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How to Control iPhone Safari Settings and Security

Control your settings and security in the iPhone browser

open safari settings iphone

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How to Change the Default iPhone Browser Search Engine

How to use safari autofill to fill out forms faster, how to view saved passwords in safari, control how links open in iphone safari, how to cover your online tracks using private browsing, how to clear your iphone browser history and cookies, prevent advertisers from tracking you on your iphone, how to get warnings about potentially malicious websites, how to block websites, ads, cookies, and pop-ups using safari, how to use apple pay for online purchases.

  • Take Control of Your iPhone Security and Privacy Settings

What to Know

  • To change search engine, go to Settings > Safari > Search Engine . To control links, go to Safari > Open Links .
  • To use AutoFill, go to Settings > Safari > AutoFill > turn on Use Contact Info .
  • To view saved passwords, go to Settings > Passwords & Accounts > Website & App Passwords .

This article explains how to adjust Safari settings and security on your iPhone or iPad.

Searching for content in Safari is simple; tap the menu bar at the top of the browser and enter your search terms. By default, all iOS devices use Google for web searches, but you can select a different search engine by following these steps:

Open the Settings app.

Select Safari > Search Engine .

Select the search engine you would like to use as the default. Options include  Google , Yahoo , Bing , and DuckDuckGo . The setting is automatically saved, so you can search using the new default search engine right away.

Similar to a desktop browser , Safari automatically fills in forms by grabbing information from your address book. This saves time because you don't need to fill out the same forms over and over again. To use this feature, follow these steps:

Select Safari > AutoFill .

Toggle the Use Contact Info switch to on/green.

Your information appears in the My Info field. If it does not, select the field and browse your address book to find your contact information.

Older versions of iOS allowed you to change your username and password info here. If you want to save, edit, or delete usernames and passwords in iOS 13 or later, go to the Passwords & Accounts settings page (select Settings > Passwords & Accounts ).

To save frequently used credit cards to make online purchases quicker, move the Credit Cards switch to on/green. If you don't have a credit card saved on your iPhone, select Saved Credit Cards , and add a card.

Saving usernames and passwords in Safari means you're not forced to memorize login credentials to access a website. As this data is sensitive, iOS takes measures to protect it. If you need to look up a username or password, you can do so by following these steps:

Select Passwords & Accounts > Website & App Passwords .

You are asked to authorize access to this information using Touch ID , Face ID , or your passcode.

A list details all the websites for which iOS has saved login data. Select a site to view the corresponding username and password.

You can choose where new links open by default—in a new window that appears either in front of or behind the page you are currently viewing. Follow these steps to adjust this setting:

Select Safari > Open Links .

Select In New Tab to open links in a new window in Safari and to have that window appear in front of the current tab. Select In Background to open links in a new window that appears behind the page you are currently viewing.

Browsing the web leaves digital footprints. Between browsing history, cookies, and other usage data, you may prefer to cover some of those tracks. The Safari Private Browsing feature prevents Safari from saving information about your behavior—including browsing history, cookies, and other files—while it is turned on.

When you want to delete your browsing history or cookies manually, follow these steps:

Select Safari > Clear History and Website Data .

A menu appears asking if you would like to clear the browsing data. Select Clear History and Data .

Cookies allow advertisers to track you across the web. This lets them build a profile of your behavior and interests to target you with ads better. Here's how to opt-out of some of that tracking data:

Select Safari .

Move the Prevent Cross-Site Tracking switch to on/green.

Older versions of iOS included a Do Not Track feature that asked websites not to track your browsing data. Apple removed this feature, as the request was never mandatory and did not do much to limit the tracking of user data.

Setting up fake websites that look like ones you normally use is a common method of stealing data from users. Safari has a feature to help avoid these sites. Here's how to enable it:

Move the Fraudulent Website Warning switch to on/green.

You can speed up your browsing, maintain privacy, and avoid certain ads and websites by blocking cookies. Here's how:

Move the Block All Cookies switch to on/green, then select Block All to confirm the action.

If you set up Apple Pay , you can use it at any participating retailer to complete purchases. To make sure you can use it at those stores, enable Apple Pay for the web. Here's how:

Move the Check for Apple Pay switch to on/green.

Take Control of Your iPhone Security and Privacy Settings

While this article focuses on privacy and security settings for the Safari web browser, the iPhone has other security and privacy settings. These settings can be used with other apps and features to protect private info stored on your iPhone .

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Simple Steps to Change Your General Preferences on Safari

Last Updated: May 22, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Darlene Antonelli, MA . Darlene Antonelli is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. Darlene has experience teaching college courses, writing technology-related articles, and working hands-on in the technology field. She earned an MA in Writing from Rowan University in 2012 and wrote her thesis on online communities and the personalities curated in such communities. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 231,438 times. Learn more...

Do you want to increase your privacy on Safari or maybe make it more useful for you? To change your Safari preferences on an iOS device, you'll need to use your device's Settings app instead of the Safari app. On macOS computers, you can change the settings from Safari's Preferences menu. Both the mobile and the desktop share some similar settings, but the desktop version has many more options available.

Changing Safari Preferences

While Safari is open, click or tap on the word Safari in the top left corner to display a menu. Settings will be the third choice. Click or tap that to bring up Safari preferences. On an iPhone, look for Safari in the list of apps in the Settings app on your phone.

Step 1 Tap the Settings app on your device.

  • This method works for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch.
  • Forgot your iPhone's password? You can reset it in 2 ways !

Step 2 Scroll down and tap

  • The "Search Engine Suggestions" toggle will provide search suggestions from your default search engine as you type.
  • The "Safari Suggestions" toggle provides search suggestions curated by Apple.

Step 4 Tap the toggle next to

  • Use the Safari app instead of Settings to change how your Home page behaves .

Step 1 Open Safari.

  • You can enable or disable various search preferences underneath this menu, including using Safari Suggestions.

Step 8 Use the Security tab to enable or disable security settings.

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  • ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201265
  • ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/customize-your-safari-settings-iphb3100d149/ios
  • ↑ http://www.macworld.com/article/2042451/exploring-safaris-preferences.html

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How to customize the safari start page on iphone and ipad.

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On your iPhone or iPad, you can easily customize the Safari Start Page in iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 (or higher). You can make the page blank (mostly), add a background image, or pick and choose what you want to see. Here's how.

First, open Safari on your iPhone or iPad and open a new tab by tapping the tabs button (two overlapping rectangles), then tapping the plus ("+") button.

You'll see Safari's "Start Page" by default. To edit what's on the Start Page, scroll down if necessary and tap the "Edit" button.

When you tap "Edit," a "Customize Start Page" window will appear. Use the switches beside the listed options to turn them on or off. Here's what each option does.

  • Favorites: This displays items from your Favorites list (like bookmarks).
  • Frequently Visited: You'll see a list of frequently visited websites.
  • Shared With You: This gives you a list of items shared with you from other people through the Messages app.
  • Privacy Report: This shows a report on the number of trackers Safari has blocked recently.
  • Siri Suggestions: This displays suggestions from Siri related to what's in your history and bookmarks.
  • Reading List: This shows items from your Reading List .
  • iCloud Tabs: This shows Safari tabs that are synchronized across iCloud from your other devices.

While also in the "Customize Start Page" window, you can use the "three lines" handle beside each item to tap and drag the Start Page items in the list. This will change the order of how the items will appear on the Start Page.

And if you turn the switch beside "Background Image" into the "on" position, you can select a background picture that will display behind the content on your Start Page. Tap an image in the thumbnails or tap the plus ("+") button to select a custom image from your photo library.

If you want to make your Start Page as minimalist as possible, switch off every item on the "Customize Start Page" list. (Unfortunately, you'll still see the "Edit" button.)

When you're done, click the "X" button to close the Customize Start Page window. The changes you've made take effect immediately. Happy browsing!

Related: What's New in iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and macOS Monterey

  • iPhone & iPad

How to customize Safari privacy and security settings on iPhone and iPad

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Want to check in on your Safari privacy and security settings? Follow along below for a look at what you can customize on iPhone and iPad and an explainer on each option.

Apple offers a host of security and privacy settings across iOS and iPadOS, and specifically within Safari settings, there are four options under Privacy & Security.

These include Prevent Cross-Site Tracking, Block All Cookies, Fraudulent Website Warning, and Check for Apple Pay. You’ll likely want to adjust these depending on your needs or preferences on iPhone and iPad .

  • Open Settings, swipe down and tap Safari
  • Swipe down again and look under Privacy & Security
  • Customize your settings, read more below for help on making a decision

Here’s how this looks:

Note: On Mac, you can head to Safari > Preferences > Privacy to see the same settings.

open safari settings iphone

Either temporarily or permanently, you may want to allow cookies, as many websites will require them.

Another consideration is cross-site tracking. This will allow websites to track what you’ve been looking at if you turn the prevention feature off. However, it will mean you’ll get more relevant ads served to you compared to when you prevent cross-site tracking.

Personally, I always keep Check for Apple Pay and Fraudulent Website Warning toggled on, as I only see an upside to using them.

You can tap on  About Safari & Privacy… to get a description of each one or read more below.

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15 Masterful Safari Tips and Tricks to Use on Your iPhone

Safari on iPhone with iOS 15

By far, the best browser for your iPhone is Safari. It's easy to use and works perfectly with the complete Apple ecosystem.

By default, most of us use it to browse the web or read our favorite articles online. But the truth is that Safari has much more to offer than that.

Safari is like a Swiss army knife. You can find many different tools and features that will take your browsing experience to the next level.

While there are too many for us to cover in one article, read on for 15 tips to help you become a pro user with the Safari app on your iPhone.

Create Your Own Profiles in Safari

Create a new Safari Profile iPhone

In iOS 17 , Apple added a new feature to Safari that lets you create profiles. You can use different profiles for different aspects of your life. For instance, you can create one profile for work and another one for school, so you can keep all your tabs open for different things without mixing them.

Here's how to create a Safari profile on your iPhone:

  • Open the Settings app.
  • Scroll down and go to  Safari .
  • Scroll down again, and under  Profiles , tap on  New Profile .
  • Add a name and icon, and change the color to your new profile.
  • You can also change the Settings of your profile.
  • When you finish, tap on  Done  in the top right corner.

Search for Something in All Your Open Tabs

Search all safari tabs iPhone

By now, you probably know that you can go to an individual page and search for a specific word or phrase. But what happens when you want to find something but don't remember which tab had it?

Well, Apple thought of that, which is why you can perform a search across all your open tabs. This way, you can enter a simple keyword and search through the names of all the websites you have open. 

To search for something on all your open tabs in Safari, you need to:

  • Open Safari .
  • Swipe up from the address bar to go to all your open tabs.
  • Scroll up until you reach a search bar.
  • Enter the word or phrase you want to search for.

And that's it. The tabs that match the words you searched for will be the only ones available. Just keep in mind that this won't search the content of the pages, just the titles, but it can still help you track down what you're looking for if you have a lot of tabs open.

Block All Cookies Automatically

Block all cockies Safari iPhone

Safari is all about security, and that includes avoiding being tracked by cookies. 

By default, you'll be tracked any time you visit a website, but you can change that on your iPhone by doing the following:

  • Scroll down and tap on  Safari .
  • Scroll down to the bottom and tap on  Advanced .
  • Enable  Block All Cookies .

While this offers strong privacy protection, it does come with a downside. For example, you won't be able to stay signed in to the websites you visit since most use cookies to store persistent login information.

Lock Your Private Tabs Behind Face ID or Touch ID

Require Face ID to Unlock Private Browsing Safari iPhone

A new feature in iOS 17 is the ability to lock your private tabs . That way, even if you leave incognito mode open in Safari, no one will be able to access the tabs you were checking without authenticating with Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode.

To lock your private tabs in Safari, do the following:

  • Scroll down again, and under  Privacy & Security , tap on  Require Face ID to Unlock Private Browsing .

Listen to Pages in Safari

Listen to web pages Safari iPhone

Another recently new feature is the ability to listen to web pages instead of reading them. This will make "reading" your favorite articles while doing other stuff easier than ever.

To listen to web pages in Safari, you'll have to do the following:

  • Open the Safari app.
  • Go to any website you want.
  • Tap the  aA button  in the top left corner of your screen.
  • Tap on  Listen to Page .

And that's it. Your iPhone will start to read the page for you. It's similar to the Spoken Content feature, but the voice is slightly better. To finish listening to the page, you'll need to tap the listening button where the  aA button  was and then tap on  End Listening .

Change the Zoom of Any Page

Page Zoom Safari iPhone

If the website's text is a bit too small for your liking, you can easily pinch with two fingers to zoom in, so it's easier to read. 

However, doing this all the time can be time-consuming and pretty boring. The good news is that your iPhone can automatically change the zoom of any website as soon as you load it. This is how:

  • Scroll down to the bottom and tap on  Page Zoom .
  • Choose the zoom percentage you want.

Change the Desktop Website

Request desktop website Safari iPhone

By default, you should get the mobile version of any website. This is usually more helpful for mobile users and even makes some pages load faster.

With that said, some of us like using the desktop version of at least some of the websites we visit. 

If you want, you can change the request to the desktop website of any page you visit by tapping the  aA button  and then tapping  Request Desktop Website .

However, if you plan on using the desktop version all the time, you can make it so your iPhone always requests the desktop website when you visit it. This is how:

  • Scroll down to the bottom and then select  Request Desktop Website .
  • Enable  All Websites .

Note that while this helps with many websites, it doesn't work with all of them; some will still detect you're using mobile Safari and serve you up the mobile version either way.

Sync Your Safari Extensions Across Your Devices

Sync extensions Safari iPhone

Apple now allows extensions in the Safari app for iPhone, letting you install as many useful extensions as you want. 

With that said, you're probably only using these extensions on your iPhone but not using them on your iPad or Mac. Worry not; you don't have to manually install all your extensions on other Apple devices; you can just share them by doing the following:

  • Scroll down, and under  General , tap on  Extensions .
  • Enable  Share Across Devices .

Extensions in Safari on the iPhone and iPad are only available in iOS/iPadOS 15 or later.

Stop Verifying Your Identity

Automatic Verification iPhone

Nowadays, it's common to have to verify your identity by using a CAPTCHA. While this is useful for websites, it can be annoying for us users. 

Luckily, Apple knows how annoying this can be, and it's made it easier to skip this verification with the Automatic Verification feature. Here's how you enable it:

  • Tap on your  Apple ID . That is, your account's name at the top of the Settings app.
  • Go to  Sign-In & Security .
  • Scroll down to the bottom and enable  Automatic Verification .

Note that the app or website has to support Automatic Verification for this to work, so this won't eliminate every CAPTCHA, but it should help to cut down on them. You also need to be using iOS 16 or later to take advantage of this feature.

Use the New Safari Widget

Safari widget iPhone

Apple has also added a new widget for Safari in iOS 17. Now, it's easier than ever to check your reading list so you never forget about that interesting article you wanted to read.

Here's how to start using the Safari widget on your iPhone:

  • Go to the Home Screen and long-press it until the apps start to jiggle.
  • Tap the  plus icon  in the top left corner of your screen.
  • Scroll down and find  Safari .
  • Select the size of the Safari widget you want and then tap on  Add Widget .

The widget will be automatically added to your Home Screen. Long-press it and drag it to wherever you want it.

Change the Search Engine You Use in Safari

Choose search engine Safari iPhone

By default, you'll be searching the web with the help of Google. It's not surprising; Google is the most popular search engine in the world.

However, it's also not everyone's favorite search engine. If you prefer to use a different search engine on your iPhone, you can change it by doing the following:

  • Go to  Search Engine .
  • Choose the search engine you want to use.

Note that with iOS 17, you can also set a different default search engine when using Private Browsing mode , such as the more privacy-focused DuckDuckGo .

Close All Tabs at Once

Close All Tabs Safari iPhone

Many of us tend to keep a lot of tabs open just in case we need them someday. Well, more often than not, that day never comes, and we just end up hoarding tabs for no reason.

Fortunately, there is a way to close all your open tabs with just a few taps. 

First, you'll need to open Safari and then swipe up from the address bar to go to all your open tabs. Now press and hold the  Done  option in the bottom right corner. Finally, tap on  Close All Tabs .

On the other hand, if you want to close all tabs but one, you can press and hold the tab you want to leave open and then select  Close Other Tabs .

Automatically Close Tabs After Some Time

Close Safari Tabs iPhone

If you want to keep your Safari clean, you should close the tabs you use after you're done with them. 

But if you forget to close them, you can also let your iPhone automatically close them for you after some time has passed. Here's how to use this feature:

  • Scroll down, and under  Tabs , tap on  Close Tabs .
  • Select the timeframe you want.

Open Recently Closed Tabs

Open Recently Closed Tabs

On the other hand, what happens if you accidentally close a really important tab? 

Well, there is a solution for that, too. Safari lets you reopen recently closed tabs with ease. 

After you open Safari, swipe up from the address bar to go to all your open apps. 

Now, press and hold the  plus icon  in the bottom left corner of your screen. You'll see a list of tabs will pop up. These are all the tabs you recently closed. Find the tab you want to open and then tap it to reopen it.

Save Any Page as a PDF File

Save Page as PDF Safari iPhone

If you've found a really useful or interesting article, you can save it in your reading list so you can quickly find it.

But if you want to be able to access it or print it for later, your iPhone also lets you save that web page as a PDF file.

This feature is a bit hidden, but here's how to save web pages as PDF files:

  • Go to the web page you want to save. 
  • Tap the  Share button  at the bottom of your screen.
  • Scroll down and select  Print .
  • In the print window, pinch to zoom into the preview at the bottom of your screen.
  • Tap the  Share button  in the bottom left corner of your screen.
  • Scroll down and select  Save as PDF . 

And that's it. The page will be saved in the Files app as a PDF file. You can then share it or print it whenever you want.

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How To Go To Safari Settings On IPhone

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how-to-go-to-safari-settings-on-iphone

Introduction

Safari is the default web browser for Apple devices, including the iPhone. It offers a seamless and intuitive browsing experience, with a range of customizable settings to enhance user privacy, security, and overall browsing experience. Accessing and navigating Safari settings on your iPhone allows you to tailor the browser to your preferences, ensuring a personalized and secure online experience.

In this article, we will explore the process of accessing Safari settings on your iPhone, as well as provide insights into the various options available within the settings menu. Whether you're looking to adjust privacy and security settings, manage website preferences, or customize the browsing experience, understanding how to navigate Safari settings is essential for optimizing your web browsing on iOS devices.

By delving into the intricacies of Safari settings, you can gain a deeper understanding of the features and functionalities that contribute to a more tailored and secure browsing experience. From managing cookies and website data to enabling content blockers and adjusting search engine preferences, Safari settings offer a wealth of options to cater to individual preferences and requirements.

Understanding how to access and navigate Safari settings on your iPhone empowers you to take control of your browsing experience, ensuring that it aligns with your privacy, security, and usability preferences. So, let's embark on this journey to uncover the various facets of Safari settings and equip ourselves with the knowledge to make informed customizations for a more personalized and secure browsing experience on your iPhone.

Accessing Safari Settings on iPhone

Accessing Safari settings on your iPhone is a straightforward process that allows you to customize and optimize your browsing experience. To access the Safari settings, follow these simple steps:

Open Settings : Begin by unlocking your iPhone and locating the "Settings" app on your home screen. The Settings app is represented by a gear icon and is typically found on the first page of your apps.

Scroll Down and Tap Safari : Once you've opened the Settings app, scroll down until you see the list of installed apps. Tap on "Safari" to access the browser's specific settings.

Explore Safari Settings : Upon tapping on Safari, you will be presented with a range of options and settings that you can customize to suit your preferences. These settings cover various aspects of the browsing experience, including privacy, security, and general preferences.

By following these steps, you can easily access the Safari settings on your iPhone and begin exploring the customization options available to enhance your browsing experience.

Accessing Safari settings on your iPhone is the first step towards tailoring your browsing experience to align with your preferences and requirements. Once you've accessed the settings, you can delve into the various options available to customize the browser according to your individual needs. Whether you're looking to enhance privacy, manage website preferences, or optimize security settings, accessing Safari settings empowers you to take control of your browsing experience on your iPhone.

Navigating Safari Settings

Once you've accessed the Safari settings on your iPhone, you'll find a plethora of options that allow you to customize and tailor your browsing experience. Navigating through these settings empowers you to make informed choices that align with your preferences and requirements. Let's delve into the various facets of Safari settings and explore the options available for customization.

General Settings

Under the "General" section, you'll encounter a range of options that influence the overall browsing experience. Here, you can adjust settings such as the default search engine, which determines where Safari fetches search results from. Additionally, you can enable or disable the ability to open links in new tabs, customize the browser's homepage, and manage the behavior of the browser when new tabs are opened.

Privacy & Security

The "Privacy & Security" section is crucial for managing your online privacy and security while using Safari. Within this section, you can manage settings related to content blockers, which allow you to control the types of content that are displayed while browsing. You can also manage website tracking, block pop-ups, and manage your preferences for cookies and website data. These settings provide granular control over your online privacy and security, allowing you to tailor the browsing experience to your preferences.

Search Engine Preferences

Safari settings also include options to manage search engine preferences. You can choose your preferred search engine from a list of available options, including popular search engines such as Google, Yahoo, Bing, and DuckDuckGo. This allows you to customize your browsing experience by selecting a search engine that aligns with your search habits and preferences.

Website Preferences

Navigating through Safari settings also allows you to manage website-specific preferences. You can view and manage website data, including stored cookies and cached files, for individual websites. This level of customization enables you to control how Safari interacts with specific websites, providing a tailored approach to managing your browsing data.

Advanced Settings

Within the "Advanced" section, you'll find additional options to further customize your browsing experience. Here, you can manage settings related to the browser's behavior, including the ability to enable or disable JavaScript, manage website data, and access experimental features that may enhance your browsing experience.

By navigating through these various sections and options within Safari settings, you can gain a comprehensive understanding of the customization options available to tailor your browsing experience. Understanding and leveraging these settings empowers you to take control of your online privacy, security, and overall browsing experience on your iPhone.

Making Changes in Safari Settings

Making changes in Safari settings empowers you to tailor your browsing experience to align with your preferences and requirements. The customization options available within Safari settings allow you to make informed choices that enhance privacy, security, and overall usability. Let's explore the process of making changes in Safari settings and the various options available for customization.

Under the "General" section, you can make a range of changes that influence the overall browsing experience. You can customize the default search engine, enabling you to choose a search engine that aligns with your preferences. Additionally, you can enable or disable the ability to open links in new tabs, customize the browser's homepage, and manage the behavior of the browser when new tabs are opened. These changes allow you to personalize the browsing experience to suit your preferences and habits.

The "Privacy & Security" section offers crucial options for managing online privacy and security while using Safari. You can make changes to content blockers, allowing you to control the types of content that are displayed during browsing. Managing website tracking, blocking pop-ups, and customizing preferences for cookies and website data are essential changes that provide granular control over your online privacy and security. These changes enable you to create a secure and personalized browsing environment.

Safari settings include options to make changes to search engine preferences. You can choose your preferred search engine from a list of available options, including popular search engines such as Google, Yahoo, Bing, and DuckDuckGo. Making changes to your preferred search engine allows you to tailor your browsing experience to align with your search habits and preferences.

Making changes in Safari settings also allows you to manage website-specific preferences. You can view and make changes to website data, including stored cookies and cached files, for individual websites. This level of customization empowers you to control how Safari interacts with specific websites, providing a tailored approach to managing your browsing data.

Within the "Advanced" section, you can make additional changes to further customize your browsing experience. You can manage settings related to the browser's behavior, including the ability to enable or disable JavaScript, manage website data, and access experimental features that may enhance your browsing experience. These changes offer a deeper level of customization, allowing you to fine-tune the browser's behavior to suit your preferences.

By making changes in Safari settings, you can tailor your browsing experience to align with your individual preferences and requirements. Understanding and leveraging these customization options empower you to take control of your online privacy, security, and overall browsing experience on your iPhone.

In conclusion, mastering the art of navigating and customizing Safari settings on your iPhone is a pivotal step towards creating a personalized and secure browsing experience. By accessing the Safari settings through the Settings app on your iPhone, you gain the ability to tailor the browser to align with your preferences, habits, and security requirements.

The process of accessing Safari settings is straightforward, requiring you to open the Settings app, scroll down to locate the Safari settings, and explore the range of customization options available. Once within the Safari settings, you can navigate through various sections, including General, Privacy & Security, Search Engine Preferences, Website Preferences, and Advanced Settings, each offering a wealth of options for customization.

Navigating through these settings empowers you to make informed choices that enhance your online privacy, security, and overall browsing experience. From customizing the default search engine and managing website-specific preferences to enabling content blockers and fine-tuning advanced browser behaviors, Safari settings provide a comprehensive toolkit for tailoring your browsing experience.

Making changes in Safari settings allows you to personalize the browser to suit your individual preferences and requirements. Whether it's customizing the default search engine, managing content blockers, or fine-tuning advanced browser behaviors, the customization options within Safari settings empower you to take control of your online experience.

By understanding and leveraging the customization options within Safari settings, you can create a browsing environment that aligns with your privacy, security, and usability preferences. This level of control ensures that your browsing experience on your iPhone is tailored to suit your individual needs, providing a seamless and secure online journey.

In essence, mastering the art of navigating and customizing Safari settings on your iPhone equips you with the knowledge and tools to create a browsing experience that is uniquely yours. By delving into the intricacies of Safari settings, you can harness the power to tailor your online journey, ensuring that it aligns with your preferences and security requirements. So, unlock the potential of Safari settings on your iPhone and embark on a journey towards a personalized and secure browsing experience.

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Safari Not Working on iPhone? Here’s How to Fix It

What to know.

  • If Safari is not working, be sure to check your cellular and Wi-Fi connection.
  • Confirm that you have not set any Screen Time limits for Safari.
  • If all else fails, try clearing Safari history and browsing data.

open safari settings iphone

It can be incredibly frustrating when Safari is not working on iPhone. Whether web pages are not loading or you’re getting a “Safari cannot open page” error message, we’re going to go over a few different fixes that should help resolve any issues you are having with your web browser.

Why Is Safari Not Working?

  • How to Check Screen Time Settings

How to Clear Safari Browsing Data

There are a few different reasons why Safari is not working on your iPhone, so we'll recommend multiple solutions to help resolve the problem. Let’s get started with how to fix Safari on iPhone.

iPhone Life

How to Check Cellular & Wi-Fi Connection

Like any web browser, Safari needs an internet connection to work. For more Safari troubleshooting fixes, like how to fix the Safari cannot open page error, be sure to sign up for our Tip of the Day newsletter. Now, to fix any problems with Safari not working on your iPhone, let’s first check your cellular and Wi-Fi connection:

Swipe down from the top right edge of your screen to open the Control Center.

If these settings are already enabled, but your web browser is still giving you trouble or Safari can't find server, there are other solutions to try.

How to Enable Cellular Data for Safari

One of the iPhone’s many useful features is that you can restrict certain apps from using your cellular data . This is great for those who do not have unlimited data plans. However, that also means that if you disable data for Safari, then the web browser will be unable to load any web pages if you're not connected to Wi-Fi. If Safari is not working on your iPhone, here’s how to check your cellular data settings:

Open the Settings app, and tap Cellular.

Once you've confirmed that cellular data is enabled for Safari, try opening a web page to see if the issue has been resolved.

Safari Won’t Open on iPhone? Check Screen Time Settings

Screen Time is a handy feature that is designed to help you reduce the amount of time you spend on your phone, including restricting access to a particular app. If you played around with Screen Time settings in the past, you might have accidentally set an App Limit for Safari by accident. If Safari won't open this is one of the first things you should check. Here’s how to check your Screen Time settings when Safari is not working on iPhone:

Open the Settings app, and tap Screen Time.

If you do not see Safari in this list, then you have not set any Screen Time limits for your web browser. If Safari is still not opening on your iPhone, the issue could be elsewhere.

Sometimes clearing out old website history and data can help with issues related to Safari not working. Here’s how to do it:

Note:  Clearing this data will log you out of your online accounts and clear recent websites from your browsing history. While that is not a huge loss for most people, it can be a bit annoying when you get Safari working again, so it is best to use this option as a last resort.

Open the Settings app, scroll down, and tap Safari.

If Safari is not working on your iPhone after clearing your browsing data, try closing the app completely.

Close & Re-open Safari

If Safari is still not working on iPhone, try closing and re-opening the app . Sometimes apps stop functioning correctly so completely closing it can help resolve things. When you close the app and re-open it, this effectively restarts the app.

If Safari cannot open a page, the above fixes should help resolve any underlying issues. However, if you are still having trouble with Safari not working on iPhone, you may need to seek further assistance from Apple Support . Next, find out how to block or allow pop-ups in Safari .

  • How do I get the Safari icon back on my iPhone?  Safari is one of the few Apple apps that cannot be removed from your iPhone. However, if it has somehow vanished from your phone, there are a few different ways to get Safari back on iPhone . Our article covers each method in detail, ensuring you can find the app.
  • Why won't Safari open on my iPhone?  If Safari won't open at all, the problem could be your Screen Time settings. If you don't have any Screen Time restrictions, you could be experiencing a software bug, in which case, I would recommend reaching out to Apple Support for help.
  • How do I reset Safari on my iPhone? You can close and re-open Safari to reset it. However, if that does not work, you can follow the above steps for clearing your browsing data .

Author Details

Rhett Intriago's picture

Rhett Intriago

Rhett Intriago is a Feature Writer at iPhone Life, offering his expertise in all things iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods. He enjoys writing on topics related to maintaining privacy in a digital world, as well as iPhone security. He’s been a tech enthusiast all his life, with experiences ranging from jailbreaking his iPhone to building his own gaming PC.

Despite his disdain for the beach, Rhett is based in Florida. In his free time, he enjoys playing the latest games, spoiling his cats, or discovering new places with his wife, Kyla.

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How to reset the Safari browser on your iPhone in 2 different ways

  • You can reset Safari on an iPhone by clearing cookies and erasing your browsing history.
  • There are two ways to reset your Safari data: through the Safari app itself, and through the Settings app.
  • Both methods will let your clear both your browsing history and cookies.

If you're looking to clear your Safari data, simply removing your Frequently Visited sites isn't going to address privacy concerns if you have cookies stored, for instance.

Fortunately, it's easy to reset all your browsing history and settings. Here are two ways to do it, one directly through Safari, and the other through your iPhone's Settings.

How to reset Safari on iPhone through the browser

1. At the bottom of an open Safari page, tap the book icon .

2. At the top of the menu that opens, tap the clock icon to open your history.

3. Tap Clear at the bottom of the page. A prompt menu will open to warn that you'll clear your history, cookies, and other data over a selected time period. Tap All time to reset your browser.

How to reset Safari on iPhone through the Settings app

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.

2. Search for or scroll down to Safari and open it.

3. Tap Clear History and Website Data in blue about halfway down the page.

4. A prompt menu will pop up. Tap Clear History and Data and wait a few moments while the iPhone processes your request. Once it does, all your data will have been cleared.

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David Nield

The Safari Settings You Should Tweak Right Now

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Your browser is your window onto the world, the app you rely on most during the day. You want to wring every last drop of usefulness out of it. It definitely pays to know all of the features and tricks your daily browser is capable of. For iOS users, that means mastering Safari: how to stay safe online, how to get stuff done faster, and more.

For a smoother online experience, take a few minutes to run through these Safari tweaks to make your life online a little smoother.

Safari is very concerned about the strength of your passwords—perhaps even more so than you are. To see whether you're using any weak passwords, or duplicating passwords across accounts, open the Safari menu and choose Preferences then Passwords . A yellow exclamation mark indicates a potential problem with one of your listed passwords.

You'll often want to carry on watching a video while doing something else, and Safari can help—with a video playing, click and hold the audio icon in the address bar, then choose Enter Picture in Picture . The pop-out video player can be repositioned and resized as needed, but keep the original tab open in the background while you work on other tasks.

Websites want a lot these days: access to your webcam, your mic, your location , and more. To check what a site does and does not have access to, click Safari then Settings for This Website . You can revoke any permissions you've previously given, stop content from auto-playing, and limit the number of pop-up windows that the website can show.

screenshot

It's taken a long time for Safari to support favicons (the little icons that represent websites), so you might as well take advantage; they also help you identify open tabs more easily as well. From the Safari menu, choose Preferences then Tabs , and then tick the checkbox labeled Show website icons in tabs to apply the change to the browser.

Having access to your recent browsing history can be useful for retracing your online steps, but you don't need it to follow you around for years. Open Safari then Preferences , switch to the General tab, then open Remove history items —you can delete browsing logs automatically after a day, week, fortnight, month, or year.

By default Safari just shows the domain name of the site you're visiting in the address bar, but this can make it tricky to work out exactly where you are on the web. To see the full URL instead, you need to open up the Safari menu, then the Preferences dialog, then switch to the Advanced tab—make sure the Show full website address box is ticked.

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No productivity hack is ever going to beat an intuitive keyboard shortcut or two. You'll find a full list for Safari here and here , but some of our favorites include Space (and Shift+Space ) to scroll, Cmd+W to close a tab, Ctrl+Tab (and Shift+Ctrl+Tab ) to scroll through open tabs, and Cmd+L to jump straight to the Safari address bar at the top.

Safari, like every other Apple app, can be fully controlled with your voice in macOS Catalina. To enable the feature, open the Apple menu then choose System Preferences , Accessibility , Voice Control , and Enable Voice Control . It lets you speak out numbers for menus and links, zoom in and out, and much more—there's a full list of commands here .

screenshot

Safari has an entire Develop menu that's not displayed by default but which is very handy for power users. To show it, open the Safari menu then choose Preferences , then Advanced , then tick the box marked Show Develop menu in menu bar. The new menu then appears, enabling you to access options such as disabling images or extensions.

Clearing out a browser's cache can often improve performance in the long term, even if it takes a short-term hit while local files are refreshed and reset. To do this in Safari, you first need to enable the Develop menu (see the step above), then you can open it and choose Empty Caches . This wipes all of Safari's temporary files and data off the local disk.

Safari has borrowed a very useful feature from Windows: the ability to "snap" open tabs to the left or right of the screen, so you can compare two side-by-side. Open up the Window menu, then choose Tile Window to Left of Screen or Tile Window to Right of Screen to do just that—your other windows are then automatically docked on the opposite side.

screenshot

Apple devices all play wonderfully well together, as long as you're signed in on the same Apple ID, and jumping between open tabs on different devices is a breeze. To do this on Safari on macOS, you need to click on the Show tab overview button in the top right corner; you'll then see Safari tabs from your other devices listed lower down.

Who has time to read everything during the working day? No one! So make use of Safari's built-in Reading List tool. Use the Plus button on the left side of the address bar to add articles to the Reading List, then click the Show sidebar button (or View and Show Reading List Sidebar ) to bring up the list of all the posts you've saved during the day.

Safari gives you more control than you might have realized over the buttons and options that appear on the toolbar—having the tools you use most often in easy reach can make a big difference to your online productivity. To make changes, select View then Customize Toolbar , then just drag and drop the icons you need most often into the toolbar.

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open safari settings iphone

5 Safari settings on your iPhone that you should change immediately 

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Privacy-conscious internet users might be doing whatever they can to reduce the amount of data tech companies collect about them. Complete user-tracking prevention is impossible, given the plethora of devices, websites, apps, and services we use online every day. But you can take steps to reduce the data you offer websites. With that in mind, iPhone users should ensure they enable certain Safari settings that can help improve privacy and reduce tracking.

The following tips apply to using Safari on iPhone, but the same settings are available on the iPad version of the browser. Similarly, the macOS variant of Safari will include similar privacy precautions.

Change the default Safari search engine on iPhone

Since Google is one of the main tech companies tracking you online, one way to avoid Google is to stay away from its main product. That’s Google Search, which happens to be the default search engine in Safari on the iPhone. That’s where your Safari privacy quest should start. You should change Google Search for something more privacy friendly, like DuckDuckGo .

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iPhone Safari: The search engine options.

Tell sites to stop tracking your iPhone

It’s not enough to change search engines in Safari. You should also ask websites not to track your iPhone. To do that, head to the Settings app and look for the Safari menu. You’ll want to enable the Prevent Cross-Site Tracking option.

iPhone Safari settings for disabling cookies, hiding the IP address, and clearing history data.

Block cookies in Safari

While in the menu above, you might also want to enable the Block All Cookies option. That’s how advertising firms keep track of users. Blocking cookies might impact some site functionality, however.

Finally, the menu above also lets you block the Privacy Preserving Ad Measurement if you want further peace of mind.

Hide your IP address

Your quest to improve privacy while browsing the web with Safari on iPhone isn’t done. There are a few key settings that you can still tweak. Like hiding your IP address.

Block location access

Location. Location. Location. That’s a critical privacy aspect when it comes to your iPhone experience. That includes apps and internet browsing via Safari.

Safari can block websites from accessing Camera, Microphone, and Location data.

You can set it to Deny if you don’t need location-related internet services. The Ask option will force websites to ask whenever they want to track your location. You might have certain favorites that you want to allow to track your location.

Bonus: Browse the web on iPhone in Safari’s private mode

You can use a combination of the features above, or all of them, to improve your internet privacy on iPhone. You can also enable the Share Across Devices option if you own multiple Apple devices, so the same settings apply to various iPhones and iPads.

This isn’t a setting, so you’ll have to open the Safari app. Look for the tabs symbol in the lower right corner and tap it.

iPhone Safari: Browsing the web in Private mode.

The downside is that the sites you browse in private mode won’t remain in your history. You’ll have to balance between Private mode and regular mode depending on which websites you use.

If it’s dark, you’re in Private mode.

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Chris Smith has been covering consumer electronics ever since the iPhone revolutionized the industry in 2008. When he’s not writing about the most recent tech news for BGR, he brings his entertainment expertise to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster franchises.

Outside of work, you’ll catch him streaming almost every new movie and TV show release as soon as it's available.

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Safari Freezing on iPhone? Here Are 8 Fixes That Work

Darryl Dsouza

Safari is Apple’s default browser and many of us prefer using Safari due to the features it offers. Sadly, several users are encountering issues with Safari freezing on iOS 17. It can be a frustrating experience when you’re searching for something urgently but Safari refuses to function smoothly. Therefore, we’ve searched for the best solutions to fix this issue and put them together in this guide. Just follow these steps and you can easily fix Safari freezing on your iPhone. 

How To Fix Safari Freezing on iOS 17

1. clear safari history.

Ever since Safari started freezing on iOS 17, several users have brought up the issue on Apple’s Community Discussions website. The silver lining to this dark cloud is that some users facing the issue have also mentioned solutions that helped them resolve it. One such solution is to Clear History and Website Data from Safari to fix Safari freezing on iOS 17. 

Time needed:  1 minute

Steps to Clear History and Website Data from Safari on iPhone. 

Clear Safari History

In most cases, when you clear history on Safari, it won’t log you out from any websites.  

2. Disable iCloud Private Relay To Fix Safari Freezing on iOS 17

iCloud Private Relay is an exclusive feature only available to users with an iCloud+ subscription. While it is supposed to help protect users’ privacy when browsing the web through Safari, it might be the reason for Safari freezing. Several people have reported that disabling iCloud Private Relay helped fix the issue which is why we suggest you do the same. 

  • Open Settings on your iPhone. 
  • Tap the “ Your Name ” option located at the top.
  • Tap the iCloud option on the Apple ID page. 
  • On the iCloud page, tap the Private Relay option. 
  • Next, disable the Private Relay toggle.
  • A pop-up will display two options: Turn Off until Tomorrow and Turn Off Private Relay . If you select the former, Private Relay will automatically enable tomorrow at the same time you’ve disabled it and if you select the latter Private Relay will be permanently disabled. 
  • Pick any option that you deem fit as you can easily re-enable Private Relay whenever you want.  

3. Remove All Website Data

Safari is likely lagging on your iPhone due to Website Data. For those unaware, Website Data includes files, images, cookies, etc. of websites you visit or have visited. This stored data helps speed up the load times of previously visited websites. However, they also occupy a good chunk of storage over an extended period. Therefore, deleting website data might help fix the issue.

  • Open Settings on your iPhone and navigate to Safari .

Head to Advanced in Safari Settings

  • Tap the Website Data button. 

Tap the Remove All Website Data button To Fix Safari Freezing on iOS 17

  • Tap the Remove Now button to confirm your selection. 

If you’d like to further optimize and clean your iPhone, I always recommend a reliable maintenance app like Intego Washing Machine because it has a dedicated iOS and macOS cleaning engine that gets rid of unnecessary files, build-up files, and stored data from your system, getting your device at its best performance.

4. Force Restart iPhone To Fix Safari Freezing on iOS 17

In case your iPhone is completely frozen and not responding ever since you opened Safari, you must force restart it. Simply because it’s the most convenient way to restart your iPhone. Moreover, it will also help get rid of temporary bugs that might be leading to freezing issues in Safari. 

Steps to Force Restart iPhone (iPhone 8, iPhone SE 2nd Gen and above) 

  • Press and release the volume up button .
  • Press and release the volume down button .
  • Next, press and hold the Side button until the Apple logo appears. 
  • As soon as you see the Apple logo, release the Side button . Please do not release the Side button before the Apple logo appears on the screen. 

Steps to Force Restart iPhone

Even though older iPhone models don’t support iOS 17, you can still encounter freezing issues in Safari. Therefore, we’ve mentioned the steps to help you force restart your iPhone. 

Steps to Force Restart iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus

Press and hold the Volume down and Side buttons simultaneously. Release the buttons once the Apple logo appears. 

Steps to Force Restart iPhone 6s or below 

Press and hold the Side and Home buttons simultaneously. Release the buttons once the Apple logo appears. 

5. Disable Extensions To Fix Safari Freezing on iOS 17

Have you added one too many extensions to Safari on your iPhone? Safari may be freezing or lagging due to multiple or buggy extensions. We suggest disabling Safari extensions as it can help resolve the issue.    

  • Tap the Extensions button located in the General menu. 
  • Now, tap the Extension you want to disable. 
  • On the next screen, disable the “ Extensions Name ” toggle. 
  • Repeat this step for every extension you’ve enabled for Safari. 
  • Restart your iPhone. 
  • Now open Safari and check if the issue is resolved. 

If the Safari freezing issue persists, follow the next step. 

6. Disable Safari Suggestion

Safari Suggestions interfering with the normal functioning of Safari is an old bug in iOS. There are chances that it has resurfaced and is causing Safari to freeze. Therefore, we suggest disabling Safari suggestions as it might help fix the freezing issues.

  • Navigate to Safari .
  • Disable the Safari Suggestion toggle. 

Disable Safari Suggestion

7. Reset Network Settings

Safari might be freezing or not loading properly because it cannot establish a stable internet connection. This can happen due to misconfigured network settings. Hence, resetting these network settings might help fix Safari freezing issues on iPhones. 

  • Open Settings on your iPhone and head to the General option. 
  • Here, scroll down and select the Transfer or Reset iPhone option. 
  • On the next page, tap the Reset option. 
  • Then select the Reset Network Settings option. 
  • Enter the device passcode to confirm your selection. 
  • Tap the Reset Network Settings option in the pop-up to confirm your selection. 

Reset Network Settings To Fix Safari Freezing on iOS 17

8. Update iOS To Fix Safari Freezing on iOS 17

Finally, software bugs in Safari or iOS 17 might be the primary reason Safari is freezing. Since Safari is a part of the operating system, we can’t update it from the App Store as it updates along with iOS. Moreover, software bugs that have made their way to stable iOS versions are usually fixed with iOS updates. Therefore, updating to the latest version of iOS might be your best bet to fix Safari freezing on your iPhone.   

  • Open Settings on your iPhone.
  • Navigate to the General option.
  • Tap the Software Update option on the next screen. 
  • Here, tap the Install Now or Update Now button to update your iPhone to the latest iOS version.
  • Enter your device’s passcode to continue. 

Update iOS to the latest version To Fix Safari Freezing on iOS 17

If none of these methods help fix Safari freezing issues, the last option is to contact Apple Support . Alternatively, you can also visit an official Apple Store and get your device inspected at the Genius Bar. We hope this guide helps you fix Safari freezing on iOS 17. If you have any doubts or are aware of other methods that help resolve the issue, please let us know in the comments below. 

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open safari settings iphone

open safari settings iphone

How to clear the cache on your iPhone (and why you should)

How many tabs are open on your mobile browser right now? Go ahead, check -- you might be surprised by what you find.

Americans spend over five hours a day on their smartphones. That's over five hours of your phone potentially accessing, retrieving, and saving cache and cookies, which can negatively impact your iPhone's storage space .

What is cache?

Cache is the temporary storage of some data, like parts of a website from the last time you visited it, for example. Browser cache is content from a website that is stored on your phone during a browser session to help the browser execute faster the next time you visit that page.

Also:  How to clear Google search cache on Android

Cache data can slow down your phone's overall browsing performance, however, since it takes up storage space on your device, so it's good to clear it out regularly. In this article, we mainly focus on clearing web browser cache on an iPhone, but you should know that other types of cache include mobile app cache and CPU cache.

How to clear cache on iPhone

What you'll need: Everything you need to clear your browser cache is within the iPhone's settings app or the Safari app, so grab your iPhone to get started.

Keep in mind that clearing the cache can clear private data, which can close all open tabs in Safari. This is also likely to log you out of all your websites, prompting you to sign in again the next time you open them. 

How do I clear the cache from Chrome on iPhone?

If Google Chrome is your preferred browser, it may have a substantial amount of data stored on your device, which could also slow down performance. 

To clear the cache in Chrome, open the Google Chrome app and follow these steps:

  • Tap  Settings .
  • Go to  Privacy and Security .
  • Select  Clear Browsing Data .
  • Select the time from which to delete the data (if you want to delete all your browsing history, choose All Time ).
  • Go through the items you'd like to delete, like your Browsing History, Cookies and Site Data, Cached Images and Files, Saved Passwords , and Autofill Data.
  • Confirm by tapping  Clear Browsing Data  at the bottom of the screen.
  • Tap Done when you've deleted the Chrome cache.

Also: Apple releases iOS 17.4 with podcast transcripts, new emojis, and EU app store changes

Clearing the browsing and cache data in Google Chrome doesn't close all open tabs, but it will refresh each tab and log you out of websites. Once you tap on one of the tabs you want to access, you'll have to log back in.

How can I browse on Safari without history?

If you're learning how to clear cache on an iPhone, you may also be wondering if there's a way to use Safari without saving any browsing history. You can turn on Private Browsing by following these steps:

  • Open  Safari .
  • Tap on  Tabs .
  • Choose Private .

You can also enable private browsing by going to your iPhone Settings, finding Safari, and toggling on the private option. 

How do I clear my app cache on my iPhone?

To clear the app cache from your iPhone Settings app, you can either delete the app and reinstall it, offload it, or try to clear the cache from within the app. Unfortunately, iOS apps don't have consistent settings across the board that would allow you to clear the cache of every app.

Also: Apple warns: Don't put your wet iPhone in rice. Do this instead

Apps like TikTok and CapCut, for example, have options to Clear Cache within their respective settings. Amazon lets users delete their browsing history, while the Reddit app can clear local history. It all depends on what the app's settings let you do. 

Is "clear cache" the same as offloading?

Not exactly, though app offloading can help if your phone is slowed down by low storage. To offload an app  means to uninstall an app without deleting any documents or data associated with it. 

Also: Apple secures iMessage against threats from the future

To offload an app, go to  Settings , then  General , choose  iPhone Storage  and select the app to offload, then tap  Offload App . If you ever download it again, you'll pick up where you left off for that app.

Are cookies and cache the same thing?

Cookies and cache are not the same. Cookies are data files that websites send to your phone, including things like saved passwords to keep you logged into an account or even the website preferences from the previous time you visited. 

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Though they do sound harmless, cookies can also track how you browse the internet. They monitor patterns in your browsing and search history, even seeing what you clicked on or what your mouse hovered over. Ever made an innocuous search on Amazon only to find ads for it on all the apps you use? Cookies likely made that possible.

Can I block cookies on my iPhone?

While you can block cookies on Safari, the ranks are divided on whether you should. Blocking cookies entirely means that websites won't be able to get information from you, but it also means that some websites may not even work correctly on your browser. A lot of users actually enjoy a more personalized browsing experience, so cookies are a good thing for them.

 If you'd like to block cookies in Safari, follow these steps:

  • Go to  Settings  and select  Safari .
  • Tap on the toggle next to  Block All Cookies .

There are also third-party extensions that help you block cookies and trackers in Google Chrome, like Ghostery and Disconnect .

How do I check iPhone storage?

On an iPhone, Settings can show you what's taking up most of your media storage, like photos, videos, and music. You can also see what each particular app's storage consumption is, which includes temporary data. To view the details of your iPhone's storage space, follow these steps:

  • Go to the iPhone Settings .
  • Tap on General .
  • Select iPhone Storage .
  • Scroll through to find the app you're looking for.
  • Tap on the app to view storage status and options.

Unfortunately, you can't clear your iPhone cache for third-party apps by going into your Settings app, but this gives you a visual of your iPhone's storage and the option to delete or offload apps.

Also: Here's the fastest way to declutter your iPhone and free up Gigabytes of space

When you look at your device's storage space, you'll probably see recommended steps you can take to optimize your iPhone's storage, like offloading unused apps.

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How to clear the cache on your iPhone (and why you should)

More From Forbes

Apple issues new google chrome warning for iphone users.

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Apple takes shot at Google in very public way

When it comes to mobile browsers, there are just two that matter: Chrome and Safari have 90% market share between them. And so when Apple takes shots at alternative browsers targeting iPhone users, it’s taking those shots at Google and Google alone.

That’s the context behind Apple’s latest home town privacy stunt. As reported by SFGate , “Apple has switched one of its most prominent billboards in San Francisco to a new advertising campaign, and it appears to include a dig at a Bay Area tech rival.”

When Apple says Safari is “a browser that’s actually private,” it’s issuing a very blunt warning about its rival, the only other mobile browser of any significance.

The warning itself is no surprise—let’s be clear, if privacy is your priority it’s very unlikely you’re defaulting to Google Chrome. In its normal mode, tracking cookies are proving to have cockroach-like survival skills , while in its quasi-private “incognito mode,” it remains unclear quite how incognito that really is.

As ESET’s Jake Moore explains, “Google revealed earlier this year that it collects your data if you use Google Chrome, even if you use Incognito Mode. Personal data is so valuable to companies and when terms and conditions are so difficult to understand, it can be easy for users to simply allow companies to collect data at their will.”

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“There’s no direct reference to Google, of course,” SFGate says of the new billboard, “but it’s impossible not to read the advertisement as anything but a thrown gauntlet against the Mountain View tech giant and its popular Chrome browser.”

Chrome’s tracking cookies will be here until at least early 2025. Recent reports suggest that some form of AI search across user search histories might follow, along with the so-called Privacy Sandbox—which is Google’s attempt to replace tracking cookies with something less awful, albeit its objectives remain the same.

On the spin side, Chrome is an excellent browser—fast, multi-featured and continually updating with new options. It’s not surprising it has approaching 3-billion users. But it has a complex engine that underpins its front-end, and that has been the subject of high-profile, exploited vulnerabilities, far beyond anything we’ve seen with Apple’s Safari in recent years. Last month saw four Chrome zero-days confirmed, and this month the browser’s extensions have come under attack for reported risks.

In reality, Google is in something of a bind. Safari is a browser whereas Chrome is a front-end for Google’s trillion-dollar marketing machine. It cannot turn off tracking by default without an alternative that seeks to track in different ways. Not only would that kill its own golden goose, but it would also cause uproar across the wider industry. Just look at the current back and forth on tracking cookie deprecation.

Safari is not perfect but has been designed with a different mindset. “Safari can also track user activity but offers better settings to protect users and their identities,” Moore says. It doesn’t have all the baggage to contend with and can go head-to-head with smaller competitors such as Firefox and Brave which push privacy as a USP.

This Chrome versus Safari trade-off is complicated, of course, by Google’s securing the default search slot on iPhones. But searching within Safari is a much more private experience than using the same search technology in Chrome.

Unless there are very specific reasons to use Chrome, iPhone users should indeed default to Safari. It is fairly private by default, and its privacy mode is much better than Chrome’s—it even deletes traces between tabs, within sessions, unlike Chrome.

“If you have an Incognito window open and you open another one,” Google explains , “your private browsing session will continue in the new window. To exit Incognito mode, close all Incognito windows.” Contrast this with Safari. “Browsing initiated in one tab is isolated from browsing initiated in another tab,” Apple says , “so websites you visit can’t track your browsing across multiple sessions.”

And that little detail neatly sums up the difference. This is an Apple philosophy more than anything else. While Apple’s Californian billboard might appear trivial, there’s a lot going on behind it.

Zak Doffman

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How to Clear System Data or Other Storage on Your iPhone

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  • Clear Your Safari Cache
  • Cut Down on Streaming if You Can
  • Delete Old iMessage and Mail Data
  • Delete and Reinstall Some Apps
  • Back Up and Erase Your iPhone

Key Takeaways

  • Clearing browser and app caches can help reduce System Data or Other storage on your iPhone.
  • Prevent your iPhone from storing old messages and emails so that the System Data does not fill up quickly.
  • If you're looking for a quick way to free up System Data or Other storage, consider backing up and erasing your iPhone to start afresh.

The "System Data" or "Other" category in your iPhone's storage includes caches, settings, messages, voice memos, and miscellaneous data. The good news is that you can clear out much of this unused data to reclaim valuable space on your iPhone.

1. Clear Your Safari Cache

Safari caches are one of the biggest culprits for System Data storage growing out of hand. Like any other browser, Safari saves browsing history and website data on your iPhone to load websites quickly. However, Safari's caches are not a necessity, and if they are filling up your iPhone storage, you may need to clear them to make space for more important items.

To clear your Safari cache on your iPhone:

  • Open the Settings app and head to General > iPhone Storage .
  • Scroll through the app list to find and tap Safari .
  • Tap Website Data .
  • Scroll to the bottom of the page and tap Remove All Website Data . Then, hit Remove Now to confirm.

2. Cut Down on Streaming if You Can

Streaming a lot of music and video can also cause your iPhone's System Data storage to get out of hand. To clarify, this is different from downloading.

When you download video or audio from the iTunes Store, TV app, or Music app, it is categorized as Media. Streams, on the other hand, use caches to ensure seamless playback, and these are classified as System Data.

So, while you try to free up some space on your iPhone or iPad , it's better to reduce or pause streaming content and rely on downloads instead. You can also try to clear app caches from your iPhone storage.

Focus on specific media apps that you use to stream online content, such as YouTube, Apple Music, Netflix, or Podcasts. Then, clear the data for these apps in your storage settings.

3. Delete Old iMessage and Mail Data

If you're a heavy texter, the Messages app might be consuming a lot of your storage. In that case, it's best to configure your iPhone to save fewer older messages.

By default, the Messages app stores conversations forever, but you can change this setting to 1 year or even 30 days to minimize the amount of data it caches. To do so, use these steps:

  • Open the Settings app and scroll down to tap Messages .
  • Under the Message History section, tap Keep Messages .
  • Select your preferred message storage duration: 30 Days or 1 Year .
  • Choose Delete to remove messages older than the specified period.

Similarly, the Mail app on your iPhone or iPad saves a cache of all the documents, photos, and videos you've viewed. While this speeds up reloading them the next time, these caches can quickly accumulate and consume storage space. To clear out obsolete Mail caches, log out of your email account and sign in again.

4. Delete and Reinstall Some Apps

Most app data is classified as Apps, but certain caches or data are classified as System Data. For example, if the Podcasts app takes up more than a couple of gigabytes of space, it's likely filled with cached data.

Deleting and re-downloading the app could help clear the System Data storage on your iPhone. To remove an app from your iPhone , long-press the app on the home screen and tap Remove App > Delete App > Delete . Afterward, head to the App Store to download and reinstall the app.

Alternatively, you can offload unused apps and reinstall them later when needed. Offloading is different from removing the app entirely, as it only removes the app while keeping its data. If your iPhone is running iOS 16 or higher, you can even configure it to offload unused apps automatically.

5. Back Up and Erase Your iPhone

The easiest way to remove excess data is to completely wipe your device and start over. This method is faster than trying to locate and delete app caches individually, and it can also eliminate any bugs that might be contributing to the storage problem.

Before you do that, make sure you back up your iPhone or iPad . Otherwise, you will lose all the data on your device.

To erase and reset your iPhone or iPad, go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone and then tap Erase All Content and Settings . If you have an iCloud backup, iOS will prompt you to restore it to avoid losing unsaved data.

The above tips should help you reduce the amount of storage occupied by System Data or Other on your iPhone. While you're at it, you can also try deleting unwanted apps, media, and large files to create free space on your iPhone.

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macOS Sequoia Lets You Customize AirPods Audio in System Settings

macOS Sequoia expands a long-existing accessibility feature on the iPhone and iPad to the Mac: Headphone Accommodations.

macOS Sequoia Headphone Accommodations

When a user configures Headphone Accommodations settings for second-generation AirPods Pro on macOS, the adjusted audio will persist when the headphones are connected to other audio sources, according to a note on Apple's developer website .

These settings were previously only available in the Settings app on the iPhone and iPad.

macOS Sequoia is currently in beta for developers, with a public beta to follow in July. The update will likely be widely released in September or October.

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Top rated comments.

ignatius345 Avatar

Seriously, anybody over 40 with AirPods, regardless of whether you think you've got any hearing deterioration or not: do a full (free) hearing test with the mimi hearing test app, save the audiogram it generates, go into Accessibility>Headphone Accommodations, select Tune Audio for: Audiogram and upload the audiogram you generated from mimi. Your iPhone/Mac will then slightly boost frequencies that you may have lost some sensitivity to. Basically it corrects the sound to what it should sound like, based on your personal hearing profile. My hearing's still pretty good for my age, but listening to music this was still transformational for me, I rediscovered so much detail in songs that I'd forgotten was there. At least try it!

NightFox Avatar

In iOS 14, Apple continues to build out its extensive accessibility features, and here we're going to show you how you can use the new Headphone Accommodations to amplify certain sounds if you're having difficulty hearing them.

jblank Avatar

I can't think of anything less cumbersome than "it happens without you doing anything at all".

gjpinc Avatar

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To change these settings, choose Safari > Settings, then click Websites.

The settings you can customize (such as Reader and Content Blockers) are listed on the left.

To apply a setting to a website on the right, first select the setting, then choose the option you want from the pop-menu next to the website.

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  1. Customize your Safari settings on iPhone

    Customize your start page. When you open a new tab, you begin on your start page. You can customize your start page with new background images and options. Open the Safari app on your iPhone. Tap , then tap . Scroll to the bottom of the page, then tap Edit. Favorites: Display shortcuts to your favorite bookmarked websites.

  2. How to Control iPhone Safari Settings and Security

    Control your settings and security in the iPhone browser. To change search engine, go to Settings > Safari > Search Engine. To control links, go to Safari > Open Links. To use AutoFill, go to Settings > Safari > AutoFill > turn on Use Contact Info. To view saved passwords, go to Settings > Passwords & Accounts > Website & App Passwords.

  3. 3 Ways to Change Safari Settings on iPhone or iPad

    3. Adjust the font size. The default zoom amount (100%) appears at the top of the menu. Tap the smaller A on the left to decrease the default font size, or the larger A on the right to increase it. Continue taping until you're satisfied with the new size, then tap anywhere on the page to close the window. [1] 4.

  4. If Safari isn't loading websites or quits on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod

    Connect to a different network. Try to load a website, like www.apple.com, using cellular data. If you don't have cellular data, connect to a different Wi-Fi network, then load the website. If you're using a VPN (Virtual Private Network), check your VPN settings. If you have a VPN turned on, some apps or websites might block content from loading.

  5. How to Change Your General Preferences on Safari: Mac + iOS

    Changing Safari Preferences. While Safari is open, click or tap on the word Safari in the top left corner to display a menu. Settings will be the third choice. Click or tap that to bring up Safari preferences. On an iPhone, look for Safari in the list of apps in the Settings app on your phone. Method 1.

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    First, open the list of Settings URLs on your iPhone or iPad. Browse through the list, and when you find the "Screen Time" section, copy the URL portion. Now, open the Shortcuts app and go to the "My Shortcuts" tab. Here, tap the "Create Shortcut" button at the bottom of the list. Tap the "Add Action" button.

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    Search Settings. The first thing you will need to do is tap open the Settings on your iPhone or iPad and then tap "Safari". The topmost Safari setting you will see are the Search settings. At the top is the "Search Engine" setting. By default, it is set to use Google, but you can change it to Yahoo, Bing, or DuckDuckGo.

  9. How to Customize the Safari Start Page on iPhone and iPad

    Here's how. First, open Safari on your iPhone or iPad and open a new tab by tapping the tabs button (two overlapping rectangles), then tapping the plus ("+") button. You'll see Safari's "Start Page" by default. To edit what's on the Start Page, scroll down if necessary and tap the "Edit" button. When you tap "Edit," a "Customize Start Page ...

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    This step by step guide with images covers how to customize Safari privacy and security settings on iPhone and iPad and a short explainer on each option.

  11. How to Specify Safari Settings on Your iPhone

    Tap the Settings icon on the Home page. In the Settings screen that appears, tap Safari. All Safari's settings appear for the changing. Here are the Safari settings you can adjust on your iPhone: Clear the history: To clear your history so that nobody else can trace your steps, tap Clear History. Fill out forms with AutoFill: When AutoFill is ...

  12. Browse the web using Safari on iPhone

    If you don't see Safari on your Home Screen, you can find it in App Library and add it back. On the Home Screen, swipe left until you see the App Library. Enter "Safari" in the search field. Press and hold , then tap Add to Home Screen. See also Search for websites Change the layout in Safari Clear your cache.

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    Open Settings: Begin by unlocking your iPhone and locating the "Settings" app on your home screen. The Settings app is represented by a gear icon and is typically found on the first page of your apps. Scroll Down and Tap Safari: Once you've opened the Settings app, scroll down until you see the list of installed apps.

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    Open the Safari app on your iPhone. Tap . Swipe right on the tab bar at the bottom of the screen until Private Browsing opens, then tap Unlock. To exit Private Browsing, tap , then swipe left to open a Tab Group from the menu at the bottom of your screen. The websites you have open in Private Browsing stay open, and Private Browsing locks.

  17. Safari Not Working on iPhone? Here's How to Fix It

    Open the Settings app, and tap Cellular. Scroll down and find Safari. If the toggle is gray, that means cellular data is disabled for Safari. Tap it so that it turns green to turn it on. Once you've confirmed that cellular data is enabled for Safari, try opening a web page to see if the issue has been resolved.

  18. How to Reset Safari on an iPhone in 2 Ways

    1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone. 2. Search for or scroll down to Safari and open it. 3. Tap Clear History and Website Data in blue about halfway down the page. 4. A prompt menu will pop up ...

  19. The Safari Settings You Should Tweak Right Now

    10. Clear out the cache. Clearing out a browser's cache can often improve performance in the long term, even if it takes a short-term hit while local files are refreshed and reset. To do this in ...

  20. 5 Safari settings on your iPhone that you should change immediately

    This isn't a setting, so you'll have to open the Safari app. Look for the tabs symbol in the lower right corner and tap it. iPhone Safari: Browsing the web in Private mode. Image source: Chris ...

  21. Safari Freezing on iPhone? Here Are 8 Fixes That Work

    Open Settings on your iPhone and head to the General option. Here, scroll down and select the Transfer or Reset iPhone option. On the next page, tap the Reset option.

  22. How to clear the cache on your iPhone (and why you should)

    Go to Settings and select Safari. Tap on the toggle next to Block All Cookies . There are also third-party extensions that help you block cookies and trackers in Google Chrome, like Ghostery and ...

  23. Change the default web browser or email app on your iPhone, iPad, or

    If you delete your default web browser app, your device will set Safari as the default browser app. In countries or regions of the European Union on iOS 17.4 or later: after you choose a default browser from the web browser choice screen, if you want to change that setting, follow the steps to change your default browser.. If you delete your default email app, your device will set the Mail app ...

  24. 'Hush' Blocks Cookie and Newsletter Popups on Safari

    On an iPhone or iPad you'll need to open the Settings application, scroll and open Safari, then scroll to an open Extensions. Ensure that Hush is set to on. Credit: Justin Pot.

  25. Apple Issues New Google Chrome Warning For iPhone Users

    Apple takes shot at Google in very public way. NurPhoto via Getty Images. When it comes to mobile browsers, there are just two that matter: Chrome and Safari have 90% market share between them ...

  26. How to Clear System Data or Other Storage on Your iPhone

    However, Safari's caches are not a necessity, and if they are filling up your iPhone storage, you may need to clear them to make space for more important items. To clear your Safari cache on your iPhone: Open the Settings app and head to General > iPhone Storage. Scroll through the app list to find and tap Safari. Tap Website Data

  27. Safari

    Support app. Get personalized access to solutions for your Apple products. Download the Apple Support app. Learn more about all the topics, resources, and contact options you need to download, update and manage your Safari settings.

  28. macOS Sequoia Lets You Customize AirPods Audio in System Settings

    These settings were previously only available in the Settings app on the iPhone and iPad. ... iPhone Mirroring, Safari improvements, new Passwords app, and Apple Intelligence features throughout.

  29. Change Websites settings in Safari on Mac

    To change these settings, choose Safari > Settings, then click Websites. The settings you can customize (such as Reader and Content Blockers) are listed on the left. To apply a setting to a website on the right, first select the setting, then choose the option you want from the pop-menu next to the website. Open Safari for me