Facebook Saves All Your Creepy Stalker Searches, But Here's How to Delete Them

Have you ever searched Facebook for someone you dated like fifteen years ago -- partially out of boredom, partially to see who aged better, you or him? (OMG, is that a bald spot? You win, girlfriend.) Some people call it Facebook stalking, but that's just a rude term for a perfectly normal activity. Humans are naturally curious, after all. So you searched an ex-lover on Facebook, who cares?

Well, I'm not saying anyone should care, but just as a possibly useful FYI, Facebook archives those searches of yours. As in, every single thing you search for, whether that's "David Smith" or "Tijuana donkey porn," is forever saved in your Facebook profile. Which might be awkward if someone else were to stumble upon it, you know what I mean?

I'm sure your search history is totally FINE. But juuuuust in case, here's how to clear the whole thing out.

Personally, I had no clue Facebook saved search history, but apparently users' Activity Log started included search queries in September 2012. This information isn't public (thank GOD), but it's easily accessed by anyone who can log into your account. As Huffington Post puts it,

Every high-school sweetheart stalked, every ex-boyfriend's new girlfriend examined, every job candidate scoped out is listed in chronological order, together with the date and time of the search.

To check out your own search history, start by going to your Facebook profile and clicking the Activity Log button on the top right:

Once you've got your Activity Log, click on "More":

Then, click "Search" at the bottom of the column:

Now you can scan your old searches and make sure everything looks cool and casual and not, you know, super mega creepy. If you're not feeling 100% comfortable about what's listed there, no worries: click "Clear Searches" to make all the embarrassing stuff go away.

There! The evidence of your potentially ill-advised behavior has disappeared. If only real life mistakes were that easy.

Did you have any idea Facebook archived your searches this way? Tell the truth: did you just delete yours?