How Does clearing your search history actually affect flight prices

You are not the only person who has searched for flights, closed the tab, thought about it, and then returned to the page to discover that the fare was mysteriously higher. You’ve probably also heard the advice to clear cookies, switch browsers and do a search incognito. One of the most persistent digital travel myths is that booking sites or airlines track your searches in order to increase prices. Travel experts weighed in to determine whether this popular belief is true.

Travel Myth, Busted

Contrary to what many travelers think, there is no proof that the price of a flight or booking site increases based on your search frequency. The experts say that the price changes you’ve seen are due to market demand, not digital surveillance. Katy Nastro is a travel expert with Going. She says that it’s a common myth that repeated searches will produce a better outcome. It is for this reason that people are told to clear cookies and cache, or use an incognito web browser. However, that’s more travel myth than truth—something that’s stuck around thanks to anecdotal frustration and online hearsay. According to the pro, there is “no credible data source” that would suggest repeated searches are tracked and therefore manipulated for higher prices.

Sophia Lin is the director of product development for Google Search’s travel and local. She says that “ticket prices are constantly changing, and they are updated from different data sources, even second to second.” Our systems compute an incredible number of combinations of tickets for trips all over the world every day.

Nastro has a similar view, explaining that “travelers are seeing the market move in real-time.” Nastro’s team is the best to know. They “run hundreds, if no thousands, of searches every day and have been doing so for years. And yet, we haven’t seen the mythic pattern that some claim.” She continues: “Our founder, Scott Keyes, even went so far as duplicating a search 100 times in an hour to see if there would be any upward movement—and guess what, there was not!”

Jesse Neugarten is the founder of Dollar Flight Club and he echoes this sentiment. Travel + LeisureThere is no proof that repeated searches or browsing history alone cause a price increase. He says that the perception of price changes is often caused by a combination of natural fluctuations in prices and cached information.

Why do flight prices fluctuate?

The pricing of airline tickets is not random. Airlines use dynamic algorithms to constantly recalculate prices based on changing variables. Neugarten claims that complex real-time algorithms are used to determine flight prices. They adjust according to external factors and factors such as weather, fuel costs, or competitor pricing.

Nastro explains that “when you see the prices fluctuate, you can see how airlines are trying to adjust their pricing based on these factors.” Moreover, Nastro says that “they have fare baskets.” Imagine this: For a given period of time, airlines allocate a fixed number of seats for each bucket. However, these allocations may change based on factors such as those mentioned above. When fare bucket X is sold out, a higher priced bucket will take its place. When you see sudden changes in airfares, it’s likely that the fare buckets are updating in real-time.

Lin illustrates the complexity of travel by pointing out that it is possible to have an infinite number of ticket combinations when traveling between Los Angeles and London. It is even more complex when you consider variables such as connecting flights or competing booking sites. You could end up paying a wide range of prices.

Is it beneficial to use private browsing or clear cookies?

Summary: No. Nastro states that “there is no evidence of improved flight search results by using the incognito mode” or clearing cookies. She and Neugarten both tell T+L the “benefit’ is primarily psychological. Nastro likes to think of it like a lucky t-shirt on game day: Is it really the shirt that led to the win—or was it more likely a good night’s sleep, solid training, and preparation? She urges travelers to concentrate on tools such as flight price alerts For the best chance of snagging deals on airfare.

Neugarten says, “Searching with incognito mode, or clearing cookies, may prevent your browser’s cached results from appearing, making it appear that prices have changed.” Neugarten adds: “In most cases however, the underlying prices, especially those powered by predictive algorithm, are not tied to your cookies.” It fluctuates because of real-time changes to inventory and demand.

Lin confirms that switching devices, incognito mode or browsing history won’t affect the prices on Google Flights. She says, “Unfortunately it isn’t true for those looking for deals.”