How to Clear History on iPhone

Your iPhone stores a lot of data about your actions. Usually, this data is used to simplify things, such as tracking down websites you’ve visited or finding missed calls. If you’re afraid someone will see something you shouldn’t, you can clear the history of some or all of the services on your iPhone.

Table of Contents

Safari Browsing History

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/e/ed/Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-1-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear- History-on-an-iPhone-Step-1-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/e/ed/Clear-History-on-an- iPhone-Step-1-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-1-Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,” bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Open Settings. You will clear your browsing history in Settings, not in the Safari app. Although it can be deleted from the Safari app, it cannot remove auto-entered information or cookies. Clearing your browsing history from Settings will make sure to wipe everything.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/b/b0/Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-2-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear- History-on-an-iPhone-Step-2-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/b/b0/Clear-History-on-an- iPhone-Step-2-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-2-Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,” bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Scroll down and tap “Safari.” You will see it in the 5th group of options.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/a/aa/Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-3-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear- History-on-an-iPhone-Step-3-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/a/aa/Clear-History-on-an- iPhone-Step-3-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-3-Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,” bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Scroll down to the Safari menu and tap “Clear History and Website Data” . A window will appear asking you to confirm.

If this button is grayed out, you need to disable site restrictions. Return to the Settings menu and select “Restrictions”. Enter the restriction code and select “Websites”. Select “All Websites” to allow history deletion. Without the restriction code, you cannot delete the history. ^{[1] X Research Source}

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/a/a0/Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-4-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear- History-on-an-iPhone-Step-4-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/a/a0/Clear-History-on-an- iPhone-Step-4-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-4-Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,” bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Confirm that you want to clear the history. Browsing history, cache, autofill and cookies on Safari will be cleared. Browsing history on any device you’re signed in to with your iCloud account is also deleted.

Chrome Browsing History

Call History

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/8/8a/Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-11-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear- History-on-an-iPhone-Step-11-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/8/8a/Clear-History-on-an- iPhone-Step-11-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-11-Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,” bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Go to the calling app. You can clear the call history to get rid of any calls in the Recent list.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/1/17/Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-12-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear- History-on-an-iPhone-Step-12-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/1/17/Clear-History-on-an- iPhone-Step-12-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-12-Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,” bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Select the “Recents” tab. This is the tab that shows the list of recent outgoing and incoming calls.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/1/1e/Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-13-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear- History-on-an-iPhone-Step-13-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/1/1e/Clear-History-on-an- iPhone-Step-13-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-13-Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,” bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Select “Edit” in the upper-right corner of the screen. A red minus will appear next to each call in the history section.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/c/cb/Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-14-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear- History-on-an-iPhone-Step-14-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/c/cb/Clear-History-on-an- iPhone-Step-14-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-14-Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,” bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Tap the red minus sign to delete items one by one. Click the minus sign next to each item to delete.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/a/af/Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-15-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear- History-on-an-iPhone-Step-15-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/a/af/Clear-History-on-an- iPhone-Step-15-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-15-Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,” bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Tap “Clear” to delete the entire call at once. If you want to clear the entire list, tap “Clear” in the upper left corner of the screen. This button appears only after you select “Edit”. All calls in the Recents list will be deleted.

iMessage History

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/c/cb/Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-16-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear- History-on-an-iPhone-Step-16-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/c/cb/Clear-History-on-an- iPhone-Step-16-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-16-Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,” bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Open the Messages app. You can delete text messages using the Messages app.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/e/e5/Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-17-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear- History-on-an-iPhone-Step-17-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/e/e5/Clear-History-on-an- iPhone-Step-17-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-17-Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,” bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Press the “Edit” button. The button is in the top left corner of the screen.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/d/d5/Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-18-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear- History-on-an-iPhone-Step-18-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/d/d5/Clear-History-on-an- iPhone-Step-18-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-18-Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,” bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Select each chat you want to delete. Check the box corresponding to each conversation you want to delete. You can select multiple chats at once.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/5/51/Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-19-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear- History-on-an-iPhone-Step-19-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/5/51/Clear-History-on-an- iPhone-Step-19-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-19-Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,” bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Select “Delete” after making your selections. All selected chats will be deleted without confirmation.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/9/98/Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-20-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear- History-on-an-iPhone-Step-20-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/9/98/Clear-History-on-an- iPhone-Step-20-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-20-Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,” bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Change message history settings. By default, Messages will save messages permanently. You can change those settings to save messages for 1 year or 30 days to free up storage and reduce clutter:

Open Settings.
Select “Messages.”
Select “Keep Messages”.
Select how long you want to save the message. The application will automatically delete messages that exceed the storage period of the new setting.

Keyboard History

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/0/0a/Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-21-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear- History-on-an-iPhone-Step-21-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/0/0a/Clear-History-on-an- iPhone-Step-21-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-21-Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,” bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Open Settings. If you want to get rid of words added to your iPhone’s autocorrect dictionary, you can do so from Settings.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/d/d4/Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-22-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear- History-on-an-iPhone-Step-22-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/d/d4/Clear-History-on-an- iPhone-Step-22-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-22-Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,” bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Select “General” . A list of general iPhone options will be displayed.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/7/7d/Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-23-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear- History-on-an-iPhone-Step-23-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/7/7d/Clear-History-on-an- iPhone-Step-23-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-23-Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,” bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Scroll down and select “Reset” . There are many reset options that appear.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/7/70/Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-24-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear- History-on-an-iPhone-Step-24-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/7/70/Clear-History-on-an- iPhone-Step-24-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-24-Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,” bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Select “Reset Keyboard Dictionary” . You will be asked to confirm. All custom words you save will be deleted.

Google Search Application

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/e/ed/Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-25-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear- History-on-an-iPhone-Step-25-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/e/ed/Clear-History-on-an- iPhone-Step-25-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-25-Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,” bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Open the Google app. If you use the Google app to search, you can clear your search history right on the app.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/6/63/Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-26-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear- History-on-an-iPhone-Step-26-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/6/63/Clear-History-on-an- iPhone-Step-26-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-26-Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,” bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Tap the Gear icon in the top left corner of the screen. This is to open the Settings menu.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/1/19/Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-27-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear- History-on-an-iPhone-Step-27-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/1/19/Clear-History-on-an- iPhone-Step-27-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-27-Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,” bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Scroll down and select “Privacy.” You will see the current active account.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/0/06/Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-28-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear- History-on-an-iPhone-Step-28-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/0/06/Clear-History-on-an- iPhone-Step-28-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-28-Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,” bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Tap the “Browsing” option. The “History” section will appear at the top of the page.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/b/ba/Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-29-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear- History-on-an-iPhone-Step-29-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/b/ba/Clear-History-on-an- iPhone-Step-29-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-29-Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,” bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Select “Clear on-device history” to clear the search history. Note that this only clears the search history on the app. Searches are still stored to an active Google account.

Erase All Data

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/6/60/Prepare-to-Sell-Your-iPhone-Step-7.jpg/v4-728px-Prepare-to-Sell- Your-iPhone-Step-7.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/6/60/Prepare-to-Sell-Your-iPhone-Step-7.jpg/ v4-728px-Prepare-to-Sell-Your-iPhone-Step-7.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:” <div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Using this option you want to erase all data on iPhone. This is how to delete all history and data on the phone, you will be asked to set up the phone from scratch after completing the process.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/0/0b/Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-31-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear- History-on-an-iPhone-Step-31-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/0/0b/Clear-History-on-an- iPhone-Step-31-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-31-Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,” bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Go to Settings. If you’re sure you want to erase everything on your iPhone, go to Settings.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/c/c3/Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-32-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear- History-on-an-iPhone-Step-32-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/c/c3/Clear-History-on-an- iPhone-Step-32-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-32-Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,” bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Select “General”. Your iPhone’s General Settings will appear.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/5/50/Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-33-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear- History-on-an-iPhone-Step-33-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/5/50/Clear-History-on-an- iPhone-Step-33-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-33-Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,” bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Scroll down and select “Reset” . The option to reset the device will appear.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/7/7f/Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-34-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear- History-on-an-iPhone-Step-34-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/7/7f/Clear-History-on-an- iPhone-Step-34-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-34-Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,” bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Select “Erase All Content and Settings” . You are asked to confirm you want to delete everything.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/0/0c/Switch-from-android-to-iPhone-Step-12.jpg/v4-728px-Switch-from-android- to-iPhone-Step-12.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/0/0c/Switch-from-Android-to-iPhone-Step-12.jpg/ v4-728px-Switch-from-Android-to-iPhone-Step-12.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:” <div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Wait for iPhone to reset. This process will take a while.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/5/56/Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-36-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear- History-on-an-iPhone-Step-36-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/5/56/Clear-History-on-an- iPhone-Step-36-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Clear-History-on-an-iPhone-Step-36-Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,” bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Set up iPhone. After completing the setup process, you will be redirected to the initial setup section. You must either set up your phone from scratch or restore from an iTunes or iCloud backup.

Steps