for that account on every device. A device that is offline may keep showing the old entry until it reconnects.

Can I get deleted YouTube history back?

YouTube’s help pages do not offer a restore or undo option for deleted watch or search history. Assume a deletion is final, and remove single items with the X if you are unsure about clearing a whole time range.

Does deleting watch history also delete my search history?

It can. Removing one video with the X removes only that video. Using DELETE for a time range clears both watch history and search history from that time frame, according to YouTube.

Does pausing history erase what is already saved?

No. Pausing only stops new videos and searches from being added. YouTube lists deleting and pausing as separate actions, so delete the existing entries as well if you want them gone.

Will deleting history remove my subscriptions, playlists, or liked videos?

YouTube’s history instructions describe removing watched videos and searches only. Subscriptions, playlists, and liked videos are managed in other parts of the app. Liked videos continue to influence your recommendations until you remove the likes.

Is YouTube history the same as my Safari or Chrome history?

No. Browser history is a separate record kept by the browser. If you watched YouTube on its website, the page visits can still appear in your browser history after you clear YouTube’s own history. See our guides to deleting history on an iPad in Safari, Chrome, and Google and deleting your history in the Chrome iPad app.

How do I clear YouTube history on a TV that uses my account?

Deleting from your iPad already covers the TV when it uses the same account. YouTube also documents a TV route: in the left-hand menu of the YouTube app on the TV, go to Settings, select Clear watch history, then select the Clear watch history button.

What to Do Next

If you share your iPad, pair this cleanup with Incognito for one-off viewing and auto-delete for the long term. To tidy up the rest of the device, you can also delete cookies for a specific website on your iPad.