Privacy and Security Clear Recent Device Search History in Windows 11

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This tutorial will show you how to clear device search history under Recent in Windows Search for your account in Windows 11.

Windows Search lets you search from your taskbar to find what you’re looking for, whether it’s on your device, in the cloud, or on the web.

Windows Search saves your recent search history locally on your device by default to help you find things faster. For example, you might discover that an app is ranked higher in your results if you’ve searched for it before.

Reference:



Contents

  • Option One: Clear All Recent Device Search History in Settings
  • Option Two: Clear Specific Recent Device Search History in Windows Search


EXAMPLE: Device search history under "Recent" in Windows Search

Search_history.jpg





Option One

Clear All Recent Device Search History in Settings


1 Open Settings (Win+I).

2 Click/tap on Privacy & security on the left side, and click/tap on Search on the right side. (see screenshot below)


Search_Settings.webp

3 Under Search history, click/tap on the Clear device search history button. (see screenshots below)

Clear_search_history_Settings.webp

4 You can now close Settings if you like.




Option Two

Clear Specific Recent Device Search History in Windows Search


1 Open Windows Search (Win+S).

2 Hover over a Recent item you want to clear, and click/tap on its X button. Repeat for any other recent search history items you want to clear. (see screenshot below)

Clear_specific_Search_history.jpg



That's it,
Shawn Brink


 
Last edited:
Please, where are those results stored? To be able to clear using reg/bat script?
 

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@Brink, I'm not sure if it's a bug or not (tested on a personal account and local account) but if you clear this history and restart explorer via Task Manager all the recent entries are back there. The only way they are removed is by removing each of them manually. Maybe Search history stores different data that is not reflected in the search bar?
 

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@Brink, I'm not sure if it's a bug or not (tested on a personal account and local account) but if you clear this history and restart explorer via Task Manager all the recent entries are back there. The only way they are removed is by removing each of them manually. Maybe Search history stores different data that is not reflected in the search bar?

It's hard to say considering how many issues have been found in the latest builds.
 

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