How to completely remove your browsing history on your Xiaomi phone: 5 proven ways

The history of the Xiaomi smartphone is like a digital trail that can reveal your preferences, interests, or even sensitive information. Whether you plan to sell the phone, give it to your relatives or just want to keep it private, cleaning that trail becomes a necessary procedure. But here lies the catch: on devices with a MIUI shell, the history is stored not only in the browser, but also in system services, Google applications and even in the cloud.

Unlike iPhones or pure Androids, Xiaomi smartphones (including the Redmi, Poco and Black Shark lines) have unique data collection mechanisms. For example, the built-in Mi Browser browser syncs with Xiaomi’s account, and Google search history can be duplicated in Google Activity. This article covers all possible sources of browsing history, from obvious to hidden, and offers solutions for models on MIUI 12-14 (including HyperOS for new devices).

1. Delete history in the Mi Browser browser

The built-in Mi Browser browser is the main source of browsing history on Xiaomi, and it automatically saves pages visited, even if you use incognito mode (which, by the way, does not always work correctly in MIUI), to clear the data:

  1. Open the Mi Browser (Blue Globe icon).
  2. Slip on three dots in the lower right corner → select History.
  3. Click on the basket icon in the upper right corner → confirm removal.

To completely clear the cache and cookies:

  1. Go to the browser settings → Privacy.
  2. Choose Clear the data → Delete everything.
  3. Check History, Cash, Cookies and Autocomplete Data.

Clear your browsing history | Delete cookies |Erase your image cache |Deactivate synchronization with your Xiaomi account-->

Important: If you are logged in to a Xiaomi account, the history can be saved to the cloud to disable sync:

  1. Go to Profile. → Synchronization settings.
  2. Turn off the Browser option.

⚠️ Note: Some models (e.g. Redmi Note 12 Pro)+) After upgrading to HyperOS, the browser menu may differ. If History is not in the drop-down menu, try swiping left on the browser's home page.

2. Clear history in Google Chrome and other browsers

If you use Google Chrome, Firefox or Opera, the history is stored separately from Mi Browser. In Chrome (the most popular browser on Xiaomi), the cleaning is done as follows:

  1. Open Chrome → tap on three points → History.
  2. Select Clear View Data.
  3. Specify the period (for example, For all time) and mark: 📌 Viewing history 🍪 Cookies and website data 🗑️ Cached images and files

Delete the data

For Firefox, the path will be similar, but with nuances:

  • 🔍 Go to Settings. → Deletion of personal data.
  • 🔄 Choose Clean Now and Confirm.

Mi Browser|Google Chrome|Firefox|Opera|Other-->

Hidden threat: If you are logged in to a Google account, Chrome history is synced to the company's servers to delete it completely:

  1. Go to the Google Activity website.
  2. In the filters, select Search and View.
  3. Click on three points → Delete results → Specify the range For all time.

⚠️ Note: Xiaomi smartphones with Chrome preinstalled (such as Xiaomi 13 Ultra) may have Enhanced Navigation enabled, which sends browsing data to Google. → Confidentiality → Improved navigation.

3. Delete YouTube and Google Search History

The videos you watch on YouTube and the Google Search queries also remain in history.This data is stored separately from the browser and requires separate cleaning.

For YouTube:

  1. Open the YouTube app → tap on the avatar in the upper right corner.
  2. Choose your story. → Viewing history.
  3. Click on three points → History Management → Clear your browsing history.

For Google Search:

  1. Open the Google app or go to google.com.
  2. Put it on the avatar. → Managing a Google Account.
  3. Go to Data and Privacy → Application History and Web Search.
  4. Choose Delete. → All the time. → Delete.
What happens if you don’t clean up YouTube’s history?
If you don't delete your YouTube browsing history, the algorithm will recommend content based on your old preferences, even if they're no longer relevant. For example, if you watched a car repair video a year ago and are now into cooking, YouTube will continue to offer auto content, and the story can be shared with third parties when Google account data is leaked.

On Xiaomi smartphones with MIUI 14, YouTube history can be duplicated in the system activity log. To delete it, go to Settings → Google Accounts → Data Management → YouTube History.

4. Clearing the system history in MIUI (activity log)

MIUI maintains its own activity log, which includes:

  • 📱 Latest open applications
  • 🔍 Search history in Quick Search MIUI
  • 📊 Application usage data (time, frequency)

To clear this data:

  1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
  2. Slip on three dots in the upper right corner → Reset application preferences.
  3. Confirm the action (this won’t delete application data, but will reset the default settings).

To delete MIUI Quick Search History (available on MIUI 13+):

  1. Swipe down on the main screen to open the search.
  2. Enter any query → in the search results tap on the icon of history (clock).
  3. Choose Clear everything.
Type of historyWhere it's storedHow to remove
Mi Browser browserLocal + Cloud XiaomiBrowser settings → History → Clear
Google ChromeLocally + Google Accountmyactivity.google.com → Delete
YouTubeGoogle accountYouTube app → History → Clean up
MIUI MagazineSystem settingsSettings → Applications → Reset preferences
Quick search for MIUILocally.Swipe down. → History → Clear it all up.

5. Reset history through privacy settings

MIUI has a centralized privacy section where you can manage most of the data, which is convenient if you want to clean it all up at once:

  1. Go to Settings. → Confidentiality.
  2. Select Data Cleanup (or Special Permits → Activity History on MIUI 14).
  3. Check the boxes: 📄 Call log (if necessary) 📱 History of communications 🌐 Browser history 🔍 History of search

Clean up

On new HyperOS devices (such as Xiaomi 14 or Redmi K70), the path may be different:

  1. Go to Settings → Memory → Cleanup.
  2. Select Deep Clean → tick Personal Data.

💡

If you plan to sell the phone, after cleaning the history, reset to factory settings: Settings → About the phone → Reset. This will delete all data, including hidden system logs.

6.How to delete your browsing history without a trace (for advanced)

If you need to erase all traces of activity (for example, before handing the phone to another person), standard methods may not be enough.

Method 1: Using Safe Mode

Download your phone in Safe Mode, where all third-party apps are disabled, and clear the data:

  1. Press the power button → hold Off → confirm the transition to Safe Mode.
  2. In this mode, delete the history in the browser and settings (as described above).
  3. Reboot the phone.

Method 2: ADB-Teams (for technically savvy people)

With Android Debug Bridge (ADB), you can force the cache of system applications to be cleared:

adb shell pm clear com.android.browser #Mi Browser cleanup


adb shell pm clear com.google.android.youtube #SweetWatch




adb shell pm clear com.google.android.gms # Clean up Google Services

Method 3: Encryption and resetting

The most radical method is to enable the device’s encryption and then perform the reset:

  1. Go to Settings → Lock and Protection → Encrypt your phone.
  2. After encryption, reset to Settings → Additional → Reset settings.

⚠️ Attention: Use ADB-The teams require the included debugging USB (Settings → The phone. → Assembly number (7 taps) → Developer settings → Debugging by USB). Wrong commands can disrupt the system. On HyperOS devices, some of them are ADB-Teams can be blocked.

💡

To completely remove history without the possibility of recovery, combine cleaning through settings, Safe Mode and resetting to factory settings.

7 How to Prevent History from Preserving the Future

To prevent the browsing history from accumulating again, set up your phone in advance:

  • 🔒 Turn off sync: In Mi Browser: Settings → Xiaomi account → Turn off sync. In Chrome: Settings → Synchronization → Shut down.
  • 🕵️ Use incognito modes: In Mi Browser: tap on the mask icon in the top right corner. In Chrome: select New Incognito tab.
  • 🛡️ Set up automatic cleaning: C MIUI: Settings → Confidentiality → Autocleaning (available on MIUI 14+). Google Activity: Set up automatic deletion of data older than 3-18 months.

For maximum confidentiality:

  • Install a browser with a privacy focus, such as Brave or DuckDuckGo.
  • Turn off personalized ads in Google Settings → Ads → Disable.
  • Check application permissions regularly in Settings → Privacy → Permits.

Frequent Questions (FAQ)

Can I recover a deleted browsing history on Xiaomi?
If a story has been deleted through standard browser settings or MIUI, it is almost impossible to restore it. However: If the story is synced with a Google or Xiaomi account, it can be found in Google Activity or on the Mi Account site (the "Cloud" section). Specialized data recovery programs (for example, Dr.Fone) can extract fragments of the story if it was not overwritten by new data. On devices with HyperOS, the history is stored in encrypted form, which complicates recovery.
Why does the story reappear after the cleanup?
This happens because: Account Sync: If you're logged in to Google or Xiaomi, history can be uploaded from the cloud. Turn off sync in account settings. App cache: Some apps (like Facebook or TikTok) store their own history. Clear the cache in Settings → Annexes → [Title of the annex] → Memory. → Clear cache. System services: On MIUI background services (e.g. com.miui.systemAdSolution) can recover data. → Annexes → Show it all. → Systemic.
How to clear history on Xiaomi without logging in?
If you don't remember the password from your Xiaomi or Google account, but you need to delete the history: For Mi Browser: clear the app data to Settings → Apps → Mi Browser → Memory → Clear the data. For Chrome: delete the app and install it again (the story that is not synchronized with the account will be erased). For system history: perform a factory reset (Settings → Additional → Reset), but this will delete all data from the phone. If the phone is locked, the only way is to reset via Recovery Mode (clamp + Power Up).
Is there a difference in clearing history on Redmi and Poco?
There is no fundamental difference, since both Redmi and Poco run on MIUI (or HyperOS for new models).However: On Poco (like Poco F5), Chrome can be pre-installed instead of Mi Browser. On Redmi (like Redmi Note 12), there is sometimes no Quick MIUI search section in settings. On HyperOS devices (like Xiaomi 14 or Poco X6 Pro), the privacy menu may be called Privacy Protection. The instructions from this article are suitable for all models, but the paths to settings may differ slightly.
Can I turn off the history of the viewing forever?
Yes, but this requires: Disable sync in Mi Browser and Chrome (as described above). Deactivate Web and app activity in Google settings. Use browsers with blocking tracking (e.g. Brave with Shields enabled). On devices with MIUI 14+, disable Personalized Recommendations in Settings → Privacy → Advertising. Please note: some system processes (e.g. miui.analytics) may still collect anonymous data. Root access is required for full control.