How to Download Google Search History
Navigate to the Google History page., Open the Settings menu., Read the information., Create a history archive., Wait for the email., Log in to your Gmail., Download your history., Locate your downloads folder., Extract and view history., View your...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Navigate to the Google History page.
Open a web browser, any will do, and go to the Google History page.
If you are not already, you may be asked to enter your login credentials.
Enter the Gmail username and password of the account you are interested in. -
Step 2: Open the Settings menu.
Once the page finishes loading there should be a small gear icon in the upper right hand corner.
Click it, then click the Download option from the drop down list. , After clicking the Download option there should be a small box that will pop up at the bottom of the page.
Make sure to actually read this information.
It should say “Please read this carefully, it's not the usual yada yada.” , At the bottom of the small box there should be two different buttons.
If you are ready to continue, go ahead and click the “Create Archive” button at the bottom left of the box. , Once you click the button there should be another small box that pops up that says: “We will email you when the archive is ready to download.” Simply click the blue close button to continue. , Go to Gmail and login if you are prompted to do so.
Inside your inbox there should now be an email entitled “Google Web History”.
Click to open. , At the bottom of the email there should be a small grey box that should say “Searches” and then several numbers and letters.
Move your mouse over the box and a small white down-facing arrow should appear at the bottom.
Click to begin the download. , Once the file has finished downloading, you will need to extract the contents of the file.
This is important because if you don’t, you won’t be able to view the content properly.
Here are the steps to complete this using Windows 7 and higher:
Go to your desktop and double click the Recycle Bin.
In the new window that opens, on the left hand side, there should be a series of locations listed.
Near the top there should be a location called “Downloads”, click this to continue.
If you do not see this option, type in “%userprofile%/Downloads” in the address bar at the top and hit Enter.
This will take you to the Downloads folder for the current user. , Once you have found the Downloads folder you will see a file entitled, for example: “Searches-20150607M098765V”.
Right click this and select “Extract All…” from the right click menu.
A small window should open that will ask you to select a location to extract the files to.
Click the Browse button, and select a location to extract the files to.
Once you have chosen, click the OK button at the bottom to continue.
At the top of the page you should see the path to the folder location you have chosen.
Click at the end of the path and type in “\FolderName”.
Where it says “FolderName” type in your desired folder name.
Then hit the Extract button at the bottom right of the page. , Once the files are finished extracting, a new window should open automatically.
Inside this folder should be two different items.
One will be an internet page call “index” and the other should be called “Searches.” Searches contains several of what are called JSON files, which are the history files themselves.
Currently this is about as far as it goes.
Opening the index webpage will only display a summary of the JSON files and that is about it.
Now you have a complete Google search history downloaded and ready for your use. -
Step 3: Read the information.
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Step 4: Create a history archive.
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Step 5: Wait for the email.
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Step 6: Log in to your Gmail.
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Step 7: Download your history.
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Step 8: Locate your downloads folder.
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Step 9: Extract and view history.
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Step 10: View your history.
Detailed Guide
Open a web browser, any will do, and go to the Google History page.
If you are not already, you may be asked to enter your login credentials.
Enter the Gmail username and password of the account you are interested in.
Once the page finishes loading there should be a small gear icon in the upper right hand corner.
Click it, then click the Download option from the drop down list. , After clicking the Download option there should be a small box that will pop up at the bottom of the page.
Make sure to actually read this information.
It should say “Please read this carefully, it's not the usual yada yada.” , At the bottom of the small box there should be two different buttons.
If you are ready to continue, go ahead and click the “Create Archive” button at the bottom left of the box. , Once you click the button there should be another small box that pops up that says: “We will email you when the archive is ready to download.” Simply click the blue close button to continue. , Go to Gmail and login if you are prompted to do so.
Inside your inbox there should now be an email entitled “Google Web History”.
Click to open. , At the bottom of the email there should be a small grey box that should say “Searches” and then several numbers and letters.
Move your mouse over the box and a small white down-facing arrow should appear at the bottom.
Click to begin the download. , Once the file has finished downloading, you will need to extract the contents of the file.
This is important because if you don’t, you won’t be able to view the content properly.
Here are the steps to complete this using Windows 7 and higher:
Go to your desktop and double click the Recycle Bin.
In the new window that opens, on the left hand side, there should be a series of locations listed.
Near the top there should be a location called “Downloads”, click this to continue.
If you do not see this option, type in “%userprofile%/Downloads” in the address bar at the top and hit Enter.
This will take you to the Downloads folder for the current user. , Once you have found the Downloads folder you will see a file entitled, for example: “Searches-20150607M098765V”.
Right click this and select “Extract All…” from the right click menu.
A small window should open that will ask you to select a location to extract the files to.
Click the Browse button, and select a location to extract the files to.
Once you have chosen, click the OK button at the bottom to continue.
At the top of the page you should see the path to the folder location you have chosen.
Click at the end of the path and type in “\FolderName”.
Where it says “FolderName” type in your desired folder name.
Then hit the Extract button at the bottom right of the page. , Once the files are finished extracting, a new window should open automatically.
Inside this folder should be two different items.
One will be an internet page call “index” and the other should be called “Searches.” Searches contains several of what are called JSON files, which are the history files themselves.
Currently this is about as far as it goes.
Opening the index webpage will only display a summary of the JSON files and that is about it.
Now you have a complete Google search history downloaded and ready for your use.
About the Author
Ann Griffin
A passionate writer with expertise in practical skills topics. Loves sharing practical knowledge.
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