Tech Reference

How to clear your browsing history on an iPad in three different ways

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Follow these steps to clear your web browsing history on an iPad via the Safari app or Settings. AP Images
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Maybe you use an iPad loaned to you by your school or office, or maybe you just ran a quick search on your kid's iPad (or on your parent's device) that you'd rather not become a part of the next dinner table conversation.

Whatever your reasons for wanting to clear the history on an iPad may be, clearing said searches and site visits is quick and easy.

And periodically clearing the history off your iPad can make the device work faster when it comes to web browsing, as a backlog of old cookies and other data can slow downloading speeds if the data is out of date.

How to clear individual pieces of history on an iPad

If you just want to remove one or two searches or sites you visited off an iPad's history, follow this approach.

1. Launch the Safari app.

2. Tap the icon at the top left of the screen that looks like an open book.

3. Tap on the clock icon under the word "History."

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Tap on the book, then tap on the clock.  Steven John/Business Insider

4. Locate the item to be cleared, swipe left a bit, and tap delete, or swipe all the way left on the item to automatically delete it.

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Swipe left on an item to delete it from your history.  Steven John/Business Insider

How to clear larger periods of history on an iPad

If you need to clear the last hour, day, two-day, or all-time history off your iPad, again start with the open book icon found at the top left of the Safari browser.

1. Tap the clock icon.

2. Tap the word "Clear" at the bottom right of the History popup window.

3. Select the period of history you want to clear (The last hour, Today, etc.), and tap it.

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Tap the time period of your history you'd like to clear.  Steven John/Business Insider

How to clear all online history on an iPad

If you want to wipe out not just your all-time browsing history (as depicted above) but an iPad's entire online history, including cookies and all cached search and site data, you can do that through the Settings app.

1. Open the Settings app and open the Safari tab.

2. In the window that appears on the right, scroll down to the blue words reading "Clear History and Website Data" and tap it.

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Tap "Clear History and Website Data."  Steven John/Business Insider

3. Tap the red word "Clear" on the popup window.

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Tap "Clear" to clear all of your online history.  Steven John/Business Insider

Just keep in mind that this will remove all your pre-loaded login information, so if you'll still be keeping the iPad, you'll have a lot of usernames and passwords to re-enter.

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Steven John has been a freelance writer for more than a dozen years and has been a regular contributor to Business Insider since 2017. His work includes a focus on the tech world, covering companies including Apple, Microsoft, Meta, Google, and others. He also reviews restaurants, shares how-to cooking articles, and writes general interest pieces.Steven also writes for publications including Architectural Digest, The Daily Beast, Forbes, and more. In the past, he also wrote for New York Magazine, Mashed, U.S. News & World Report and other outlets. He runs his own outdoor lifestyle site, Dad Gear Review, and co-hosts the Fact Trekkers podcast with his son. He has had two novels published, Three A.M. and Outrider. He graduated from Emerson College with a degree in communications focused on filmmaking.He is an avid outdoorsman and can be frequently found in a kayak or on a mountain trail, often with his family along for the adventure.Expertise:Tech industryTech hardwareOutdoorsCookingRestaurantsDIYPopular articles:Microsoft: A history of the software giant co-founded by Bill Gates, its products and services, jobs, layoffs, and moreYouTube is a major entertainment force. Here's the platform's history, plus how to create a channel and upload videos.Inside the life and career of Bill Gates, the Microsoft co-founder, billionaire, and philanthropistTim Cook net worth: How the Apple leader earns and spends his moneyBecoming an Amazon seller is a simple process. Here's what's involved, plus how you make money and get paid.