Safari 6 (OS X Mountain Lion): Delete your browsing history

Delete your Safari browsing history

Safari keeps track of webpages you have viewed in the history list. This list lets you return quickly to those pages, but you may want to clear it to maintain privacy.

Clear the entire history list

  1. Open Safari if it is not already open.
  2. Choose History > Clear History, and then click Clear.

To clear Top Sites as well as your history list, select “Also reset Top Sites.” The Top Sites page is based on your browsing history.

Clearing your history also empties caches, removes website icons, and clears the list of recent searches. Website icons are small graphics that help identify sites on the Internet. You see them in the address and search field, the bookmarks list, and other places. You can see your recent searches by clicking the magnifying glass at the left end of the address and search field when it’s empty.

Clear individual items from the history list

  1. Open Safari if it is not already open.
  2. Click the open-book icon in the bookmarks bar.

    Bookmark list button

  3. Click History in the Collections list on the left.
  4. Select the items you want to clear in the list of bookmarks on the right, and then press the Delete key.

    If you can’t see the list of bookmarks on the right because Cover Flow view is covering it, drag up on the handle below the Cover Flow scroll bar.

Clear individual items automatically after a period of time

  1. Open Safari if it is not already open.
  2. Choose Safari > Preferences, and then click General.
  3. Choose an option from the “Remove history items” pop-up menu.