How-To

How to Clear Google Maps Search History

By Ben Stockton

Updated February 27, 2024

Want to clear your Google Maps search history? You can do this easily on PC, Mac, or mobile. This guide will show you how.

Wherever you are, Google is watching you—if you have location data turned on, that is.

Unless you opt out, Google records a lot of information about you, from where you’ve been to what you’ve searched for. This isn’t just big tech overreach—it can be a useful way to find locations you’ve been to or searched for in the past.

There are obvious privacy concerns, however. If you want to clear your Google Maps search history, follow the steps below.

How to Clear Google Maps Search History on PC and Mac

The quickest way to clear your Google Maps history is to access the location history for your Google account. You can do this quickly on a PC or Mac using your web browser.

To delete Google Maps history on PC or Mac, follow these steps.

1. Open the Google My Activity website and sign in.
2. Select the Web & app activity option on the front page.
   
3. Under See and delete activity, press the Google Maps icon.
   
4. On the Maps Activity page, select the Delete button.
5. From the drop-down, choose the deletion time frame you wish to use—Google Maps will begin deleting your data automatically.
   
6. Once the deletion is complete, press OK to confirm.
   

After clearing your Google Maps search history, you may wish to configure Google to automatically delete your data afterward.

How to Clear Google Maps Search History on Mobile Devices

You can also clear your Google Maps search history from the Google Maps app. While the steps below have been written with Android in mind, iPhone and iPad users should be able to follow them, too.

To delete Google Maps search history on Android, iPhone, and iPad, follow these steps.

1. Open the Google Maps app.
2. Tap your profile icon (top-right).
   
3. From the pop-up menu, select the correct Google account.
4. Tap Settings.
   
5. In Settings, select Maps History.
6. Tap Delete and choose a deletion time frame to use.
   

Once you select a time frame, Google Maps will delete your search history immediately.

How to Automatically Delete Your Google Maps Search History

Want to stop Google from recording your Google Maps search history? You can configure your account to automatically delete the data.

On PC and Mac

PC and Mac users can do this via the Google Maps My Activity website. From there, press the Auto-delete option.

In the pop-up, choose a suitable time frame from the Auto-delete activity older than drop-down menu, then press Next > Confirm.

On Android, iPhone, and iPad

Mobile users will need to access the Settings menu by opening Google Maps and pressing the profile icon > Settings > Map history. From there, tap Auto-delete.

Select a time frame from the Auto-delete activity older than drop-down menu and tap Next > Confirm.

The setting change will apply across your Google account. If you change the setting in the Google Maps app, your search history will be deleted on PC and Mac, too.

Keeping Track of Your Google Data

If you’ve followed the steps above, you should be able to clear your Google Maps search history. Make sure to switch off location tracking and search history settings for your Google account. This will stop Google from recording information about you, but only if you prefer it that way.