When typing the query in the search bar, most browsers attempt to predict what you are going to type and offer you suggestions. The feature is known as auto-complete or search suggestions.

Even though it's convenient to see such predictions and select from them to save time, you may also find them annoying (more often than not). If that's the case, almost all browsers let you turn off this feature.

We'll cover how to turn off search suggestions for Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari, and Brave.

Benefits of Turning Off the Search Suggestions

The following are some benefits of turning off search suggestions:

  • It keeps your focus on what you initially came to the browser to find.
  • To make your search experience as clean as possible, it removes all the distractions.
  • You won't waste time procrastinating and looking at search results you didn't intend to see.
  • When using keywords research tools such as keywords everywhere, you will save your credits from going through unrelated search queries.

Let's explore how you can disable the search suggestions across different browsers.

1. Google Chrome

You can disable search suggestions in Chrome for desktop, Android, and iOS.

How to Disable Search Suggestions in Chrome for Desktop

To disable search suggestions in Chrome, follow these steps:

  1. Click on the three vertical dots in the top-right corner and go to Settings from the drop-down menu.
  2. From the left-sidebar, go to You and Google.
  3. Click on Sync and Google services in the right-hand pane.
  4. Navigate to the Other Google services section on the Sync and Google services page.
  5. To turn off autocomplete, locate the Autocomplete searches and URLs option and move the toggle to the left.
    Turning Off Autocomplete Toggle in Chrome Settings

How to Disable Search Suggestions in Chrome for Mobile

Except for the different ways to access Chrome settings, the process of disabling search suggestions is the same on iOS and Android.

Here is how you can turn off search suggestions in Chrome on mobile, no matter what device you own:

  1. Click on the three horizontal dots in the bottom-right corner in Chrome for iOS. (On Android, the menu is in the top-right corner)
  2. Go to Settings.
  3. Go to Google Services.
  4. Turn off Autocomplete searches and URLs by turning the toggle to the left.
  5. Click Done.

The changes are browser-level and are unrelated to what search engine you use currently in Chrome. Check out our article on how to manage your activity and control article suggestions in Chrome to customize article suggestions to your interests.

2. Microsoft Edge

You can also disable search suggestions in Edge for desktop, Android, and iOS.

How to Disable Search Suggestions in Edge for Desktop

To disable search suggestions in Edge for desktop, follow these steps:

  1. Click on the three horizontal dots in the top-right corner.
  2. Go to Settings.
  3. On the left-sidebar, select Privacy, search, and services.
  4. In the right-hand pane, locate the Services settings.
  5. Navigate to the Address bar and search settings.
    Address Bar and Search Settings in Privacy Settings in Edge
  6. Turn off Show me search and site suggestions using my typed characters by sliding the toggle to the left.
    Turning Off Search Suggestions Toggle in Privacy Settings of Edge Browser

How to Disable Search Suggestions in Edge for Mobile

Both Android and iOS have nearly the same process for accessing search suggestions settings. However, the way you turn them off differs.

To turn off search suggestions in Edge for mobile, follow these steps:

  1. Click on the three horizontal dots in the bottom-center.
  2. Go to Settings.
  3. Go to Privacy and security settings.

iOS users will find the search suggestions option at the bottom of the Privacy and security page. To turn off search suggestions, turn the toggle for Show me search and site suggestions using my typed characters to the left.

Android users will have to locate the Show me search and site suggestions using my typed characters option in the Privacy settings and turn off the toggle on the next page.

3. Firefox

You can disable search suggestions in Firefox for desktop, Android, and iOS.

How to Disable Search Suggestions in Firefox for Desktop

To disable the search suggestions in Firefox for desktop, follow these steps:

  1. Click on the three horizontal lines in the top-right corner and go to Settings.
  2. Go to Search settings in the left-sidebar.
  3. Go to Search Suggestion settings in the right-hand pane.
  4. Uncheck the box for Provide search suggestions.
    Turning Off Search Suggestions in Firefox Browser Settings

How to Disable Search Suggestions in Firefox for Mobile

In Firefox for iOS and Android, the process of disabling search suggestions is nearly the same, except for the location of the search suggestion settings.

To disable the search suggestions on mobile, follow these steps:

  1. Go to Settings by clicking the three vertical dots in the bottom-right corner of Firefox for Android. (iOS users can access settings by clicking on the three horizontal lines in the bottom right corner)
  2. In the General settings, select Search.
  3. Scroll down and turn off the toggle for Show search suggestions. (iOS users will find the same setting at the top of their Search settings)

4. Safari

You can disable search suggestions in Safari for Mac and iOS.

How to Disable Search Suggestions in Safari for Mac

To turn off Safari's search suggestions on Mac, follow the steps below:

  1. Open the menu and go to Preferences.
  2. Go to the Search tab.
  3. Uncheck the box for Include search engine suggestions.
    Disabling Search Suggestions in Safari for Mac

How to Disable Search Suggestions in Safari for iOS

Follow the below steps to disable the search suggestions in Safari for iOS:

  1. Go to your iPhone's Settings.
  2. Navigate to Safari and click on it to open its settings.
  3. In the Search settings, turn the toggle for Safari Suggestion to the left to turn off the search suggestions.

5. Brave

You can disable search suggestions in Brave for desktop, Android, and iOS.

How to Disable Search Suggestions in Brave for Desktop

To disable search suggestions in Brave for desktop, follow these steps:

  1. Click on the three horizontal lines in the top-right corner and go to Settings.
  2. In the left-sidebar, select Security and Privacy.
  3. Turn off the Autocomplete searches and URLs toggle.
    Turning Off Autocomplete Search Suggestions Toggle in Brave Browser

How to Disable Search Suggestions in Brave for Mobile

The process to disable search suggestions in Brave differs in Android and iOS.

To disable the search suggestions in Brave for Android, follow these steps:

  1. Click on the three vertical dots in the bottom-right corner.
  2. Go to Settings.
  3. Click on Brave Shields and Privacy under Features.
  4. Scroll down to the bottom and turn off the Autocomplete searches and URLs toggle.

To disable search suggestions in Brave for iOS, follow these steps:

  1. Click on the three horizontal dots in the bottom-right corner.
  2. Go to Settings.
  3. Under General, go to Search Engines.
  4. Turn off the Show Search Suggestions toggle.

In case you don't want prying eyes to have access to your search history, check our guide on how to delete previous Google searches from history.

Make Your Search Experience Super Clean

Turning off search suggestions removes the clutter of search queries in the search bar. Moreover, if you focus on what you want to search for, you won't waste your time wandering off.

Similar to how you can disable search suggestions, you can also manage autofill on all browsers. By doing so, you will avoid accidentally saving passwords on shared computers.