Facebook’s search history log keeps a record of all the searches you’ve done on the platform. Cleaning this and your activity log regularly is a great way to ensure your privacy is protected even if you make unauthorized logins. To do this, we will show you how you can delete your search history on Facebook, among the other options in your account Activity Log.
Delete search history
Your Facebook search history information is hidden behind several menus that are not really obvious. Facebook’s algorithm uses your search history to better adjust results each time you search for something. If you regularly search for familiar terms, the search results will show them first if you search for them frequently. However, if you want to delete your search history, you can follow these steps:
1. If you are using the classic Facebook theme
- On the main page, click on your profile icon to open the profile page.
- Click Activity Log located at the top and inside of your cover photo.
- On the Activity Log page, see the menu on the left. If you can’t find Search History, click More to show hidden options.
- Click Search History to display all your logged searches.
- Scrolling up and down will display all of your existing search history by date. You can delete them inpidually by choosing a search, clicking the Edit button at the rightmost part of the bar, and then choosing Delete.
- You will be asked if you want to delete the search; Click Delete Search to accept.
- If you want to delete your entire search history, click Clear Searches at the top of the history menu.
- You will be asked if you are sure you want to delete all your searches. Click Clear Searches to confirm.
2. If you are using the new Facebook theme
- Click the down arrow in the top right corner of the page (near your profile).
- Choose Activity Log.
- Look for Search History in the left menu. If you can’t find it, click More.
To delete your search history, either inpidually or in its entirety, follow the instructions detailed in the Classic theme.
Other activity log entries
The Activity Log, as the title suggests, contains records of all your activity on Facebook. Unless you delete your records regularly, you’ll probably find posts here dating back to when you first created your Facebook page. There is currently no way to delete your entire Activity Log, although you can do so inpidually if you really want to. This is done by choosing a particular entry in the log, clicking the edit button at the far right, and choosing to allow it on the timeline, keep it hidden from the timeline, or delete it entirely.
Some of the more interesting activity lists you might want to explore, whether to review posts to delete them or just to remember things you posted years ago, are:
- Posts: These include all your previous posts, other people’s posts that are on your timeline, posts that mention you or that you have tagged, and those that have been hidden from your timeline but are still saved on your activity history. If you have been registered on Facebook for a long time and are a frequent user, this will be a very long list.
- Photos and Videos: These are the images and clips that you posted, tagged, or are in your albums. This will be the place to find old photos and videos that you may have lost over time. If you upload content to Facebook regularly, most of the time it will probably still be here. It’s a good idea to take a good look at this record, if only to make sure you don’t have photos from your college days still floating around.
- Security and sign-in information: Not as comprehensive as the other logs, the security and sign-in information page contains a record of the devices that have signed in to your account. This can be a way to find out if other people have been able to access your account without you knowing. However, the log doesn’t go back too far, and some of them list only the IP addresses of the devices that logged in. However, if you suspect a hacking attempt, looking for clues here is a good start.
Security against possible attacks
Although search history helps you easily find items you frequently search for, keeping that data on Facebook is usually not a good idea. Regularly clearing your search history and overall activity log keeps your data safe from potential attacks. Do you have any other tips on how to delete your search history on Facebook? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
