Autocomplete search term deletion not working

Hi Andrew Hubball

This happens because the search suggestion is not stored locally in Edge. It’s coming from your Bing / Microsoft account search history, which Edge re‑syncs when the browser restarts. That’s why Shift+Delete and clearing Edge history don’t stick.

You can try this:

1. Sign in to your Microsoft account and delete the search term from Bing search history (account activity page).
2. Restart Edge.

And to prevent future suggestion:

• Edge Settings → Privacy, search, and services → Address bar and search
• Turn off “Show me search and site suggestions using my typed characters”

Once the cloud search history entry is removed, the autocomplete item will not return after restarting Edge.

If you’re signed into Edge on multiple devices, make sure the Bing history is cleared there as well.

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Autocomplete entries in the Edge address bar come from two places:

1. Local browsing data on the device
2. Browsing history stored in the Microsoft account and used for personalization

Because clearing local history only removes them temporarily and they reappear after restart, they are being repopulated from cloud‑stored history/personalization. To remove them permanently, both local and cloud data must be cleared and/or collection disabled.

Follow these steps:

1. Clear local browsing data in Edge
   1. In Edge, select Settings and more (⋯) > Settings > Privacy, search, and services.
   2. Under Clear browsing data, select Choose what to clear.
   3. Choose an appropriate Time range (e.g., All time if unsure when the search was made).
   4. Select at least Browsing history and Cached images and files (and other categories if desired).
   5. Select Clear now.
2. Clear browsing history stored by Microsoft (cloud history)
   1. Go to the Microsoft privacy dashboard while signed in with the same account used in Edge.
   2. View and delete the browsing history associated with the account.
3. Turn off sharing of browsing data with other Windows features (to stop repopulation on the device)
   1. In Edge, select Settings and more > Settings > Profiles.
   2. Select Share browsing data with other Windows features.
   3. Toggle this setting off.
4. Turn off use of browsing activity for personalization (to stop repopulation from the cloud)
   1. In Edge, select Settings and more > Settings > Privacy, search, and services.
   2. Under Privacy, turn off the setting Allow Microsoft to save your browsing activity including history, usage, favorites, web content, and other browsing data to personalize Microsoft Edge and Microsoft services like ads, search, shopping and news.
5. Optionally clear diagnostic/search data at Windows level (if suggestions are still influenced by diagnostic data)
   1. Open Start > Settings.
   2. Go to Privacy & security > Diagnostics & feedback.
   3. Under Delete diagnostic data, select Delete.

After performing these steps, restart Edge. The unwanted autocomplete search term should no longer reappear, and new searches will not be reused for personalization if the collection settings are left disabled.

References:

• Microsoft Edge, browsing data, and privacy
• User data and privacy in Microsoft Edge
• Microsoft Edge browsing activity for personalized advertising and experiences
• View and delete browser history in Microsoft Edge
• Use a screen reader to clear browsing data in Microsoft Edge