Glossary

Search history

Search history is the stored record of what you typed into a search box, and there are two of them: the queries kept by the search engine you used to find a platform, usually tied to an account rather than a device, and the recent searches the platform itself keeps inside its own search field.

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Where you see it

In the suggestion list that drops down the moment you start typing - in the engine, in the browser address bar, and above a cam site's own search box, where recent terms are often shown back to you.

Why it matters

Suggestions are the actual exposure, because a saved query can finish itself in front of somebody else. The important limit: clearing your browser removes what is on the device, but a search history held in your search-engine account lives on that company's servers and has to be deleted there, through that account's own activity controls.

Related terms

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