Open up your Instagram search bar and tell me if you see anything useful. Probably not. It’s usually full of old profiles you searched once—maybe by accident, maybe out of boredom—and now Instagram thinks they deserve a permanent spot at the top of your list.
If you’re new to the app or haven’t linked Facebook yet, you’ll see popular accounts pop up automatically. You know, like how Cristiano Ronaldo shows up the second you type a letter? That’s not really a problem. The issue starts when things get personal—like someone sitting next to you, seeing a name pop up, and suddenly you’re in an awkward conversation explaining why it’s there.
Well, this article is for all of us trying to figure out how to clear Instagram search suggestions without going in circles, you are in the right place. Most of the advice out there skips the parts that matter or misses the new features that actually make a difference. So let’s talk about what works, what does nothing, and how to actually take control of your search tab again.
The Two Types of Search Suggestions
Before you start clearing anything, you need to know what Instagram is actually showing you. There are two types of search suggestions, and they work very differently.
- The first one is your search history. This includes accounts and terms you have typed into the search bar yourself. These are fully removable. You can either delete them one by one or clear everything at once. Instagram even gives you a new setting to automatically remove them after a set period of time. This is the part you can control completely.
- The other type is more complicated—predictive suggestions. These are the suggestions that pop up as soon as you start typing. Instagram uses your activity to decide what it thinks you want to see. That includes who you follow, who you engage with, who you view regularly, and who you message. Even if you have never searched for them directly, they can still show up. And yes, just viewing someone’s profile regularly can be enough to land them in your suggestions. If you’re wondering what counts as a “view” or if people can tell you’ve checked their page, we broke that down here.
So when we talk about how to clear Instagram search suggestions, we are mostly talking about removing your search history and finding ways to influence the predictive part. One is in your control. The other requires a little more effort and patience.
Clear Your Instagram Search History in a Few Taps
Instagram tracks everything you’ve looked up, but clearing it takes less effort than you’d think. Here’s how to do it:
Go to your profile and tap the menu icon
Tap Your activity
Scroll down and tap Recent searches
Tap Clear all in the top right corner
Done. You’ve officially wiped your manual search history.
How to Set Up Instagram's Auto Clear Feature
This feature flew under the radar, but it’s surprisingly useful. Instagram now gives you the option to automatically delete your search history every few days. No pop-ups, no reminders—it just clears itself out in the background while you go about your life.
To turn it on, open Instagram and head to your profile. Tap the menu, dive into Accounts Center, and scroll until you find Your information and permissions. Inside, go to Search history and look for the Auto clear option.
You will get to pick how long you want Instagram to hold on to your searches—three days, a week, two weeks, or the default 30-day window. Choose what makes sense for you, confirm it, and you’re done.
This will not touch those predictive suggestions that show up as you type (we will cover that separately), but it does keep your actual search log from turning into a messy backlog of every random thing you have ever looked up. Funnily enough, Instagram actually gives you an option to reset most of the suggested content that shows up on your feed—just not in the search bar. If you want to cut down on recommended posts and Reels, you can tweak that right here. Sadly, it doesn’t touch the search bar suggestions, but hey, it’s something.
How to Clear Instagram Search Suggestions
Even after clearing your history, Instagram still offers up names the second you tap the search bar. These are driven by patterns, not past entries.
To change what shows up:
- Block accounts you are tired of seeing
- Mute or restrict if you want to keep things quiet without cutting ties
- Look up and interact with different profiles that start with the same letters
These adjustments help shift what Instagram prioritizes, even if it takes a bit to update. Sometimes someone disappears from your suggestions completely, and it’s not because you cleared anything. It might just mean they deactivated. If you’re not sure whether someone blocked you or just left Instagram, here’s how to tell.
Final Thoughts
Knowing how to clear Instagram search suggestions gives you some control, but not total freedom. You can delete your recent searches, set them to auto clear, and even influence the suggestions you see—but Instagram still holds on to patterns it thinks matter.
If you are serious about cleaning up your experience, stay consistent. Use the tools that are available, adjust your activity when needed, and keep your suggestions from turning into a mess you did not ask for. It is not perfect, but it is manageable. And honestly, that is all most of us are looking for.
I kicked off my blogging journey back in my university days as a marketing student and totally fell in love with writing. Now, I’m freelancing for several websites, including RedSocial. If you ever want to chat, give feedback, or collaborate, don’t hesitate to reach out!
