Google is finally providing an option for deleting the last 15 mins of search history to its Android users. The tech giant announced this feature at last year’s I/O event, but it’s now only making its way to the Google app on Android. The option was made available to iOS users immediately after a few days of its announcement last year.
Google spokesperson has confirmed to The Verge that the company is indeed rolling out the ‘Delete last 15 minutes’ option, and it will be available to all Android users within the next few weeks.
XDA member Mishaal Rahman first spotted the feature, who said he got tipped on his Twitter account.
What does the ‘Delete last 15 minutes’ option mean?
You must have seen various options Google provides while deleting the search history. You could delete the entire search activity from the last hour, last day, or even from a custom date range. But with the ‘Delete last 15 minutes’ option, you can erase all your activity from Google that you performed in the previous 15 minutes. When you press the said option button in your Google app for Android, it deletes your search history across your entire account and not just from your smartphone. So, be careful while using this option.
Users want more!
Though it’s a great feature, many users aren’t satisfied with the time limit of 15 minutes for clearing their Google search history. Various threads on Reddit show that users also want to have options for 30 to 60-minutes options.
It’s unclear why Google implemented the history clearing feature for the last 15 minutes. If we had to guess, it could be because 15 minutes seem like a reasonable time wherein you perform a short activity on Google, and you don’t want to see it in the search history anymore.
How to Delete last 15 minutes Google search history on Android
- Open Google App on your Android smartphone.
- Click on your profile picture on the top right corner.
- You can find ‘Delete last 15 minutes’ below Search history option.
That said, the feature is not available on Desktop, and it’s unclear whether Google plans to implement it near future. However, as of now, Google offers a functionality to delete 3, 18, and 36 months old of search history.
