Back to Blog
18.09.2026

How to Turn Off YouTube Watch History?

How to Turn Off YouTube Watch History?
Data privacy on digital platforms is of critical importance for individual users as well as enterprises and their employees. The popular video-sharing platform YouTube records users' consumption habits by default. However, it is possible to disable this recording feature to enhance personal privacy or avoid leaving data on shared devices.

Stopping history recording is quite simple on both desktop browsers and mobile applications. The process is managed through account settings and prevents watched content from feeding the recommendation algorithm. Through this process, you can minimize your digital footprint on the platform.

Steps to Pause History on Computer and Mobile


In the desktop version, after logging into your YouTube account, you need to access the 'History' tab located in the left menu. By clicking the 'Turn off watch history' option on the right-hand panel, you can instantly disable this feature. On mobile devices, tap your profile icon in the top right corner, navigate to 'Settings', then the 'History and privacy' menu, and enable the relevant option.

When you turn off history, previously watched videos are not deleted, but newly watched ones are not added to the list. You can completely clear your history or turn this feature back on at any time. Reviewing such simple yet effective settings will be beneficial to strengthen your digital privacy.

As Dostech Information Security and Technologies, we recommend that you closely follow such up-to-date security steps to protect your individual and corporate digital privacy.