Cannot Clear Gmail Account Recent History in Outlook Mobile Apps

Kael 0 Reputation points
2026-11-10T16:49:03.9966667+00:00

On the Outlook app, I'm unable to clear search history for multiple connected Gmail accounts. Steps already tried, none of which resolved it:

  1. Disabled search history in my Google Account settings
  2. Uninstalled and reinstalled the Outlook app
  3. Switched to a different device - tried both IOS and Android
  4. Used the in-app "Clear search history" option - this only appears to clear history for Outlook.com/Microsoft accounts, not Gmail accounts
  5. Disconnect and reconnect Gmail account to Outlook

The old search terms persist across all of the above, suggesting the history is cached server-side on Microsoft's sync infrastructure for non-Microsoft accounts, rather than locally on the device. Is there a way to actually purge this, or is this a known bug?

Outlook | Outlook for mobile | Outlook for iOS | For home

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  1. Emma1-N 14,920 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-11-10T23:43:37.2833333+00:00

    Welcome Kael,

    Thanks for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A Forum. I understand that in the Outlook mobile app, some older text searches for your connected Gmail accounts stay in the recent search list. They remain there after you reinstall the app, switch devices, reconnect the accounts or use the clear search history option. Swiping left does nothing, and new searches don't replace them.

    To narrow this down, could you please share:

    • Do the stuck search terms appear only when a specific Gmail account is selected in the mailbox, or also when All Accounts is selected?
    • Roughly when did this start, and did it begin after an Outlook app update?

    Please make sure you already tried the Q&A Assist steps. In addition, please try the following:

    1, Update the Outlook app to the latest version.

    • On iOS, open the App Store, tap your profile icon and update Outlook.
    • On Android, open the Google Play Store, search for Microsoft Outlook and tap Update.

    2, Delete the existing Gmail search activity in your Google Account. Turning search history off stops new entries from being saved, but entries that were already saved may stay.

    • Go to myactivity.google.com and sign in with the affected Gmail account.
    • Filter by Gmail or by date, then delete the older activity.
    • Do this for each connected Gmail account.

    Disclaimer: This is a third-party link not provided by Microsoft. Please be cautious with any unsafe links or files included. Microsoft is not responsible for the content or security of third-party websites.

    3, Fully reset Outlook's sync for the Gmail accounts, rather than only reconnecting them.

    • In Outlook, go to Settings, select each Gmail account and choose Delete Account. If you're asked, choose to remove it from all devices.
    • Remove the Gmail accounts from every device where Outlook is installed.
    • Go to myaccount.google.com, open Security and then Your connections to third-party apps and services, and remove the access for Microsoft Outlook.
    • Wait about 24 hours, then add one Gmail account back and check whether the old searches still show before you add the others.

    Looking forward to your update.

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  2. AI answer

    2026-11-10T16:49:17.4433333+00:00

    For Outlook mobile, the supported behavior in the available guidance is:

    • On Android, search history suggestions cannot currently be deleted.
    • On iOS, only individual suggestions can be removed by swiping left.

    There is no documented way here to fully purge Gmail search history suggestions across Outlook mobile, including by reinstalling the app, switching devices, or reconnecting the Gmail account.

    A local refresh step is available if the issue is tied to stale app data:

    1. Force close and reopen Outlook.
    2. In Outlook, go to Settings > select the Gmail account > Reset Account.

    That said, based on the documented behavior above, this does not provide a supported full-clear option for Gmail search history on Outlook mobile. The available documentation also does not identify this as a published known bug.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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