Why is there foreign browser history on my phone?

[Gingerfreya319]

(It is unknown for sure when this started happening but it's entirely possible it began with getting a new phone out of desperation, an LG G7, but it wasn't noticed until after.)

In my Google browsing history I started noticing pages viewed that I didn't visit, nor have I visited them in quite some time. This wasn't the weird part, though. They were the login pages of the sites as well as some various sub pages like messages, search, and a few profiles on POF and Tinder. This tells me it's not likely to be due to stored cookies, etc. So I checked my Google account info, spoke to Google support, updated some settings. I changed my password, discovered my phone wasn't listed with Google yet an iPad I've never owned was, got that fixed.... Yet the problem continues. Throughout all this the phone was also checked for updates, started in safe mode to identify any problem apps, app permissions checked, cache, cookies, and history cleared multiple times, and a couple of troubleshooting steps OTA with Google. I've done everything short of factory reset that has been recommended. Also, I've compared my browser history and my Google activity and my Google activity is accurate while the browser history is not. PLEASE help! This is causing relationship issues and I'm newly engaged.

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! Do you ever log into your Google account on shared computers (like at work, or at your local library)? If so, perhaps you forgot to log off, and someone else started browsing using your account. Another possibility is that some app you installed is hijacking your browser -- it's worth doing a factory reset, and making sure you don't restore from a backup or reinstall any apps automatically. Then see if that odd browser history persists.

 

[Mooncatt]

Was this by any chance a used phone? You said you bought it out of desperation, which makes me wonder. If so, was it already set up when you started using it?