iPhones are faster in large part because of the lightning-fast A15 Bionic and the flawless hardware and software integration. However, this does not imply that Apple handsets are impervious to malfunctions or unexpected slowdowns. Many times, the slowed pace is caused by cluttered storage, which frequently leads to a variety of problems like iPhone overheating, quick battery depletion, and sluggishness. What is the best method to restore order to this mess and get your priceless storage back? Well, clearing your iPhone’s history is one of the more dependable ways to get rid of the junk. How to delete history on an iPhone or iPad is shown here.
9 Ways to Delete History on iPhone and iPad (2022)
While iOS does not have a Kill All button to delete all data at once, there are a number of ways to delete saved history to clear up space on your iPhone. Not the documents and data linked to an app, but rather clearing up history, has been the main emphasis of this article. Check out our comprehensive post on how to erase System Data to free up space if you have questions concerning System Data on your iPhone.
For privacy protection or to free up space, several iOS apps enable you keep track of the recorded history and remove it. There are a few unconventional ways to handle programmes that neither allow you to track your history nor provide a simple method to delete it.
1. Clear Safari History and Website Data on iPhone and iPad
Safari stores your browsing history to make it simple for you to log in and access frequently visited websites. Although this is very cool and may improve your browsing experience generally, over time this history and cache may end up using up a lot of storage. Additionally, if you value your privacy, you might occasionally wish to clear the Safari history on your iPhone or iPad.
Remember that when you clear the browsing history from Safari on your device, iOS also does the same for other devices that are connected to your iCloud account.
- Navigate to the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad -> Safari.
- Tap on Clear History and Website Data. Then, tap on Clear History and Data in the popup to finish.
2. Delete Cookies While Saving Safari Browsing History on iPhone and iPad
What happens if you want to delete cookies but maintain your Safari browser history? Not to worry, iOS gives you the option to selectively remove website data or to completely wipe them. For those who are wondering why websites save data, it allows them to keep tabs on your activity and preserve your login details to speed up your browsing.
- Head over to the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad -> Safari -> scroll down to the bottom and tap on Advanced -> Website Data. Now, tap on Edit at the top right corner of the screen. Next, you should see a long list of stored cookies.
- If you want to delete a specific website data, hit the red – button to the left of it and then hit Delete button.
- If you wish to delete all the website data stored in Safari, tap Remove All Website Data and then hit Remove Now to confirm.
3. Clear Cookies and Browsing History in Google Chrome on iPhone and iPad
In order to provide a more individualised experience, Chrome similarly to Safari retains your browsing history cookies, site data, cached image files, saved passwords, and auto-fill information. You can delete cookies and browsing history in Google Chrome on your iOS device for privacy protection or to free up some space.
- Open Google Chrome on your iOS/iPadOS device -> tap on the icon located at the lower-right corner of the screen -> History.
- Now, tap on Clear Browsing Data -> choose the preferred time Time Range like last one hour, last 24 hours, last 7 days, last 4 weeks, and all time as per your need. If you want to get rid of all the history in Chrome, make sure to select Saved Passwords and Auto-fill Data. Then, hit Clear Browsing Data and confirm.
4. Clear Browsing History in Firefox on iPhone and iPad
In order to provide a fully customised browsing experience, Mozilla Firefox also saves your browsing history, cache, cookies, offline website data, and saved logins. It allows you to delete your complete browsing history to provide you the chosen level of control over saved information.
- Open Firefox on your iOS device -> the menu button (three horizontal lines) at the bottom right corner of the screen -> History.
- Now, hit Clear Recent History -> choose the preferred time range like The Last Hour, Today, Today and Yesterday, or Everything depending on your need and you are good to go!
5. Free Up Precious Storage by Deleting Spotify Cache on iPhone and iPad
Spotify is notable for displaying the true size of the cache and cookies. This gives you a precise sense of how much space you can restore after deleting the history. Let me reassure you that it won’t at all effect your downloads if you are worried about losing them.
- Head over to Spotify app on your device -> Settings icon at the top right corner of the screen -> Storage -> Delete Cache and confirm.
6. Clear Snapchat History to Retrieve Storage on iPhone
Additionally, Snapchat makes it very easy to delete history. To maintain this social networking app’s cleanliness, you can periodically erase the saved cache and cookies. It’s important to note that deleting your Snapchat history has no impact on your backup of memories. Therefore, you shouldn’t worry about misplacing them.
- Launch Snapchat on your iPhone and tap on the profile icon at the top left. Now, tap on the settings cog in the top right.
- Scroll down to the Account Actions section and tap on Clear Cache . Now, tap Clear in the popup to confirm. The app will restart to bring the change into effect.
- Do note that Snapchat also allows you to clear your search history, scan history, and voice scan history. Thus, you can clean them all if want to go for a clean slate.
7. Delete Google Maps History on iPhone and iPad
A simple solution to keep track of your activities and delete it all if necessary is provided by Google Maps. It would be best to browse through the logged activity and delete everything if you use this navigation software on your iOS smartphone.
- Head into Google Maps on your device, and tap on your profile at the top right corner of the screen.
- Tap on Your Data in Maps . Now, go to See and delete activity located under the Location History and Web & App Activity.
8. Delete Apps and Reinstall to Clear History on iPhone and iPad
Numerous iPhone apps don’t have a specific clear history option. You may just uninstall and reinstall these apps if you want to reclaim some space on your iPhone from them. This is a practical method for erasing all app-related data. So, if you’re on a cleanup quest, be sure to use this unconventional yet effective approach. If you don’t want to lose the data, make sure to backup your files.
- Touch and hold an app icon -> Remove App -> Delete App.
- Now, a popup will appear warning that Deleting the app will also delete its data. Tap Delete in the popup to confirm the deletion of the app.
9. Restore Your iPhone or iPad As New
Restoring the iPhone as fresh might be an option if it is still sluggish or if you want to get back more storage on your iOS device. It’s been dubbed the “nuclear solution” and is undoubtedly the greatest approach to optimise your smartphone to remove clutter and improve performance.
Keep in mind that when you restore, all of the media and data are deleted from the entire device. Therefore, before using this unconventional fix, make sure to backup the smartphone (Settings app -> profile -> iCloud -> iCloud Backup -> Back Up Now). Apple now provides free, temporary, unlimited iCloud storage with iOS 15 so you can backup and restore your iPhone.
- If you already have an iCloud backup, go to Settings app -> General -> Transfer or Reset iPhone/iPad -> Reset -> Erase All Content and Settings. Once your device has been erased, set it up as a fresh new iPhone.
- Alternatively, you can use iTunes/Finder to back up and restore your device. To do so, connect your device to the computer -> launch iTunes/Finder -> select the device. After that, back up the device and then restore it.
Remove History on Your iPhone or iPad to Free Up Storage
That’s essentially finished! I hope you are completely aware of how to manage history on your iOS device by this point. You can avoid the storage from becoming congested and improve the performance of the app (and your iPhone) by routinely deleting the saved cache and cookies related to an app. Not only that, but it can be crucial in keeping the programme from consuming more storage.
How frequently do you find yourself clearing the history on your iPhone? Would you, like us, prefer it if Apple provided a simple method for erasing history on your iPhone? Please tell us in the comments.