Almost every movie and TV show streaming app you use keeps track of what you're watching. This tracking is primarily for convenience; by logging your activity, the app lets you pick up where you left off at another time or on another device. Additionally, it notifies you of new content you might like and provides more relevant recommendations based on your viewing habits.
Without this tracking, your user experience would significantly diminish. However, there are valid reasons why you might want to edit or completely wipe your viewing history.
Privacy Concerns with Shared Accounts
If you share your account with family members or friends, you might not want them to see everything you've watched. Maybe you skipped ahead in a show, or perhaps you indulge in guilty pleasures you'd rather keep private.
Refining Recommendations
Every title you watch influences the recommendations the app provides. Removing movies and shows you didn't enjoy-or those your kids binge-watched-can help keep the suggestions relevant to your tastes.
Managing Netflix Viewing History
On the Web
Hover over your profile picture (top right).
Choose Account and then Manage Profiles.
Click on your profile and select Viewing Activity.
Each item on this list has a Hide button on the right. When you click Hide, that title will no longer affect your recommendations and won't show up as watched. If you hide one episode of a series, you'll be asked if you want to hide the entire series. There's also a Hide All button at the bottom.
On Mobile
While you can't access the full list from the mobile app, you can hide recently watched titles. Tap My Netflix, scroll down to the recently watched section, and tap the three dots on any thumbnail to find the Hide From Watch History option.
Clearing Apple TV+ Viewing History
In the TV app on macOS:
Open the TV menu.
Choose Settings.
Under the Advanced tab, select Clear Play History.
This action resets your entire watch history. For individual titles, remove them from the Up Next bar on the main screen by clicking the three dots next to any thumbnail and choosing Remove From Up Next and Remove From Recently Watched.
On iOS and iPadOS, tap the three dots next to a show or movie thumbnail to access the same options. To clear your Apple TV's viewing history on mobile:
Tap your profile picture (top right).
Select Clear Play History.
Managing YouTube Watch History
On the Web
Click History in the left-hand navigation panel.
Click the X next to any video to remove it from your watch history.
You can also Clear all watch history and Pause watch history. Selecting Youtube's Manage all history takes you to a comprehensive list of everything you've watched on YouTube, where you can search, browse by date, and delete specific or all videos from your history.
On Mobile
Tap You and then View all next to the History heading.
Tap the three dots next to a video and select Remove from watch history.
To manage your history in more detail, tap the three dots in the top right corner of the screen.
Managing Amazon Prime Video Watch History
On the Web
Click your Amazon Prime Video account name (top right).
Go to Account & Settings and open the Watch History tab.
Unfortunately, you can't search through this list or delete items in bulk. Use the Delete Movie From Watch History and Delete Episodes From Watch History links on the right to remove items individually. Clearing everything could take some time.
On Mobile
You can't access your watch history list through the mobile app, but you can remove items from the continue watching bar by pressing and holding the thumbnail and selecting Hide This Video.
Disney+ and Hulu Viewing History
Disney+ hasn't yet introduced a way to access or edit your viewing history, lagging behind other streaming services. However, Hulu, owned by Disney, offers this functionality.
On the Web
Hover over your account name (top right).
Choose History.
Click the trash can icon next to any title to delete it from the record, or select Remove All Videos to clear the entire list.
On Mobile
You can't access the full list, but you can delete recent items:
From the Home tab, tap the three dots next to any thumbnail under the Keep Watching heading.
Choose Remove From Watch History from the menu that appears.
Managing your streaming service watch history is crucial for maintaining privacy and ensuring accurate content recommendations. Follow these steps for each platform so you can keep your viewing activity in check and enjoy a more personalized streaming experience.