How to delete edit history on Google Docs

Ever wondered how to Delete the edit history in the Google Docs you have been working on? This blog tutorial will guide you through the process.

Google Docs as we know it, has made working on assignments and projects stress-free. With the ease at which you can review and revise documents on the go, it has become one of the most popular web-based collaborative tools used worldwide.

How to get Google docs edit history

In order to view the edit history of Google Docs the file needs to be accessed from Google Drive. Cloud-based storage that comes free with your Google Account.

Here you can easily overview all the files in the drive and the number of times those files have been modified.

This can be done by browsing  https://drive.google.com/  logging into your google ID and accessing your Drive.

Once the Drive is open click My Drive on the left

In my dive all the files, you have created over time will appear. On the right side of the page, you will find an information icon i within a circle.

Here you will find Details of the folders and Activity

My Drive > i > Activity

Clicking on Activity, you will find details about all the docs you have created. Each edited version will show as a separate icon. These edited versions can be viewed by simply scrolling down.

delete google docs edit history
Google docs edit history

How to delete edit history on Google Docs

In Google Docs saving revisions of Documents happens automatically. These revisions are useful when you need to revert to previous versions of the Document. The revision history on the cloud routinely deletes itself in 30 days; however, there is a way to delete Google Docs without waiting for that long.

Deleting the Edit history of a Google Doc is possible only by making a copy of the Document and deleting the previous versions. Here is how you can achieve this:

Login to Google Drive and locate the file whose edit history you would like to delete

Once you click on the desired Docs options will appear on the top of the screen under your profile picture. These options include sharing options where the file can be shared with others. A shareable link for the document. A preview and delete options along with three vertical dots. There are also options to see detailed information about the document. Here you can access all the versions of the Docs.

In order to open more options, click on the three dots.

delete edit history in google docs

In order to delete the edit history, you need to first make a copy of the original file.

More > Make a copy

how to delete edit history docs

After the copy is made the next step is to delete the original file. This will delete all the previous edited versions of the document.

Select the File > Delete

google docs edit history

Renaming the Doc

Be sure to rename the file, after a copy of it is made and the original deleted,. It can be either the same name as the original or a completely different name can be used.

Select file > More > Rename

how to delete the Google Docs edit history

Note: All edits associated with a document get deleted along with the original file. You will also get a new URL sharing link for collaborations. Be sure to share the new link or collaborative access to the new file will not be possible.  

Here we saw how to delete the Google Docs edit history. For more tutorials like these check out the list below.