How to reset your YouTube recommendations

Step 1: delete watch and search history

YouTube’s watch history help page says that once you delete history, future recommendations won’t be based on it. On a computer:

1. Open My Activity

   Go to myactivity.google.com and sign in, then choose YouTube History.

2. Choose Manage history

   You’ll see every video you’ve watched, newest first.

3. Delete

   Click Delete and pick a time range, or “All time” for a full reset. Deleting this way also removes your YouTube searches from the same period.

The same page has Auto-delete, which removes history older than a range you choose. It’s a gentler option if your feed drifts every few months rather than all at once.

Step 2: clear “Not interested” feedback, if you need to

YouTube’s recommendations help page treats “Not interested” and “Don’t recommend channel” as feedback that “may be used to tune your recommendations”. Deleting history doesn’t touch it. To clear it:

• Go to My Activity and open Other activity.
• Find YouTube ‘Not interested’ feedback and choose Delete.

This goes all at once. There’s no list of channels to pick from, so every channel you told YouTube to stop recommending can come back.

Do it only if that feedback is part of the problem.

If you once tapped Show fewer Shorts in the app, that’s stored under Other activity too, and you can delete it the same way.

Step 3: look at your liked videos

Likes shape recommendations too.

If you liked a lot of one thing years ago, that playlist keeps pulling Home in its direction long after you’ve moved on. Open Liked videos and remove what no longer fits.

Without an account

YouTube keeps a watch history for signed-out viewers too, per browser. Open YouTube, choose History in the menu, then Clear all watch history. The same page has Pause watch history if you don’t want it to build up again. A private window starts with no history at all, which is a quick way to see YouTube without your past.

On a TV or game console

In the YouTube app, open Settings in the left menu. Clear watch history and Clear search history are both there, along with Pause watch history. Each one asks you to confirm. If you’re signed in, the reset applies to your account everywhere, not only the TV.

What to expect afterwards

A smaller reset

You may not need the whole thing.

If one binge is the problem, delete just those videos from history with the ✕ next to each one, and use “Not interested” on what keeps coming back. When YouTube asks why, “I’ve already watched the video” and “I don’t like the video” are separate answers, and the help page lists both as ways to tune what you see.

If you’d rather skip the algorithm

A reset doesn’t last. Watch a few things and the feed fills again. On a computer, FeedCut’s Hide Home feed takes the feed away while your history keeps working for you, so YouTube opens on search and Subscriptions. Channels you never want back can be blocked, which, unlike feedback, also keeps them out of search.

Questions

Updated November 6, 2026