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How to refresh website favicons in Safari on Mac

Are some website icons missing or showing incorrectly in Safari? Learn how to refresh Safari favicons on your Mac to force the browser to fetch the new icons and display everything correctly.

A favicon is the small website logo you see in your browser tab. The ability to see favicons for websites in Safari is convenient. It lets you spot the site you want at a glance by seeing just the icon on your tab, in your bookmark list, and in your history.

But have you ever noticed favicons that go missing or are incorrect, showing the wrong icon? You can “refresh” the website favicons in Safari on Mac in just a few steps, and we’ll show you how.

Also see: How to hide or show website icons in Safari Favorites Bar

Delete Safari’s favicon cache

If you’re experiencing favicons that aren’t right, maybe they have icons for different websites; clearing the cache and starting over is a good option.

1) Close and quit Safari . You can do this by clicking Safari from the top menu bar and choosing Quit Safari .

2) Using Finder, click Go > Go to Folder from the menu bar

3) Enter ~/Library/Safari/Favicon Cache/ in the pop-up window and go to this location.

4) Select all items in the cache folder and move them to the Trash . You can select all with the keyboard shortcut Command + A and then drag them to your Trash or right-click and pick Move to Trash.

5) Empty your Trash or delete those items from it. (For help with both options, check out our tutorial on How to Empty Trash on Mac .)

6) Open Safari .

The Safari favicon cache folder will rebuild itself as you visit websites. And you’ll need to visit the sites you have saved for the favicons to appear. But those that were incorrect or missing should show up correctly.

Related : How to skip the Trash and delete files on Mac immediately

Alternative option

If you’d rather try something else, there is one other option that may or may not work.

Open the website with the incorrect favicon in a private window in Safari. You can do this easily by right-clicking Safari in your Dock and selecting New Private Window or selecting File > New Private Window from the menu bar.

Visit the website in the private window, and when you return to your non-private Safari, the favicon may be correct.

The suggestion comes from the Apple Community Forum . This method did not work for the user with the question, nor did it work for me; however, it’s worth a try if you’d like.

Enabling favicons in Safari

As a reminder, you can enable favicons in Safari on older versions of macOS by following these simple steps.

1) With Safari open, click Safari > Preferences from the menu bar.

2) Select the Tabs tab.

3) Check the box for Show website icons in tabs to enable favicons.

Hopefully, either rebuilding the Safari favicon cache or opening a specific site in a private window works for you. And if you have another method to refresh favicons in Safari that works for you, please share it in the comments below!

Useful Safari tips:

• 11 tips to customize and personalize Safari on iPhone and iPad
• How to pin tabs in Safari on iPhone, iPad, and Mac
• How and why to update Safari, Chrome, and other web browsers on iPhone and Mac
• How to open multiple websites at once on Mac

Safari Favorites Icons Missing? 7 Ways to Get Them Back

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Safari favorites icons, or favicons, are a celebrated convenience that allows you to quickly see the website you want in history, bookmarks, or tabs. Unfortunately, these favicons tend to appear incorrectly or go missing. This article shows you how to get back missing favorite icons on your Mac.  

If you notice that your Safari favorites icons are missing , clearing your cache and restarting Safari is the fastest way to get them back . There is another alternative way of opening the affected website in a private Safari window; I will look at it in detail later in the article.

How to Find Safari Favorites Icons Missing? 

• Method 1: Clear Safari favorites icons cache 

Method 2: Use Safari Private Window

Method 3: create new user, method 4: verify your preferences, method 5: restore items from time machine, method 6: download updates.

• Method 7: Use the safe mode        

In Conclusion

If the favorites icons are missing in Safari on your Mac, try going to “Safari” > “Preferences” > “Tabs” and check the box next to “Show website icons in tabs.” If this doesn’t solve the issue, try resetting the Safari browser by going to “Safari” > “Reset Safari” and selecting the appropriate options. If the issue persists, try restarting your Mac or updating the operating system.

How to bring back Safari Favorites Icons

When Apple first introduced the favicon feature on Safari, most people unsurprisingly jumped on it enthusiastically. The convenience of quickly locating your favorite website on a tab or bookmark list was too good to pass up. Precious seconds are saved by that little image appearing in the history list of the Safari browser, while not seeing it can put some people off whatever they are doing on the internet. Even though the Safari favorites icon appears distorted or missing, we’re here to tell you that you can quickly recover the icon by following a few simple steps on your MacBook. 

Method 1: Clear Safari favorites icons cache  

Clearing the Safari favorites icons cache and starting over is the universal way of solving the problem of incorrect and missing favicons on your computer. Follow the steps below to get your favorite icons back. 

• Shut or quit Safari.
• Go to Finder on your Mac.  
• Next, click on Go, then select Go To Folder on the visible menu.
• A pop-up menu will appear, and you will need to type in/Library/Safari/Favicon Cache/ 
• Once you’ve typed that in, you need to click on Go.
• You must send all the items in the folder on your screen to Trash. Pressing the Command and the A key simultaneously selects all the files in the folder, then you can drag them to the trash. You can also right-click the files and select Move To Trash on the menu that appears on the screen. 
• Empty the entire trash or delete the items from the favicon cache folder only. The simplest way to empty your trash is by right-clicking the trash icon on your dock and selecting Empty Trash. 
• Open your Safari browser again and visit your saved sites. 

The incorrect or distorted images should appear correctly. The favicon cache rebuilds itself as you visit your saved sites. However, in rare cases, some alternatives might help. I’ll now look at some of the methods that you can use. Feel free to try them all, as none take a long time to complete.

Also Read: How to Fix Finder Not Responding on Mac

There is no guarantee that this alternative method will work, but it is worth a try if clearing the favicon cache is not working or if you prefer not to use it. Safari has a private window that does not store browsing history, and you can use this feature to try and refresh your favicons.

• Right-click on Safari in the Dock
• Select New Private Window
• Visit the site with the incorrect or missing favicons
• Close Private Window

The favicons should return to normal working conditions after this. You can try these further steps in the Private Window.

• Select Preferences and click on Privacy on the Safari menu
• Click on Manage Website Data, and a list of sites will appear
• Choose the site that is causing issues and click on Remove
• Click on Done to finish the process
• Go back to the non-private window and open the website again.

Your Mac should be able to rebuild the favicon cache on its own. If you know your way around the device, you can manually make another favicon cache folder, but this is not a recommended route. It is better to contact the Apple Support center.    

If you continue having issues with favicons, create a new user on your Mac. This method has worked for others on the Apple Community Forum , where users try to help each other solve various challenges with Mac. One user managed to retrieve all the missing favicons using this method. 

• Select System Preferences (System Settings on macOS Ventura and above) on your menu and click Users & Groups
• Click on Add at the bottom of the dialogue box.   
• Choose the type of user, preferably the Administrator. 
• Enter the name of the new user and a password.
• Click on Add User.

The first time you open Safari under the new user profile, favicons should all work perfectly. \

Also Read: How to Change Admin Name on Mac

The Mac has a preference setting that allows tabs to display icons when you’re on Safari. Check that your preferences are set correctly by following these simple steps. 

• Open Safari 
• Click on Safari in the menu bar
• Select Preferences 
• Click on Tabs, and a list of preferences will show up
• Tick the box allowing website icons to be shown. 

The image below shows the box that you should tick. You can try doing this a couple of times while restarting your device. Try this method several times, restarting your device each time. 

If you use Time Machine to backup files, then you can use it to retrieve files and items. The good thing about Time Machine is that it works with almost all Mac apps. Here is a reminder of how to open Time Machine and retrieve files and items. 

• Click on the Time Machine icon. If the icon is not there, go to System Preferences (System Settings on macOS Ventura and above) and click Time Machine on the Apple menu.
• Click on Show Time Machine in the menu bar to browse backups and local snapshots.
• Use the arrows to look through your missing files and items. When you see the files you need, click Restore. 

You can restore all the files at once or one by one. When restored, the files return to the original folder. Remember, you need to have already set your device to back up to the Time Machine for this method to work perfectly.   

Also Read: How to Turn off Time Machine on a Mac

Your Safari favorites icons missing challenge can also be solved by updating your device. The macOS Catalina 10.15.7 Combo update fixes issues that prevent files from syncing with iCloud and resolves graphics. You can download this update and see if the problem is solved. 

Follow these steps to download software updates on your Mac. 

• Open the Apple menu and choose System Preferences (System Settings on macOS Ventura and above).
• Click on Software Update.
• Open the Software Update preferences for the Safari folder.

You can also find a list of available updates in the Apple Store or set your device to check for software updates in the System Preferences (System Settings on macOS Ventura and above) automatically. However, for this particular issue of missing favicons, the Catalina 10.15.7 Combo update should be able to help. 

Method 7: Use the safe mode         

One way of solving issues on your Mac is to restart it in safe mode. The safe mode allows your device to start and run with limited functionality as you try and solve specific issues. You must determine if your device uses Apple silicon, then follow these steps. 

• Shut down your Mac device.
• Turn on your Mac and hold the power tab until the startup options window appears.
• Choose the startup disk. 
• Click the Continue in Safe Mode tab while holding down the shift key.
• Log in, and if asked to, do it again.

If your device uses the Intel processor, follow the instructions below.

• Turn on the Mac
• Press and hold the shift key immediately
• Release the shift key when the login window appears
• Login as per instruction

All the methods mentioned here should help retrieve missing or distorted favicons. If you continue having issues after everything I have touched on here, you may need to reinstall your macOS to ensure that all the third-party apps are up to date. 

Also Read: Best Mac OS Version

Always keep your Mac device updated, as this helps solve issues before they arise. Clearing your favicon cache is the simplest and fastest way of retrieving your missing favicon. If it does not work, you should get joy from the other methods mentioned above. As a last resort, reinstall the operating system. None of your data is removed by reinstalling macOS. Click on the Reinstall macOS tab in the Utilities window and follow the instructions to complete the process. 

Do not close the lid on your Mac until the reinstallation process is finished. Your device will load all the latest software updates and be as good as new. Besides everything I have covered here, you can also contact Apple support and get help.   

Favicons provide a convenient way of quickly identifying websites on tabs, bookmark lists, and browser history. For those using the internet for work, favicons save valuable time and energy since you do not have to type the first few letters of sites to get where you want to be.

Ujjwal is a tech enthusiast with a special interest in everything Apple! He manages and writes on MacMyths.com where sharing anything and everything related to Apple devices and services is his daily thing to do.

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How to turn on and edit the Favorites bar in Safari

A few weeks ago, I received a panicked call from my sister. "My Favorites are gone! I don't know where they went and I don't know how to get them back." The favorites in question weren't Instagram likes or Twitter stars — no, her new work Mac had come with its Bookmarks favorites bar disabled.

It's not uncommon to see this in new OS X Yosemite Macs; Safari's default view sports as few buttons and switches as possible, so as to immerse yourself in the Web browsing experience. But it's an easy fix to reenable the Favorites bar and even edit it.

How to turn on and edit the Bookmarks bar in Safari

Turning the Bookmarks or Favorites bar on is a relatively simple process.

• Open Safari .
• Select the View menu
• Find Show Favorites Bar

(If you like keyboard shortcuts, you can also use Command-Shift-B to show or hide the bar.)

How to add new sites to your Favorites bar in Safari

Once your Favorites bar is visible, there several ways to add new sites and folders to it.

The easiest way to add a website is to drag its icon from the status bar to the Favorites bar; you'll see a green plus button to let you know it's safe to drop it onto the bar.

You can also add or edit favorites by doing the following:

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• Click on the Sidebar icon in the upper left corner of Safari.
• Select the bookmarks icon .
• Open the Favorites section by clicking on the arrow.
• Click Edit .

Inside the Bookmarks editing screen, you can add folders to group bookmarks together, or simply drag bookmarks from their current location into the Favorites toolbar.

How to quickly edit your Favorites bar in Safari

If you'd prefer not to launch the full Favorites editor, you can tweak your favorites in a few different ways.

Rename them or their website: Want a different name for your new bookmark or need to update the address? Control-click (or right click) on a bookmark in the Favorites bar and select Rename Bookmark or Edit Address .

Delete: Don't want a bookmark on your Favorites bar anymore? Just drag it off the toolbar and it'll disappear in a cloud of pixel smoke.

Copy for later: Need to share an address with someone? Control-click on a bookmark and select Copy to save it to your clipboard.

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How To Change Safari Favorites Icons

• Software & Applications
• Browsers & Extensions

Introduction

Safari, the default web browser for Apple devices, offers a personalized browsing experience through its "Favorites" feature. These favorites, represented by icons, provide quick access to frequently visited websites, making it convenient to navigate the web. However, the default icons may not always align with your preferences or the visual aesthetic you desire. Fortunately, Safari allows users to customize these icons, adding a touch of personalization to their browsing experience.

In this article, we will delve into the process of changing Safari favorites icons, empowering you to infuse your browsing experience with a dash of individuality. Whether you wish to match the icons to your website's branding, create a cohesive visual theme, or simply add a personal touch to your browsing interface, the ability to modify these icons offers a world of creative possibilities.

By understanding the steps involved in this customization process, you can elevate your browsing experience and make it uniquely yours. So, let's embark on this journey to unlock the potential for personalization within Safari, as we explore the steps to change Safari favorites icons.

Understanding Safari Favorites Icons

Safari's "Favorites" feature serves as a convenient gateway to frequently visited websites, allowing users to access their preferred online destinations with just a click. These favorites are represented by icons, which not only provide visual cues but also contribute to the overall browsing experience. Each icon serves as a visual identifier for a specific website, offering a glimpse into its content or branding.

The default icons assigned to favorites in Safari may not always align with users' preferences or the desired visual aesthetic. This misalignment can prompt the need for customization, as users seek to imbue their browsing experience with a touch of personalization. Whether it's aligning the icons with a specific color scheme, matching them to a website's branding, or simply adding a personal flair, the ability to modify these icons offers a myriad of creative opportunities.

Understanding the significance of these icons goes beyond mere visual appeal. They play a crucial role in streamlining the browsing process, enabling users to quickly identify and access their preferred websites. By customizing these icons, users can create a cohesive visual theme within their browsing interface, enhancing the overall aesthetic and usability.

Moreover, the process of changing Safari favorites icons empowers users to take ownership of their browsing experience. It allows for a deeper level of personalization, enabling individuals to curate a browsing environment that resonates with their unique preferences and visual sensibilities.

In essence, the icons associated with Safari favorites are more than just visual markers; they are a means of expression and personalization within the digital realm. Understanding their significance sets the stage for the exploration of the steps involved in customizing these icons, as users seek to infuse their browsing experience with a touch of individuality and creativity.

Steps to Change Safari Favorites Icons

Identify the Desired Icon : Begin by selecting or creating the icon you wish to use for the Safari favorite. This could be an existing image that represents the website, a custom-designed icon, or a logo that aligns with your visual preferences.

Convert the Image to .ICNS Format : Safari requires the icon to be in .icns format for it to be used as a favorite icon. If your chosen icon is not in this format, you can utilize online converters or graphic design software to convert it accordingly.

Access the Website's HTML Code : To change the favorite icon for a specific website, you need to access the HTML code of that site. This can be done by right-clicking on the website's page and selecting "Inspect" or "View Page Source," depending on your browser .

Locate the Icon Link : Within the HTML code, search for the link rel="icon" or link rel="shortcut icon" tag. This tag specifies the location of the current favorite icon used by the website.

Replace the Icon Link : Once you have located the icon link, replace the existing URL with the file path of the .icns icon you wish to use. Ensure that the file path is accurate and leads to the desired icon.

Save and Refresh : After making the necessary changes to the HTML code, save the file and refresh the website in Safari. This allows the browser to update and display the new favorite icon associated with the website.

Verify the Change : Upon refreshing the website, verify that the new favorite icon is displayed in the Safari browser. The updated icon should now appear alongside the website's title in the Favorites section, reflecting your personalized choice.

Repeat for Additional Websites : If you wish to change the icons for multiple websites in your Safari Favorites, repeat the process for each website, ensuring that the respective HTML code is updated with the new icon links.

By following these steps, you can seamlessly customize the icons associated with your Safari Favorites, infusing your browsing experience with a personalized touch that reflects your unique visual preferences and creative flair.

In conclusion, the ability to change Safari favorites icons offers a gateway to personalization within the browsing experience. By understanding the significance of these icons and the steps involved in customizing them, users can elevate their browsing interface to align with their unique visual preferences and creative inclinations.

The process of changing Safari favorites icons empowers users to curate a browsing environment that resonates with their individuality. It goes beyond mere visual customization; it embodies a sense of ownership and personal expression within the digital realm. Whether it's aligning the icons with a specific color scheme, matching them to a website's branding, or simply adding a personal touch, the customization of these icons opens a realm of creative possibilities.

By identifying the desired icons, converting them to the required .icns format, and updating the HTML code of the respective websites, users can seamlessly infuse their browsing experience with a touch of individuality. This process allows for a cohesive visual theme within the Safari Favorites, enhancing the overall aesthetic and usability.

Furthermore, the ability to change Safari favorites icons fosters a sense of connection and familiarity with frequently visited websites. It streamlines the browsing process, enabling users to quickly identify and access their preferred online destinations with a visual cue that resonates with their personal preferences.

In essence, the customization of Safari favorites icons transcends mere visual appeal; it embodies a form of digital self-expression. It empowers users to craft a browsing environment that reflects their unique tastes and preferences, fostering a deeper sense of connection and personalization within the digital landscape.

As users embark on the journey to modify their Safari favorites icons, they embark on a path of creative exploration and personalization, infusing their browsing experience with a touch of individuality that reflects their unique visual sensibilities. This process not only enhances the visual appeal of the browsing interface but also fosters a deeper sense of ownership and personal connection within the digital realm.

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How to Customize Your Favorite Sites in Safari for iOS

Your favorite websites appear at the top under Favorites, and you can customize these bookmarks right from the start page. Tap and hold a folder or an individual site's favicon to reveal the start page's preview screen and contextual menu, where you'll find options to Edit or Delete the item.

Note that if you move a site out of your starred Favorites folder, it becomes a regular bookmark and will no longer appear in Safari's start page.

The only other thing to keep in mind is that if you have Safari turned on in your iCloud settings, any changes you make will be synced to any other Apple devices linked to the same Apple ID .

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Customize Safari Toolbar, Favorites, Tab, and Status Bars

Personalize the Safari browser window to suit your style

Tom Nelson is an engineer, programmer, network manager, and computer network and systems designer who has written for Other World Computing,and others. Tom is also president of Coyote Moon, Inc., a Macintosh and Windows consulting firm.

Customize the Toolbar

Return to the default toolbar.

• Bookmarks Are Called Favorites
• Hide or Show the Favorites Bar

Hide or Show the Tab Bar

Hide or show the status bar.

Like many applications, Safari lets you tweak its interface to suit your preferences. You can customize, hide, or show the toolbar, bookmarks bar, favorites bar, tab bar, and status bar. Configuring these Safari interface bars to suit the way you use the browser can save you time and effort.

The toolbar runs across the top of the Safari screen, where the address area is. Here's how to add and remove items to your liking.

From the View menu, select Customize Toolbar .

Select an item you want to add to the toolbar and drag it to the toolbar. Safari will automatically adjust the size of the address and search fields to make room for the new item(s). When you finish, choose Done .

Try adding iCloud Tabs to easily continue browsing sites right where you left off when using other Apple devices. Select Text Size to add the capability to change the size of text on a page quickly.

Alternatively, right-click in an open space in the toolbar and select Customize Toolbar .

You can adjust a couple of other things very quickly, too:

• Rearrange icons in the toolbar by clicking and dragging them to a new location.
• Delete an item from the toolbar by right-clicking it and selecting Remove Item from the pop-up menu.

If you get carried away with customizing the toolbar, and you're not happy with the result, it's easy to return to the default toolbar.

Click and drag the default toolbar set from the bottom of the window to the toolbar.

Click Done .

Safari Favorites Shortcuts

Apple changed the name of the bar from bookmarks to Favorites with the release of OS X Mavericks . No matter what you call the bar, it's a handy place to store links to favorite websites.

Hide or Show the Bookmarks or Favorites Bar 

If you don't use the Favorites bar or want to gain a little screen real estate, you can close the bar. Simply select View > Hide Favorites Bar ( or Hide Favorites Bar , depending on the version of Safari you are using).

If you change your mind and decide you miss the bookmarks bar, go to the View menu and select Show Bookmarks Bar or Show Favorites bar.

In OS X Yosemite and later: Web page titles no longer appear in the toolbar area of the Safari browser if you have the tab bar hidden. Displaying the Tab Bar allows you to see the current page title, even if you don't use tabs.

Like other browsers, Safari supports tabbed browsing , which lets you have multiple pages open without having multiple browser windows open.

If you open a webpage in a new tab, Safari will automatically show the tab bar. If you want the tab bar always to be visible, even if you only have a single web page open, select View > Show Tab Bar .

To hide the tab bar, select View > Hide Tab Bar .

If you have more than one page open in a tab, you'll need to close the tabs before you can hide the tab bar. Click or tap the Close button (the little "X") in a tab to close it.

The status bar displays at the bottom of the Safari window. If you let your mouse hover over a link on a web page, the status bar will show the URL for that link, so you can see where you're going before you click the link. In most cases, this isn't important, but sometimes it's nice to check a URL before you go to the page, especially if the link is sending you to a different website.

• To display the status bar, select View > Show Status Bar .
• To hide the status bar, select View > Hide Status Bar .

Experiment with the Safari toolbar, favorites, tab, and status bars to find what works best for you. Generally, you'll find that having all the bars visible is most helpful, but if you need to maximize your viewing area, closing one or all is always an option.

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How To : This Hidden Setting Gives Safari's Favorites Bar Better-Looking Shortcuts to Your Most-Used Bookmarks

Apple has a new way to tidy up your favorite bookmarks in Safari , making them easier to access than ever before. This new feature saves space, allowing you to quickly see more of your favorites at the same time.

While you can quickly access any of your iCloud-synced favorite bookmarks in Safari from your iPhone, iPad, or Mac, the newest Safari feature is for macOS and iPadOS only since it's all about the Favorites Bar. The bookmarks bar has been available in Safari on macOS for a while but has only become an iPad option since iPadOS 17 .

To show the Favorites Bar on macOS, go to View –> Show Favorites in Safari's menu bar. On iPadOS, go to Settings –> Safari and toggle on "Show Favorites Bar."

• Don't Miss: Create Safari Profiles to Separate Browsing Activity for Personal, Work, and Other Topics on Your iPhone or iPad

Since the initial release of macOS 14 Sonoma and iPadOS 17, Safari 17 has included an option to hide favicons, or website icons, from bookmarks in the Favorites Bar. It also affects folder icons and works with Safari 17 on the older macOS versions.

With the feature, favicons will still appear on tabs, history results, and Safari's Start Page on macOS and iPadOS, as well as in the list that pops up after you click the "Show more bookmarks" icon (>>) at the end of the Favorites Bar on macOS. However, it will increase the number of favorites you see on the Favorites Bar as a whole.

In the Safari 17.4 update for macOS, released March 7, two days after it became available on iPadOS 17 , there's an even better way to save space in the Favorites Bar. Instead of removing the icons, you can remove the text, freeing up even more room for additional bookmarks to show at once in the bar. Let's see how it all works below, but make sure you're running Safari 17.4 first.

• Don't Miss: 30 New Features and Changes for Your iPhone on iOS 17.4 and iPadOS 17.4

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Option 1: show/hide titles per bookmark on mac, option 2: show/hide titles per bookmark on ipad, option 3: show/hide all titles or icons on mac, option 4: show/hide all titles or icons on ipad.

To show only the icon of a specific webpage in your Favorites Bar on macOS, right-click or Control-click the bookmark in the bar and deselect "Show Title." Only the webpage's icon will show. However, if the bookmark gets pushed off into the hidden "Show more bookmarks" list, its name will still appear next to its icon.

To return the name, right-click or Control-click the bookmark in the bar and select "Show Title."

Before Safari 17.4, the only option was "Show Icons," which applied to the whole Favorites Bar. This option showed only the title of bookmarks for everything visible in the bar. There was no option to show only website icons.

To show only the icon of a specific webpage in your Favorites Bar on iPadOS, long-press or tap and hold the bookmark in the bar, tap "Edit," toggle off "Show Title," and hit "Save."

Only the webpage's icon will show. However, if the bookmark gets pushed off into the hidden "More" list (•••), its name will still appear next to a bookmark icon (favicons don't appear in this list).

To bring the name back, long-press or tap and hold the bookmark in the bar, tap "Edit," toggle on "Show Title," and hit "Save."

This was not possible prior to iPadOS 17.4.

If you want to change how the bookmarks and folders look in the Favorites Bar on macOS en masse, right-click or Control-click the Favorites Bar but not a bookmark or folder directly.

To keep the default settings on the Favorites Bar, make sure "Show Icons and Text" is selected. This is also how things appear in the hidden "Show more bookmarks" list. If you choose any of the other options, you won't be able to show or hide titles for individual webpages.

To show only website icons on the Favorites Bar, select "Show Icons Only." Folder names will still appear next to folder icons since you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between them otherwise. And if the webpage's symbol gets pushed to the hidden "Show more bookmarks" list, its name will still appear next to its icon.

To show only text on the Favorites Bar, select "Show Text Only." All website and folder icons will disappear, and only bookmark titles and folder names will remain. Folders will be distinguishable by the chevron symbol next to them.

If the bookmark's or folder's name ends up in the hidden "Show more bookmarks" list, its icon will still appear next to its title.

Your only option before Safari 17.4 was "Show Icons." There was no option to show only website icons.

To change how the bookmarks and folders look in the entire Favorites Bar on iPadOS, go to Settings –> Safari –> Favorites Bar Appearance. The default option is "Show Icons and Text." If you choose any of the other options, you won't be able to show or hide titles for individual webpages.

To show only website icons on the Favorites Bar, select "Show Icons Only." Folder names will still appear next to folder icons since you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between them otherwise. And if the webpage's symbol gets pushed to the hidden "More" list, its name will still appear next to a bookmark icon.

To show only text on the Favorites Bar, select "Show Text Only." All website and folder icons will disappear, and only bookmark titles and folder names will remain. Folders will be distinguishable by the chevron symbol next to them. This text-only setting was available for Safari on iPad before iPadOS 17.4 by disabling the "Show Icons in Favorites Bar" switch in Settings –> Safari.

If the bookmark's or folder's name ends up in the hidden "More" list, a bookmark or folder icon will still appear next to its title.

Just updated your iPhone? You'll find new features for TV, Messages, News, and Shortcuts, as well as important bug fixes and security patches. Find out what's new and changed on your iPhone with the iOS 17.6 update.

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Tips & Tricks

Troubleshooting, how to show website favicons in safari for mac.

Modern versions of Safari for Mac include favicon (favorite icon) support, offering a visual indicator of webpages in the titlebar and tab bar of the Safari browser. Nearly every other web browser on the Mac (and other operating systems) has had favicon support for quite some time, but this is a relatively new addition to Safari and to show the website icons in Safari for Mac you must first enable favicon support in preferences as the feature is not enabled by default.

For some quick background, most websites have favicons that help to differentiate a website URL when a site is active in a browser, bookmarked, or favorited. The small favicon is next to the webpages name when shown in a tab or window of a web browser.

How to Enable Website Icons / favicons in Safari for Mac

• Open the Safari app on the Mac if you haven’t done so already
• Pull down the Safari menu and choose “Preferences”
• Choose “Tabs”
• Toggle the switch for “Show website icons in tabs” so that it’s checked and enabled

• Close out of Safari preferences

The website icons are immediately visible in any tabbed window in Safari or bookmark bar of Safari. Just look at the top of the tabs section of a Safari browser window to see the favicons.

Of course if you decide you don’t like favicons in Safari, you can hide them again just as easily as you enabled them.

How to Hide / Disable Website Icons / favicons in Safari for Mac

• Open the Safari app on the Mac
• Pull down the Safari menu and select “Preferences”
• Select “Tabs”
• Toggle the switch for “Show website icons in tabs” so that it is not checked, thereby disabling favicons in Safari

• Close out of Safari preferences and use the browser as usual

Hiding Favicons is the default setting in Safari, so this is just returning to that.

If you don’t find this feature available in your version of Safari it’s likely because it does not support favicons, as only modern releases of Safari support the display of website favorite icons. You can either update Safari to the newest version, or you can also download Safari Technology Preview which has the latest beta features available to it, including favicon support and other features that may appear in future releases (the tech preview is sort of like a public beta of Safari).

For anyone wondering, this works the same on the Safari final versions, as well as Safari Technology Preview and Safari Developer Preview builds as well.

This obviously pertains to the Mac, but you can enable Safari website icons (favicons) support in Safari for iPhone and iPad too if desired.

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Related articles:

• How to Show Website Icons (FavIcons) in Safari for iPad & iPhone
• How to Turn Off Split Screen in Safari for iPad? Exiting Safari Split Screen in iPadOS
• How to Disable favicon Support in Firefox
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» Comments RSS Feed

Cool now how about this feature on iPad and iPhone, might be useful there too.

I never realised this is something I need to turn on. Thank you for the tip!

Agree with mofo, Ed Lipp, should be able to use Favicons in Favorites Bar. I mean, that’s why they’re called FAVICONS…

Nice, thanks for the tip!

I didn’t realize I had to enable this in Preferences, thank you. I have now done so but have an additional question/comment: all the website favicons are showing up in grey & white; none are in color. Is there another setting I need to change?

Nope. Still won’t use it. I want FavIcons on the mofo Favorite Bar, where they’re actually most useful, so i don’t have to keep text names and waste space. Unbelievable those dumb f**ks still won’t at least give us the god-damn choice like every other mofo web browser on earth

Thanks Tim Cook…

Hmmm, those favicons cannot track the users? It is vey similar to pixels…

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How to Enable Favicons in Safari on iPhone, iPad, or Mac

Updated on:

On Safari in iOS 12 to iOS 14, users have access to the Favourite icon, known as Favicon. It is a tiny visual webpage indicator on the title bar and tab bar. These little icons let you see the websites open in your browser at once. This can eventually be of great help to avoid juggling multiple tabs and trying to keep things organized. So, let’s take a look at how to  enable favicons in Safari on an iPhone, iPad, or Mac.

How to Turn ON Favicons in Safari on iPhone and iPad

How to show website favicons in safari for mac.

• Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
• Scroll down, tap on ‘Safari’

• Open Safari browser on your Mac, if you haven’t yet. Locate and tap the Safari tab at the top left corner next to the Apple icon.

Close the pop-up window and continue using your browser. The feature gets active instantly.

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With its recent updates, iPhone, iPad, and Mac are adorned with many features and design elements. In case you still haven’t upgraded your device or are unaware about the offerings, or have any other query/feedback, please feel free to connect with us through our comment section or drop a direct mail. We’d be delighted to hear from you.

You may also like to read these posts:

• How to Enable Safari Popup Blocker on iPhone
• How to Delete Frequently Visited Sites in Safari
• How to Search Within a Webpage in Safari in iPhone
• Translate Webpages in Safari on iPhone

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Today’s nyt connections hints, answers and help for aug. 30 #446, streisand effect: apple gets concept renderer to take down concept art for being ‘too realistic’, 5 takeaways from kamala harris and tim walz’s first joint interview since launching their campaign, spacex will provide internet service to users in brazil for free, analysts and industry execs say nvidia’s blackwell engineering challenges stem from combining two new processors and several memory components in a single chip (asa fitch/wall street journal), feds bust alaska man with 10,000+ csam images despite his many encrypted apps, sources: intel explores options to cope with historic slump, including a split of its product and foundry units and potentially scrapping some factory projects (bloomberg), starlink will now be free in brazil: musk, daily horoscope: august 29, 2024, how to manage the top sites feature in safari.

Safari, Apple’s go-to browser for its macOS and iOS devices, comes with a handy feature called the Top Sites. The Top Sites feature displays a list of your most visited websites on Safari’s homepage. It’s not only an aesthetically pleasing feature, but it also allows for quick access to your favorite sites.

Here’s how you can manage the Top Sites feature in Safari.

1. Show or Hide Top Sites If you want to show Top Sites, make sure that the setting is enabled in Safari preferences. Open Safari, go to Safari > Preferences, and click on the General tab. Under “New windows open with,” select “Top Sites.” If you don’t want to use Top Sites, you can switch back to showing a traditional homepage instead by selecting “Homepage” under “New windows open with.”

2. Edit and Rearrange Top Sites To rearrange Top Sites, hover your cursor over a site’s thumbnail, click and hold, and then drag it to a new location. If you want to delete a site from Top Sites, hover over the site’s thumbnail and click the “x” that appears in the top-left corner. If you want to add a website to Top Sites, visit the site, click the plus sign (+) icon in the top-right corner of the Safari window, and then select “Add to Top Sites.”

3. Pinning and Unpinning Top Sites You can also pin Top Sites to keep them at the top of your list. Hover over a site’s thumbnail and click the “Pin” icon that appears in the top-left corner to pin it. To unpin a site, hover over its thumbnail and click the “Pin” icon again.

4. Adjust the Number of Sites Shown By default, Safari shows 12 Top Sites on its homepage. However, you can increase or decrease the number of sites shown. Go to Safari > Preferences > General and adjust the “Top Sites shows” setting to your preference.

5. Clear Top Sites If you want to clear your Top Sites history to start fresh, go to Safari > Clear History and select “Top Sites” from the dropdown list of options.

In conclusion, Safari’s Top Sites feature is a time-saver for frequent web surfers. You can edit, rearrange, pin/unpin, adjust the number of sites, and clear Top Sites as per your convenience. Knowing how to manage the Top Sites feature can make your browsing experience more streamlined and efficient.

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iOS 12: How to enable favicons (site icons on tabs) in Safari

For years, Safari has ignored one of the most useful tiny little features of modern web browsers: favicons. Those are the little site-specific icons that show up in browser tabs and bookmark lists to help you quickly identify sites.

In iOS 12 (and macOS Mojave ), favicons are finally supported in Safari! But you have to turn them on first. The feature is most useful for those who use the iPad or an Plus-sized iPhone, which show browser tabs in a single window, but you’ll see Favicons on your website “cards” in portrait orientation on an iPhone, too.

Favicons—those little site icons on tabs—are most useful on iPads where you can see many tabs at once.

Enabling Favicons

To turn favicons on, open Settings . Scroll down to Safari and tap on that (it’s in the list of Apple apps). Scroll down to the General section and flip the switch next to Show Icons in Tabs .

That’s it! Now favicons will show up in your Safari tabs.

On the left, Safari cards on iPhone without favicons. On the right, with favicons enabled.

Author: Jason Cross , Senior Editor, Macworld

Jason has written about technology for more than 25 years - first in the gaming press, then focusing on enthusiast PCs and general technology. He enjoys learning how complicated technology works and explaining it in a way anyone can understand.

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Safari User Guide

• Get started
• Go to a website
• Bookmark webpages to revisit
• See your favorite websites
• Use tabs for webpages
• Import bookmarks and passwords
• Pay with Apple Pay
• Autofill credit card info
• View links from friends
• Keep a Reading List
• Hide ads when reading
• Translate a webpage
• Download items from the web
• Add passes to Wallet
• Save part or all of a webpage
• Print or create a PDF of a webpage
• Interact with text in a picture
• Change your homepage
• Customize a start page
• Create a profile
• Block pop-ups
• Make Safari your default web browser
• Hide your email address
• Manage cookies
• Clear your browsing history
• Browse privately
• Prevent cross-site tracking
• See who tried to track you
• Change Safari settings
• Keyboard and other shortcuts

Pin frequently visited websites in Safari on Mac

You can pin any website you visit frequently. Pinned sites stay put on the left side of your tab bar, and at the top of Tab Groups in the sidebar, so you can easily get to them at any time. Each Tab Group can have its own pinned websites.

Open Safari for me

Pin a website

You can also Control-click a tab, then choose Pin Tab.

Rearrange pinned sites

Unpin a website.

You can also Control-click a pinned site, then choose Unpin Tab.

Duplicate a pinned site

The pinned site opens in a separate tab.

Close a pinned tab

Pinned sites stay in place, even when you open a new Safari window or quit and reopen Safari.

When you click a link to another website from a pinned site, the other website opens in a new tab. Your pinned site always shows the website you pinned.

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

Top sites on Safari 15

I recently upgraded to Safari 15. On 14 you could hover over icons and hit the x to delete and you there was also a top sites option in the bookmarks section. Now there is neither. Is there any way to add or delete items from top site. I use this as my home page

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Sep 28, 2021 7:36 PM

Posted on Sep 29, 2021 3:45 PM

Yes I found the customize home screen and also how to delete things from the top sites. But apparently there is no way for the user to opt to add sites to the top sites. On previous Safaris Top Sites was actually an option when you went to Add Bookmarks. It actually showed up as a separate item under bookmarks in the menu. I know I can always put frequently used sites as an icon to the left of the tab bar but I am wondering if I cannot add sites to the top sites myself how many times do you have to go to a site before safari adds it to the top sites on the home screen.

Similar questions

• Top Sites I have been unable to figure out how to add and pin websites in my top site on my safari start page. Five of the websites carried over from before the update, and they're completely fine and don't change, but the last five randomly change as I use safari, and I have been unable to figure out how to specify what websites I want on my start page, and pin the ones I want to keep. As it is now I keep having to delete pages that show up in the last two spots because it will be websites I have visited only a couple of times and which I really don't need in my top pages, while the ones I do need disappear the next time I return to the start page. It's a really frustrating problem, does anyone have a potential solution? 431 1
• Top sites in Safari 14 Hello! Is there any way to customize top sites in safari 14? Looks like Apple killed a useful feature, again. 413 1
• Safari 14 Top Sites Gone Hi, I just updated to the new Safari 14. Where are my top sites? Can I add them in the new start page? 782 5

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Sep 29, 2021 3:45 PM in response to barberlives123

Sep 29, 2021 2:37 PM in response to dyerkutn

Hi dyerkutn,

Thanks for reaching out using Apple Support Communities. Here to help.

We understand you are inquiring about changes in Safari features.

Customizing the home screen is still available, including showing a section for frequently visited and favorites. You may want to check the Start Page options in the bottom right corner to ensure all sections you are looking for are enabled. You can also remove individual items from the Frequently Visited or Favorites by performing a secondary click on the website and choosing Delete.

More about customizing the start page in Safari can be reviewed below.

Customize the start page in Safari on Mac

Hope this helps! Let us know if we can assist any further.

How To Use the Safari 14 Start Page

Check out How To Use the Safari 14 Start Page at YouTube for closed captioning and more options.

Comments: 30 Responses to “How To Use the Safari 14 Start Page”

We'll have to agree to disagree whether the new start page is an improvement over Top Sites. I am already displaying Favorites above the tab bar, so sticking that on a start page is pretty redundant. I loved the way I could add, rearrange and pin up to 24 sites on the old Top Sites screen. The Frequently Visited "feature" has NONE of that functionality. I have submitted feedback to Apple, but I'm not holding my breath for a change of heart.

I could not agree more with Chris S. How does one leave feedback with Apple?

Mac: https://www.apple.com/feedback/

The text size on my new Safari 14 is tiny. It looks as if I can't go bigger than 14 but I can't even get that. Please help.

Bob: The size of text would depend on the website and their styles. You an always use Reader View if a site's text is too small for you to read.

Gary Is there a way to clear the Privacy Report on Safari 14.0? If so please le me know.

lali: No. Curious -- why would you need to do that?

Gary, the "Show iCloud Tabs" is not showing up as an option in the Start Page. I'm using Safari 14.0 in Catalina.

nick: You need to be using iCloud on multiple machines, have Safari enabled in iCloud (it is by default) and also have some web page currently open on another machine to have anything there.

You can sort of reproduce the "Top Sites" functionality in Safari 14.0. Go to the Start Page, and click on the Settings icon in the lower right corner. Select only "Favorites". Then open the Sidebar and select Bookmarks. Create a new Favorites folder. Name the folder "Start Page". Load the folder up with the sites you want on your Start Page. Then go to General Preferences and select that "Start Page" folder from the "Favorites Shows" dropdown. Quit and restart Safari.

mark: I pretty much say that in this video. But I suggest using both Favorites and Frequently Visited, since Top Sites was essentially that. So, why is it important to have it named Top Sites instead of Favorites? It is just a name.

how do you both add to and delete websites from frequently visited; before it was so easy with top sites

Arthur: You can't "add" them as it is a list off Frequently Visited sites. A site will appear there if you frequently visit it. If you want to add a site to the Start Page, use Favorites. You can remove a site from Frequently Visited, however, by Control+clicking on it.

Since the only way to really get back the features from Safari 13 seems to be downgrading, I think I'll try that route. You guys know if restoring a Time Machine backup from before Safari 14 should work?

John: That's not a valid option. You'll then be stuck with Catalina and Safari 13 for the rest of your life (until you get a new Mac) without new features or security updates. Eventually it will stop syncing properly with iCloud and website won't work as new HTML features won't be supported. What is so bad about Safari 14?

Gary Rosenzweig: I don't plan to stick with Safari 13 forever, this is meant to be more of a temporary solution while I wait and see if Apple will respond user feedback and bring back those features. The ones that I'm missing the most are the Top Sites start page, which was central to how i used Safari, and the old Tab System (being able to see both favicon and tab title, and also to close a tab while displaying another tab without having to right-click on it first).

John: Try using the Start Page with Favorites being the sites you had "pinned" previously, and Frequently Visited being the rest of "Top Sites." You can see favicons and titles just like before, and you can close tabs without having to switch -- just click on the X in the tab.

Gary Rosenzweig: It's not possible to edit the "Frequently Visited" section though, only to remove sites that are already there. And the Favourites icons are too small, not having enough space even for the site's title. Moreover, you can't have both favicon and tab title in the new Tab System, only one of the two, and when favicon are enabled you lose the ability to show the "X" on the tabs while hovering over them.

John: Right, so if you want a site to always appear, add it to your Favorites. You can definitely have the favicon and title. I'm looking at it right now. Maybe you have a ton of tabs open so there is no room? I see the Xs there too, if I move my cursor over them.

I just tested now with a new window: yes you can have favicons+tab title, though the title disappears at the 15th tab... so pretty useless for me (and i guess the majority of people) since i have more than 15 open at all times

John: 15 tabs? I don't know if that's a majority of people. How would you even have room for the favicon and title with lots of tabs? I rarely have more than 3. Anyway, I doubt Apple is going to ever go back to Top Sites.

Well, before the tabs closer to the currently displayed one had full titles and favicon, the others to the left we visible only by sliding horizontally on the tabs bar. Worked like a charm. And yeah, Top Sites is probably gone for good, and that's the real dealbreaker for me, it was so central to using Safari...

I don't remember which websites I had in my top sites (some, not all). Does Apple have a way for us to retrieve this info? My laptop auto updated and I opened it up to this new mess about Start pages.

AJ: No, there's no way to retrieve that. But you should still have your History and of course your Bookmarks.

Mark, that worked! At first I could not figure out how to create a favorites folder so I looked that up. It was just a regular bookmarks folder that I dragged up to the Favorites section. Thanks!

Really missing Top Sites! I was using it mostly for my leisure daily boomarks. It was so good to have this additional customisable Top Sites section as alternative to more complex Favorites section. ( I'm using my Favorites a lot for my pro research work in very complex way adding subfolders etc. )

A good example of Apples decline

Anyone missing top sites use Mark’s suggestion. It worked! Thanks so much Mark.

I'd already done Mark's suggestion, but it's a poor substitute for Top Sites, which were easy to see. I agree it's the only option, though. I wish Favorites could at least display in the same way as Frequently Visited; that would help. Frequently Visited often drops sites, even though I visit them daily! It's not keeping track of what I do; today, there's only one site! Why can't it at least keep what's recent? I can find no setting to manage this. I miss the functional simplicity of Top Sites.

I too am missing the actual displayed images and easy functionality of Top Sites. The favicons that now appear in the Favorites listing are not the same as the actual favicons of many of my preferred websites. So it takes extra unnecessary time to identify them since there is no image displayed of the website. This feels like another Apple change that serves their technology without taking into consideration their customers. I'll try the alternative mentioned for recreating faux Top Sites.

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How to Hide Top Sites in Safari

For your convenience, Safari keeps track of the sites you visit most frequently and shows them to you as your "top sites" when you open a new tab on the Mac or "frequently visited sites" on the iPad. If you're not crazy about this feature, you can customize it or turn it off.

Hide the Top Sites in Safari on the Mac

You can't completely get rid of the Top Sites in Safari in OS X, but you can make that page showing the sites you frequently visit harder for others to find.

1. Click Safari then Preferences in the browser menu. You could also use the Command+, keyboard shortcut.

2. Change the default for new windows and new tabs to anything other than Top Sites. You could set it to your home page, an empty page, or your current page.

3. (Optional) Change the number of sites shown in the Top Sites list. Instead of 12 sites, you can have Safari show only 6 sites or as much as 24 sites.

4. Close the Preferences window.

Top Sites will still be available under the Bookmarks menu > Show Top Sites, but those site thumbnails won't be shown to you (or anyone who looks over your shoulder) every time the browser opens or a new tab is opened.

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If you don't want to hide the Top Sites completely, you can remove websites from it by clicking the X for each thumbnail. Also, if you pin 12 sites in place (or the number of sites you chose to show in the Top Sites list), no new websites will be automatically added to the page.

How to Disable Top Sites in Safari in iOS

With iOS 9, you can disable the frequently visited sites feature.

1. Open the Settings app and scroll down to Safari.

2. Toggle off the "Frequently Visited Sites" option.

When you open a new tab on your iPad, it will only show icons for your bookmarked favorites.

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