When you search for software in the macOS App Store, Apple saves a record of your recent search queries to help you quickly find those apps again in the future. These recent searches appear as a dropdown list whenever you click the search bar. However, if you share your Mac with family members or colleagues, you might not want them to see your entire software search history. Fortunately, clearing this list is a very quick process.
How to Clear Recent Searches
Clearing your search history is done directly within the App Store application itself, not through the Mac’s System Settings.
- Open the App Store application on your Mac. You can find it in your Dock, in the Applications folder, or by pressing Command + Spacebar to use Spotlight Search.
- In the top-left corner of the App Store window, locate the Search bar.
- Click inside the Search bar as if you were going to type a new query. A dropdown menu will immediately appear showing a list of your Recent Searches.
- Look to the far right of the “Recent Searches” heading. You will see a small, grey Clear button.
- Click Clear.
The list of your past search terms will instantly vanish. The next time you click the search bar, the dropdown menu will be completely empty.
Understanding What This Deletes
It is important to understand that clicking ‘Clear’ only deletes the local search history—the words you typed into the search bar.
This action does not hide your purchase history. If you have actually downloaded or purchased an application, it will still remain permanently visible in your Apple ID account history. Anyone with access to your unlocked Mac can click on your profile picture in the bottom-left corner of the App Store and view the complete list of apps you have previously downloaded. Clearing the search bar only prevents people from seeing what you were looking for, not what you actually installed.