How to Stop a Search Engine from Tracking Recent Searches

Search engines are the backbone of the Internet. Without them you would not be able to research topics, find new websites or even find new products in many cases. Over the past several years, most search engines have started to record and track your search history to provide a higher quality of service. If you desire to keep your search history private, you may have the desire to prevent the search engines from tracking your Internet search history.

Instructions

1. Connect to the Internet if your computer does not do so automatically upon booting or turning on the computer. The method will vary depending on your Internet service and individual configuration.

2. Load the homepage of the search engine that you normally use. Google will be used for this example because it is the most popular search engine at the time of this writing, but all major search engines have equivalent options that you can choose to prevent your search history from being recorded.

3. Select the "Web History" menu option located at the top of the Google home page.

4. Upon loading the subsequent webpage, click the menu option that reads "Disable Search History." After you click the link, the text will change to read, "Enable Search History." Google will now be prevented from tracking your search history.

References

• SearchEngineWatch
• Google Tutor: Clear Google Search History to Maintain Your Privacy

Resources

• Google
• Yahoo