How to Delete Recently Watched Videos History in VLC Media Player (Windows 10/11)

Published On - December 20, 2024

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VLC Media Player is one of the most popular and versatile media players available, capable of handling a wide range of video and audio formats. It offers a plethora of features that make it a go-to choice for many users. However, one feature that some users may find unnecessary or intrusive is the “Recently Watched” history that is displayed within the application. This list shows a log of videos you’ve recently watched, which might not be ideal for privacy reasons or if you simply want to clean up your app.

If you’re using VLC Media Player on Windows 10 or 11 and want to delete your recently watched videos history, you can follow these easy steps. This article will guide you through the process.

Step 1: Open VLC Media Player

The first step is to launch VLC Media Player. You can do this by:

  1. Clicking on the Start menu or pressing the Windows key.
  2. Typing “VLC Media Player” in the search bar and selecting the application from the search results.

Step 2: Access VLC Settings

Once VLC is open, follow these steps to get to the settings where you can clear your recently watched videos history:

  1. Click on the “Tools” menu at the top of the VLC window.
  2. From the dropdown menu, select “Preferences”. You can also quickly access the Preferences window by pressing Ctrl + P on your keyboard.

Step 3: Clear Recent Media History

In the Preferences window, you’ll find various settings to customize VLC’s behavior. To clear your recently watched videos:

  1. In the Simple Preferences window, under the Interface tab, locate the section called “History”.
  2. Look for the option labeled “Save recently played items”. This is usually checked by default. Uncheck this box if you want to stop VLC from saving your recently played videos list altogether.
  3. If you just want to clear the existing history and don’t mind VLC continuing to record recent media files, you can click on the “Reset Preferences” button in the bottom left corner. This will reset all your settings, including your history.

Step 4: Manually Clear Recent Files List (Alternative Method)

If you prefer a manual approach to clearing recently watched videos without changing your settings, you can delete the history file directly:

  1. Close VLC Media Player completely.
  2. Open File Explorer and navigate to the following directory: 
    C:\Users\[Your Username]\AppData\Roaming\vlc

    (Note: Replace “[Your Username]” with your actual Windows username. The AppData folder is hidden by default, so you’ll need to enable viewing hidden files in File Explorer.)

  3. In this folder, look for a file named “recently-played.xspf”. This file contains the list of recently watched videos.
  4. Delete the “recently-played.xspf” file to erase your recent history.

Step 5: Restart VLC Media Player

Once you’ve cleared the recent history through the Preferences or manually by deleting the file, open VLC again. Your recently watched videos history should be gone, and the next time you open the player, the list will be empty.

Additional Privacy Tips

  • Disable automatic saving: If you want to avoid VLC saving your media history in the future, follow the steps in Step 3 to uncheck the “Save recently played items” option in the Preferences. This way, your media history won’t be stored.
  • Clear cache and thumbnails: If you want to go the extra mile in maintaining privacy and reducing clutter, you can also clear VLC’s cache and thumbnail database by going to:

    Tools > Preferences > Show All (bottom left) > Input / Codecs > Video Codecs > FFmpeg

    Here, you can delete stored thumbnails and clear the cache.

Conclusion

Deleting your recently watched videos history in VLC Media Player is a quick and easy task, whether you want to clear the list for privacy reasons or simply tidy up your application. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can enjoy a clean slate each time you use VLC. Whether you disable history saving altogether or manually clear the history from time to time, you have full control over your privacy in VLC on Windows 10/11.