The easiest of ways to clear your search history on Instagram

What is Instagram? 

Instagram was an app that was launched in late 2010 as a means of sharing photos and videos with the rest of the world using a variety of attractive filters like Earlybird, 1975, and many more. The application hit a seldom seen hike of 1 million users in two months, with the number increasing as we speak. In the year 2012, Facebook bought Instagram, even when no one saw any earning potential from the social media app back then. Few more months under Facebook’ wing and Instagram reached 80 million users in a very short time span. This was the test that determined that Instagram was here to stay. 

How did Instagram evolve?

In 2013, Facebook decided to devise more means of earning revenue from Instagram, and that is when they allowed sponsors to post advertisements on Instagram. Instagram emphasises on the best advertising medium – what people can visually see, therefore, advertisements on this application proved to be lucrative for Facebook, as well as the advertisers.  Later, the application came up with several features that were alluring and could be used only in the application – for example, Boomerang. People were also allowed to put up Stories on Instagram, which stayed put for only 24 hours, providing you with another novel way to use the app. Instagram has constantly come up with updates that make the application better and faster, thereby keeping its consumers hooked onto it. 

However, the app comes with its own little quirks and idiosyncrasies. For example, deleting your search history on Instagram can be a daunting task if you do not know how to go about it. This article will help you understand how you can do the same easily. The reason Instagram keeps a record of the search history is to allow you to easily locate the accounts and hashtags that you had searched for in the past. However, if you do not want this feature on your Instagram account, you can modify it to suit your needs. You can clear your search history on Instagram, either on the Instagram app or on the Browser.

Clearing search history on Instagram – Is there an easy way to do it? 

  1. Launch the app. 
  2. Log in with the account whose history you want to delete. 
  3. Tap the profile icon with your finger. The profile icon is indicated as a mini version of your profile picture or a head and shoulders if you do not have any profile picture. 
  4. Go to the three horizontal lines icon, which is an indicator of Settings, and then you have to select ‘Security.’ 
  5. In ‘Security,’ you will be able to view the options of ‘Clear Search History’ on iPhone, and ‘Search History’ on Android. 
  6. You have to then tap on ‘Clear All’ to delete your search history. 
  7. You will have to select this option twice to confirm the permanent deletion of your search history. It will ask you to click on ‘Yes I am sure’ before deletion. 

How to clear search history on Instagram through a web browser like Chrome or Edge? 

In order to make your job easy, the process to delete search history through a desktop or mobile browser is the same. 

  1. Log in to Instagram.com on your browser with the account whose search history you want to delete. 
  2. Tap the profile icon on the desktop.
  3. Open the settings icon near your profile icon. 
  4. Go to ‘Privacy and Security’ and choose ‘View Account Data.’ You might have to scroll downwards for some time before you are able to access this option. 
  5. Click on ‘Clear Search History’ 
  6. Click on ‘Yes I’m Sure’ to confirm. 

Clearing search history is not permanent

The search history will need to be cleared repeatedly, as if you search for the same profile or content again, it will get recorded by Instagram. Hence, if deletion fo search history is something you value greatly, kindly look into it on a regular basis to avoid any inconsistency. 

How to clear suggested searches on Instagram? 

Suggested searches pop up on the basis of the content and profiles on Instagram that you have searched for. These are curated and customised to your liking so as to make the app more like you want it and get it to deliver results according to your preferences. However, suggested searches can act like a hindrance when you want to clear search history. This is because despite the deletion of the search history, the suggested searches will end up showing data akin to your search history, thereby rendering the deletion redundant! 

Luckily, there is an easy way available for you to delete the suggested searches on Instagram.  You need to click on the ‘Search’ icon, you will see the search suggestions between the search icon and the keypad. To delete the suggested search, you need to click on the ‘x’ near the suggested search.  However, it must be noted that the suggested searches will keep on popping up as and when you make a search. The deletion of suggested searches has to take place regularly if you do not want to see them again. 

How to clear persistent searches on Instagram? 

Persistent searches are those that keep cropping up despite following the protocol for deletion. All you need to do is log out of Instagram and reboot or restart your device, be it the desktop or the mobile phone. 

Conclusion

The article covers the many ways you can delete the Instagram search history from different devices. You may want to clear your search history if you prefer to keep a low profile on Instagram, or you have a business account, or a joint account with someone else. Deletion of the search history is a personal choice you can make. The article will aid you if you want to do so, but you cannot figure out how to do it. 

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