How to Clear Search History on Instagram

Instagram keeps a record of your search history, allowing you to quickly locate accounts or hashtags that you've looked for in the past. While this personal record can come in very handy, it presents some potential privacy concerns. In the case of IG's suggested list, your past searches also have an impact on which people are presented to you.

Whether you're consistently seeing unwanted users appear in the recommended searches as soon as you log in or you want to wipe out your search history for other reasons altogether, follow the steps below. In addition to clearing your history, you can also prevent specific accounts from ever showing up on your Instagram page again.

How to Clear Instagram Search History

Instagram search history can only be deleted via the social media service's app, available for multiple platforms including Android, iOS and Windows.

Launch the Instagram app.
Enter your IG name and password and sign in, or choose the Log In With Facebook option instead.
Click or tap on the Profile button, represented by a head and torso and located in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen.
Your profile should now be displayed. Click or tap on the Options button, located in the upper right-hand corner and represented by a gear icon on iOS and Windows or three vertically-aligned dots on Android.
Scroll to the bottom of the Options interface and select the Clear Search History option.
You will now receive a message asking you to confirm this action. Press the Yes, I'm sure button. Your search history will be instantly cleared at this point.

How to Hide Individual Accounts on Instagram

As mentioned above, you can also choose to prevent Instagram from displaying certain users anywhere within the app unless you decide to manually seek them out.

Launch the Instagram app.
Enter your IG name and password and sign in, or choose the Log In With Facebook option instead.
Click or tap the Search button, represented by a magnifying glass and located near the bottom left-hand corner of your screen.
Select the Search bar, found at the very top of the screen.
Click or tap Top or People.
Select and hold the account that you wish to suppress.
Click or tap the Hide button, which should appear towards the bottom of the screen.

It should be noted that search history isn't the only thing factored into the suggested list equation, so you may also want to take other measures such as unfollowing the account in question.