You’re in control of what information you share with Google when you search. To browse the web privately, you can use private browsing, sign out of your account, change your custom results settings, or delete past activity.
If you want to search the web without saving your search activity to your account, you can use private browsing mode in a browser (like Chrome or Safari).
How private browsing works
Private browsing works differently depending on which browser you use. Browsing in private usually means:
- The searches you do or sites you visit won't be saved to your device or browsing history.
- Files you download or bookmarks you create might be kept on your device.
- Cookies are deleted after you close your private browsing window or tab.
- You might see search results and suggestions based on your location or other searches you've done during your current browsing session.
Important: If you sign in to your Google Account to use a web service like Gmail, your searches and browsing activity might be saved to your account.
Open private browsing mode
Learn how to search privately on these browsers:
Sign out of your Google Account
When you browse in private you’re signed out of your Google Account by default. If you sign in to your Google Account, through a web service like Gmail, your browsing activity might be saved to your account.
- Visit any Google page, like google.com.
- At the top right, click your Google Account profile picture
Sign out.
- If you see the "Sign in" button, you’re already signed out of your account.