How to Turn Off Trending Searches on Google (App, Phone and Desktop)

To turn off trending searches on Google, open your search settings and switch off the option Google labels “Autocomplete with trending searches” (on the web it may appear as a choice to show or not show popular searches). In the Google app it sits in the app’s general settings; in a mobile or desktop browser it’s in Search settings on google.com. The change stops trending topics appearing when you tap an empty search box, but it doesn’t stop Google suggesting completions once you start typing.

That last point confuses a lot of people, and it matters even more if the reason you’re here is that your own name, or your company’s, showed up as a trending search. This guide covers both: how to switch the feature off on each device, and what to do when the trend is about you.

What trending searches on Google actually are

When you tap the Google search box before typing anything, Google may show a short list of popular searches under the heading “Trending searches” or similar. These are topics that many people are searching for right now, often tied to news, sports, celebrities, weather or local events.

They are related to autocomplete, but they aren’t the same thing:

Feature	When it appears	What drives it	Can you turn it off?
Trending searches	When you tap the search box before typing	What many people are searching for right now, often by region	Yes, with the trending searches setting
Autocomplete predictions	As you type	Real searches, your language and location, and your own past searches if signed in	Not fully; you can limit personal results and report policy-breaking predictions
Your recent searches	When you tap the box, if history is on	Your own saved activity	Yes, by deleting or pausing activity
Discover feed stories	Below the search box in the Google app and some Android phones	Your interests and activity	Yes, Discover has its own setting

People often turn off trending searches because the topics are distracting, upsetting, not suitable for a child using the phone, or simply cluttered. All of those are good reasons, and the fix takes under a minute.

How to turn off trending searches in the Google app

The Google app on Android and iPhone keeps the setting in its own menu. Menus move between app versions, so use these steps as a guide and look for the closest match.

1. Open the Google app and make sure you’re signed in to the account you want to change.
2. Tap your profile picture, then open Settings.
3. Open the general settings section.
4. Find the switch for autocomplete with trending searches and turn it off.
5. Go back to the search box and tap it. The trending list should no longer appear, though your own recent searches may still show if your history is on.

On some Android phones the Google search bar on the home screen is part of the Google app, so this same setting controls it. If you use a different launcher or a phone maker’s own search bar, that bar may have separate settings.

How to turn off trending searches in a mobile browser

If you search Google through Safari, Chrome or another browser on your phone, rather than the Google app, the setting lives on google.com.

1. Go to google.com in your mobile browser.
2. Open the menu and choose Settings, then Search settings.
3. Find the option for autocomplete with trending searches, or for showing popular searches.
4. Choose not to show them, then save.

How to turn off trending searches on desktop

Trending searches show up less often on desktop, but when they do, the fix is the same idea.

1. Go to google.com in your browser.
2. Open Settings (usually at the bottom right of the homepage), then Search settings.
3. Look for the trending searches or popular searches option and switch it off.
4. Save your settings.

Why trending searches can come back

If you’ve switched the setting off and still see trending topics, one of these is usually the reason:

• A different account. You changed the setting while signed in to one Google account but are now searching with another, or signed out.
• A different surface. The Google app, the browser and a phone’s home screen bar can each have their own settings.
• Cleared cookies. Signed-out settings are tied to the browser and disappear when cookies are cleared.
• It’s actually something else. Recent searches, Discover stories or a news widget can look like trending searches. Check the table above.
• An app update. Google sometimes changes where settings live. Open settings again and look for the current wording.

Turning off trending searches doesn’t turn off autocomplete

Google doesn’t offer a switch that removes autocomplete predictions entirely from standard Google Search. Once you start typing, it will still suggest ways to finish your search, based on what people commonly search.

What you can control is the personal side. If you’re signed in, your own past searches can shape your predictions and appear as “recent” suggestions. Deleting or auto-deleting that history in Google My Activity limits it. Our guide to Google privacy settings covers the related controls in one place.

If a specific prediction is offensive or breaks Google’s rules, you can report it. We explain which predictions qualify and how to report them in our guide to removing Google autocomplete suggestions.

Turning off trending searches for a child’s device

Parents often look for this setting after a child sees an upsetting headline in the trending list. Switching it off helps, but it’s only one layer.

• Change the setting while signed in to the child’s own account, so it applies wherever they sign in.
• Turn on SafeSearch as well. It filters explicit results, which the trending setting doesn’t do.
• For a child’s account managed through Google’s family tools, some search settings can be managed by the parent.
• Check any news or Discover feed on the device separately.

Our guide to parental controls covers the wider set of settings worth checking on a child’s phone.

What to do if your name or business is trending

This is the part that brings a lot of worried readers to this page. Turning off trending searches changes what you see. It does nothing to what everyone else sees. If your name, your company or a phrase about you is trending, it’s because many people are searching it, and a setting on your phone can’t change that.

Here is what actually helps:

1. Find out why. Search the trending phrase from a private window and look at the top news, social posts and videos. You need to know whether it’s a news story, a viral post, a mistaken identity or something positive before you decide anything.
2. Check whether it’s really about you. Trends about a common name are often about someone else. Our guide on sharing a name with someone with a bad reputation covers that situation.
3. Record what people are seeing. Screenshot the top results, the predictions and any major posts, with dates. Trends move fast, and a record helps if you later need a correction or legal advice.
4. Correct clear errors at the source. If a news article is wrong, ask the publication for a correction. Removal routes on Google usually depend on the source page changing first.
5. Respond once, calmly, if a response is needed. A short, factual statement on a channel you control is usually better than replying to every post. If the attention came from a viral post, our guide to responding to a viral negative post walks through it.
6. Report anything that breaks the rules. Harassment, doxxing, threats and explicit fakes can be reported to the platforms involved, and in many cases to Google.

Trends usually fade as attention moves on. What tends to stay is what ranks when someone searches your name next month, which is where most of the longer work happens.

A worked example

This is an illustrative scenario, not a real client. A small bakery owner in Ohio shares a name with a reality TV contestant who has just been voted off a show. Overnight, her name appears in Google’s trending list in her region, next to a phrase about a scandal on the show.

Her first move is to turn off trending searches on her phone because seeing it every time she opens Google is stressful. That helps her, but her customers still see the trend. So she searches her name from a private window and confirms the coverage is entirely about the contestant. She doesn’t post a denial, which would only link her name to the story. Instead, she makes sure her bakery’s Google Business Profile, website and social accounts are complete and clearly show her photo, business and town, so anyone searching can tell quickly she’s a different person.

A few weeks later the show ends, searches drop, and the trend disappears. Her own profiles, which she keeps updated, continue to rank for her name and her bakery.

Common mistakes

• Assuming the setting hides the trend from others. It only affects your own search box.
• Searching your own name over and over. Your repeated searches can feed your own personalized suggestions and history. Check from a private window instead, and not every hour.
• Paying someone to “remove” a trend. Trends reflect real search interest. Services that promise to remove them usually rely on fake search activity, which breaks Google’s policies and tends not to last.
• Replying to everyone. Arguing in comments often keeps a story alive longer.
• Forgetting the other accounts. A work account, a tablet or a family computer may still have the setting on.

When to get help

Most trends are short-lived and need nothing more than patience and a clean, accurate presence of your own. Help is worth considering when the trend comes from serious negative coverage, when false claims are spreading quickly, or when the story has started to affect customers, clients or your job. Our reputation monitoring service can alert you when your name starts drawing attention, and our crisis management work covers the response when it does.

Frequently asked questions

Can I turn off trending searches on Google permanently?

The setting stays off as long as you use the same signed-in account or, if signed out, the same browser without clearing cookies. Google sometimes moves settings in app updates, so if trending searches return, check that you’re on the right account and look for the setting again.

Why does Google show me trending searches I've never searched for?

Trending searches are based on what many people are searching for, often in your region, not on your personal history. That’s why they can include topics you have no interest in. Your recent searches are a separate list.

Does turning off trending searches also turn off autocomplete?

No. Autocomplete predictions still appear as you type. You can limit the personal side by deleting your search history, and report individual predictions that break Google’s policies.

Can I stop my name from appearing in Google's trending searches?

Not directly. A trend reflects real search interest, so it fades when interest drops. You can report content that breaks platform rules, correct errors at the source, and strengthen accurate results about you, but there’s no request form to remove a genuine trend.