Want to stop seeing Search Suggestions (now called ‘Search Predictions’) on your Android phone? This guide will show you how-to turn off those annoying suggestions so that you’ll have greater control over your search experience, and also privacy.
NOTE: Settings that influence Search Suggestions/Predictions can be accesses through different ways (e.g. Android Settings > Google Account App, Chrome App etc.). Regardless of which way you access them, settings you set will work the same.
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How-to Turn-Off Search Personalization
Above image shows the one of the most important setting you can control, because Google keeps a vast amount of data of your usage, and thus, wants you to have better user-experience. But when searching you may not want to see Suggestions.
Important: if some of the steps are not available on your particular device. You can always navigate to your Google Account Privacy & Safety setting because Search Personalization is a setting in your main Google Account. How-to access this setting?
Using Google App? (for the home screen with search bar)
Open Google App > tap on your profile picture > Search Personalization > Turn off the Toggle “Personalize Search”
Google Account through Android Settings
Open Android Setting App > Google > All Services > Search, Assistant and Voice > Search Personalization > Turn off the Toggle “Personalize Search”
Not using Google App? Open Android Setting App > Google > (press on your profile name email > Google Account > Data and privacy > Search Personalization > Turn off the Toggle “Personalize Search”
How-to Access This Setting Using Google Account App
Open Android Setting App > Google > All Services > Search, Assistant and Voice >
Privacy and safety > Search Personalization > Turn off the Toggle “Personalize Search”
How-to Turn-Off Autocomplete with trending searches
Open Android Setting App > Google > All Services > Search, Assistant and Voice >
Other settings > Autocomplete settings > Turn off the toggle for “Autocomplete with trending searches” AND On-device web suggestions
Google Chrome: Delete Browsing Data & Autofill Form Data
Video Tutorial: How-to Stop Search Suggestions Autocomplete & Delete Chrome History
Open Chrome App > Press … 3 dots (top right hand corner) > Settings > Privacy and security > Delete browsing data
Open Chrome App > Press … 3 dots (top right hand corner) > Google Services > Turn off the Toggle “Improve Search Suggestions”
My Activity Chrome History
Press here to Manage Chrome History
Managing My Google Activity History
Even with suggestions off, your Google Manage My Activity history can influence future suggestions. Clearing your activity history is another way to reduce unwanted suggestions. To do this:
- Manage My Activity
- Open the Google Account app
- Tap your profile picture
- Press on “Google Account” button
- Select “Data & privacy”
- Find and select “Web & App Activity”.
- Tap “My Activity”
- You can either delete individual items or clear your entire Web & App activity
Turning Off Auto-correction
Sometimes, what appears to be a search suggestion is actually your phone’s autocorrect feature predicting your next word. Turning off autocorrect can help minimize unwanted suggestions, although it might slightly decrease your typing speed.
- Go to your Android phone’s Settings
- Select System (or a similar option; this might be called “System & update, or General Management” depending on your Android version)
- Tap Languages & input
- Select your default keyboard (e.g., Gboard)
- Tap on Text Correction option.
- Find and disable Auto-correction and or Next-word suggestions
Note: the specific steps to disable autocorrect might vary slightly based on your keyboard app and Android version.
Final Notes
By following these steps, you can effectively manage and minimize search suggestions on your Android device and enjoy a more private search experience.
Remember that the availability and exact location of settings detailed on this blog post might vary slightly depending on your Android version and the Apps that you use. If you encounter any difficulties, refer to Google Help Section Access & control activity in your account for more specific instructions.
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