diff --git a/CHANGELOG.asciidoc b/CHANGELOG.asciidoc
index 924d2bbe1..ff1a4aa52 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.asciidoc
+++ b/CHANGELOG.asciidoc
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ Changed
 - When yanking a mailto: link via hints, the mailto: prefix is now stripped
 - Zoom level messages are now not stacked on top of each other anymore.
 - qutebrowser now automatically uses QtWebEngine if QtWebKit is unavailable
+- :history-clear now asks for a confirmation, unless it's run with --force.
 
 Fixed
 -----
diff --git a/doc/help/commands.asciidoc b/doc/help/commands.asciidoc
index d6db9f350..03345ac64 100644
--- a/doc/help/commands.asciidoc
+++ b/doc/help/commands.asciidoc
@@ -420,10 +420,15 @@ Start hinting.
 
 [[history-clear]]
 === history-clear
+Syntax: +:history-clear [*--force*]+
+
 Clear all browsing history.
 
 Note this only clears the global history (e.g. `~/.local/share/qutebrowser/history` on Linux) but not cookies, the back/forward history of a tab, cache or other persistent data.
 
+==== optional arguments
+* +*-f*+, +*--force*+: Don't ask for confirmation.
+
 [[home]]
 === home
 Open main startpage in current tab.
diff --git a/qutebrowser/browser/history.py b/qutebrowser/browser/history.py
index e4288f891..2615fd393 100644
--- a/qutebrowser/browser/history.py
+++ b/qutebrowser/browser/history.py
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ from PyQt5.QtCore import pyqtSignal, pyqtSlot, QUrl, QObject
 
 from qutebrowser.commands import cmdutils
 from qutebrowser.utils import (utils, objreg, standarddir, log, qtutils,
-                               usertypes)
+                               usertypes, message)
 from qutebrowser.config import config
 from qutebrowser.misc import lineparser, objects
 
@@ -230,13 +230,23 @@ class WebHistory(QObject):
         self._saved_count = len(self._new_history)
 
     @cmdutils.register(name='history-clear', instance='web-history')
-    def clear(self):
+    def clear(self, force=False):
         """Clear all browsing history.
 
         Note this only clears the global history
         (e.g. `~/.local/share/qutebrowser/history` on Linux) but not cookies,
         the back/forward history of a tab, cache or other persistent data.
+
+        Args:
+            force: Don't ask for confirmation.
         """
+        if force:
+            self._do_clear()
+        else:
+            message.confirm_async(self._do_clear, title="Clear all browsing "
+                                "history?")
+
+    def _do_clear(self):
         self._lineparser.clear()
         self.history_dict.clear()
         self._temp_history.clear()
diff --git a/tests/end2end/features/history.feature b/tests/end2end/features/history.feature
index 3c35ad03f..decd71dd9 100644
--- a/tests/end2end/features/history.feature
+++ b/tests/end2end/features/history.feature
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ Feature: Page history
 
     Background:
         Given I open about:blank
-        And I run :history-clear
+        And I run :history-clear --force
 
     Scenario: Simple history saving
         When I open data/numbers/1.txt
@@ -56,8 +56,15 @@ Feature: Page history
         Then "Changing title for idx 1 to 'about:blank'" should be logged
 
     Scenario: Clearing history
+        When I open data/title.html
+        And I run :history-clear --force
+        Then the history file should be empty
+
+    Scenario: Clearing history with confirmation
         When I open data/title.html
         And I run :history-clear
+        And I wait for "Asking question <* title='Clear all browsing history?'>, *" in the log
+        And I run :prompt-accept yes
         Then the history file should be empty
 
     Scenario: History with yanked URL and 'add to history' flag