How Often Should You Clear Your Browsing History On iPhone?

There are many suggested ways for making sure your iPhone runs as fast as possible. Some recommendations include turning the iPhone off on a regular basis (though that's not actually helpful) and clearing browser cookies. What about clearing your browser history? While you don't have to clear this data, doing so may give your device a performance boost, and it'll help keep your online activity private from others who may decide to snoop through your phone. 

Whether you're using Safari or a third-party web browser on your iPhone, you can safely assume all of your internet browsing history is being logged unless you're using the browser's private or incognito mode. Some browsers may automatically delete browsing history after a certain period of time, depending on the user's settings, but until that happens, anyone who has access to the device can pull up the browser and take a look at the online destinations you've been visiting.

How often should you clear your iPhone's browser history? That's entirely up to you. Apple doesn't give any official guidance on when users should delete this information, and keeping a log of past online activity may make it easier for you to return to an article or website you forgot to bookmark in the future. If that benefit doesn't outweigh the potential downside of logging your activity, however, Apple explains how to delete your browsing history in a support document.

1. Tap the Settings app.
2. Scroll down and tap Safari.
3. Tap Clear History and Website Data.

According to Apple, clearing this information will not erase AutoFill information, meaning you won't lose all of your passwords and other conveniently stored information. However, this will delete the browser cookies on your device, as well as other browsing data in addition to the browser history. That's not a bad thing, however, as cookies can track you, take up storage space, and possibly slow down performance. 

If you're using a third-party web browser installed on your iPhone instead of Safari, you'll have to delete your browsing history from within the browser itself. In Chrome, for example, this involves tapping the menu button, then History > Clear Browsing Data. Mozilla has a similar menu layout, though users should tap the menu button, then History > Clear Recent History.