show icons bookmarks bar safari

• a. Send us an email
• b. Anonymous form
• Buyer's Guide
• Upcoming Products
• Tips / Contact Us
• Podcast Instagram Facebook Twitter Mastodon YouTube Notifications RSS Newsletter

How to Show and Hide Favicons in Safari Favorites Bar

In Safari 17 and macOS Sonoma , Apple has introduced support for displaying favicons in the Favorites bar. Keep reading to learn why favicons can be useful, and how you can disable them if they aren't for you.

Favicons can usually be found next to anything in a browser's interface that identifies a website. This can include bookmarks, tabs, history results, and search bars.

In Safari 17, if you have the Favorites Bar enabled ( View -> Show Favorites Bar in Safari's menu bar) the favicon for each site will appear beside its title, allowing you to more easily spot it in the bar.

Get weekly top MacRumors stories in your inbox.

Popular Stories

PlayStation, GameCube, Wii, and SEGA Emulator for iPhone and Apple TV Coming to App Store

Delta Game Emulator Now Available From App Store on iPhone

All iPhone 16 Models to Feature Action Button, But Usefulness Debated

12.9-Inch iPad Air Now Rumored to Feature Mini-LED Display

Next article.

Our comprehensive guide highlighting every major new addition in iOS 17, plus how-tos that walk you through using the new features.

App Store changes for the EU, new emoji, Podcasts transcripts, and more.

Get the most out your iPhone 15 with our complete guide to all the new features.

A deep dive into new features in macOS Sonoma, big and small.

Revamped models with OLED displays, M3 chip, and redesigned Magic Keyboard accessory.

Updated 10.9-inch model and new 12.9-inch model, M2 chip expected.

Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference will kick off with a keynote on June 10.

Expected to see new AI-focused features and more. Preview coming at WWDC in June with public release in September.

Other Stories

4 hours ago by MacRumors Staff

1 day ago by MacRumors Staff

2 days ago by MacRumors Staff

3 days ago by MacRumors Staff

How to hide or show website icons in Safari Favorites Bar

Learn how to remove or display the website icons of your favorite bookmarks in Safari’s top Favorites Bar on your iPad and Mac running iPadOS 17 and macOS Sonoma.

Show top Favorites Bar in Safari

Safari on Mac and iPad (not iPhone because of the smaller screen area) lets you show a thin strip of your favorite bookmarks at the top of the browser, just below the URL address bar.

This row of favorite websites is visible at all times, whether you’re on the Safari Start Page or a web page. Plus, it appears in both the Separate and Compact tabs settings.

The Favorites Bar takes a little extra screen area but makes it easy to access your favorite bookmarks without the need to go to the Start Page or open the bookmarks section.

If you have not already enabled this, you can do it by following these steps.

• Open Safari .
• From the top menu bar, click  View  and choose  Show Favorites Bar .
• Alternatively, you can press  Shift + Command + B  keys together to show (or hide) the Favorites Bar.

• Open the  Settings   app .
• Scroll down and tap  Safari .
• Turn on  Show Favorites Bar .

Related: How to pin tabs in Safari

Hide or show website icons in Safari Favorites Bar

Starting with macOS Sonoma and iPadOS 17, the Favorites Bar displays the website icon (also called favicon). This makes it similar to other browsers like Google Chrome that show the favicons in their top bookmarks bar.

For many people, the tiny site icons are not only aesthetically pleasing but can also help identify a bookmark faster.

However, if you feel differently and prefer the old look with only the site name, here’s how to hide those icons from the Favorites Bar.

• Place the mouse or trackpad cursor on the Favorites Bar.
• Right-click or Control-click and uncheck (or check) Show Icons .

• Go to the  Settings   app  and tap  Safari .
• Turn off (or on) the switch for  Show Icons in Favorites Bar .

Other Safari tips:

• How to hide your IP address and prevent tracking in Safari
• How to create and use profiles in Safari on iPhone, iPad, and Mac
• How to refresh website favicons in Safari on Mac

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:

Master your iPhone in minutes

iMore offers spot-on advice and guidance from our team of experts, with decades of Apple device experience to lean on. Learn more with iMore!

• 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.

Serenity was formerly the Managing Editor at iMore, and now works for Apple. She's been talking, writing about, and tinkering with Apple products since she was old enough to double-click. In her spare time, she sketches, sings, and in her secret superhero life, plays roller derby. Follow her on Twitter @settern.

Limitless is a Mac app that hopes to succeed where Humane failed by using AI to turn your computer into a personal assistant

Stage View: Is this app the fix Stage Manager for Mac needs?

Callsheet is an essential iPhone and iPad app for movie lovers

Most Popular

• 2 Nintendo emulators on the App Store are a far cry from the heady days of Miyamoto at an iPhone launch
• 3 macOS 15 set to get a revamped and smarter Calculator app that looks like the one on iOS
• 4 Apple is ruining people's relationships... at least according to Elizabeth Warren
• 5 Apple Vision Pro users can try out their next tech item from the headset with Best Buy's new app

How To Show Bookmarks Bar In Safari

• Software & Applications
• Browsers & Extensions

Introduction

Safari, Apple's widely used web browser, offers a seamless and intuitive browsing experience for its users. One of the key features that enhances user productivity and accessibility is the Bookmarks Bar. This handy toolbar allows users to quickly access their favorite websites, bookmarks, and folders with just a single click, eliminating the need to navigate through multiple menus and tabs.

The Bookmarks Bar, when enabled, appears just below the address bar, providing a convenient space to store and organize frequently visited websites. Whether it's a collection of news websites, productivity tools, or entertainment portals, the Bookmarks Bar serves as a personalized gateway to the web, tailored to the user's browsing habits and preferences.

In this article, we will delve into the process of enabling and customizing the Bookmarks Bar in Safari, empowering users to optimize their browsing experience and streamline access to their most visited online destinations. Whether you're a seasoned Safari user or a newcomer to the browser, mastering the art of utilizing the Bookmarks Bar can significantly enhance your browsing efficiency and overall satisfaction with the Safari web browser . So, let's embark on this journey to unlock the full potential of Safari's Bookmarks Bar and revolutionize the way you navigate the digital realm.

Accessing Safari Preferences

Accessing Safari Preferences is the first step towards customizing the browsing experience and enabling the Bookmarks Bar. To access the preferences, follow these simple steps:

Launch Safari : Open the Safari web browser on your Mac device. You can find the Safari icon in the Dock or by searching for it using Spotlight.

Navigate to the Menu Bar : At the top of the screen, you will see the Menu Bar. Click on "Safari" in the Menu Bar to reveal a drop-down menu.

Select "Preferences" : From the drop-down menu, select "Preferences." Alternatively, you can use the keyboard shortcut "Command + ," to directly access the Preferences window.

Explore the Preferences Window : A new window will appear, showcasing various settings and options for customizing your Safari browsing experience.

Navigate to the "Tabs" Section : Within the Preferences window, you will find a series of tabs at the top. Click on the "Tabs" tab to access the settings related to tabs and the Bookmarks Bar.

By following these steps, you will successfully access the Safari Preferences, setting the stage for enabling and customizing the Bookmarks Bar to suit your browsing needs and preferences. This simple yet crucial step opens the door to a plethora of customization options, allowing you to tailor Safari to your unique browsing habits and optimize your online navigation experience.

Enabling Bookmarks Bar

Enabling the Bookmarks Bar in Safari is a straightforward process that empowers users to conveniently access their favorite websites and bookmarks with a single click. Once the Safari Preferences window is open, users can seamlessly enable the Bookmarks Bar by following these simple steps:

Navigate to the "Show Favorites Bar" Option : Within the "Tabs" section of the Safari Preferences window, users will find the "Show favorites bar" option. This checkbox, when selected, activates the Bookmarks Bar, making it visible just below the address bar in the Safari browser window .

Check the Box : To enable the Bookmarks Bar, simply click on the checkbox next to the "Show favorites bar" option. Once selected, the Bookmarks Bar will instantly appear beneath the address bar, ready to be populated with your favorite websites and bookmarks.

Witness the Instant Transformation : Upon enabling the Bookmarks Bar, users will notice the immediate convenience it brings to their browsing experience. The once-hidden gateway to their most visited websites and bookmarks is now easily accessible, streamlining their online navigation and enhancing productivity.

Enabling the Bookmarks Bar in Safari marks the beginning of a personalized browsing journey, where users can effortlessly access their preferred online destinations and streamline their web browsing activities. With the Bookmarks Bar now prominently displayed, users can proceed to customize it to their liking, further enhancing its functionality and relevance to their browsing habits.

By following these simple steps, users can unlock the full potential of the Bookmarks Bar in Safari, transforming their browsing experience and optimizing their access to frequently visited websites and bookmarks. This foundational customization sets the stage for a more efficient and personalized browsing experience, tailored to the individual preferences and habits of each user.

Customizing Bookmarks Bar

Once the Bookmarks Bar is enabled in Safari, users have the opportunity to customize it to suit their specific browsing needs and preferences. Customizing the Bookmarks Bar not only enhances its visual appeal but also optimizes its functionality, allowing users to efficiently organize and access their favorite websites and bookmarks. Here's how users can personalize and tailor the Bookmarks Bar to create a seamless browsing experience:

Adding Bookmarks and Folders

Users can populate the Bookmarks Bar with their favorite websites and bookmarks by simply dragging and dropping them onto the bar. This intuitive process allows for quick and effortless organization of frequently visited websites, ensuring easy access with just a single click. Additionally, users can create folders within the Bookmarks Bar to categorize and group related websites, further streamlining their browsing experience.

Rearranging and Removing Items

The flexibility of the Bookmarks Bar enables users to rearrange the position of bookmarks and folders based on their priority and frequency of use. By simply dragging the items within the bar, users can customize the order in which their favorite websites are displayed, optimizing accessibility and efficiency. Furthermore, users can remove unwanted bookmarks or folders from the bar with ease, ensuring that it remains clutter-free and tailored to their current browsing preferences.

Utilizing Favicons

Favicons, the small icons associated with websites, can enhance the visual appeal of the Bookmarks Bar while also providing quick visual recognition of favorite websites. When adding bookmarks to the Bookmarks Bar, Safari automatically includes the favicon associated with the website, adding a touch of visual flair to the bar and aiding in easy identification of bookmarks.

Creating Shortcuts

For websites that are frequently visited or essential for daily tasks, users can create shortcuts on the Bookmarks Bar. These shortcuts provide direct access to specific web pages, eliminating the need to navigate through multiple tabs or menus. By leveraging shortcuts, users can streamline their workflow and access critical web resources with unparalleled ease.

Syncing Across Devices

With iCloud integration, the Bookmarks Bar and its customizations can be synced across all Apple devices, ensuring a consistent browsing experience across Mac, iPhone, and iPad. This seamless synchronization allows users to access their personalized Bookmarks Bar from any Apple device, maintaining continuity and convenience in their browsing habits.

By customizing the Bookmarks Bar in Safari, users can transform it into a personalized gateway to the web, tailored to their unique browsing habits and preferences. This level of customization not only enhances the visual appeal of the browser but also significantly improves browsing efficiency, allowing users to navigate the digital realm with unparalleled ease and convenience.

In conclusion, the Bookmarks Bar in Safari serves as a powerful tool for streamlining web browsing activities and enhancing productivity. By enabling and customizing the Bookmarks Bar, users can create a personalized gateway to their most visited websites and bookmarks, revolutionizing the way they navigate the digital realm.

The process of accessing Safari Preferences and enabling the Bookmarks Bar sets the stage for a tailored browsing experience, allowing users to effortlessly access their favorite online destinations with a single click. The seamless integration of the Bookmarks Bar just below the address bar provides unparalleled convenience, eliminating the need to navigate through multiple menus and tabs to reach frequently visited websites.

Furthermore, the ability to customize the Bookmarks Bar empowers users to organize their favorite websites and bookmarks in a manner that aligns with their browsing habits and preferences. Whether it's creating folders to categorize related websites, rearranging items for optimal accessibility, or leveraging favicons for visual recognition, the customization options offered by the Bookmarks Bar cater to a diverse range of user needs.

The Bookmarks Bar not only enhances efficiency but also adds a touch of personalization to the browsing experience. By syncing customizations across Apple devices through iCloud integration, users can seamlessly transition between their Mac, iPhone, and iPad, maintaining a consistent browsing environment tailored to their preferences.

In essence, the Bookmarks Bar in Safari transcends its role as a mere collection of website shortcuts; it becomes a reflection of the user's browsing habits, preferences, and workflow. It transforms the browsing experience into a personalized journey, where every click on the Bookmarks Bar leads to a familiar and essential online destination.

By mastering the art of utilizing the Bookmarks Bar in Safari, users can unlock the full potential of their browsing experience, optimizing efficiency, and accessibility while adding a touch of personalization to their digital interactions. Whether it's for work, leisure, or research, the Bookmarks Bar stands as a testament to Safari's commitment to empowering users with a seamless and intuitive browsing experience.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

• Crowdfunding
• Cryptocurrency
• Digital Banking
• Digital Payments
• Investments
• Console Gaming
• Mobile Gaming
• VR/AR Gaming
• Gadget Usage
• Gaming Tips
• Online Safety
• Software Tutorials
• Tech Setup & Troubleshooting
• Buyer’s Guides
• Comparative Analysis
• Gadget Reviews
• Service Reviews
• Software Reviews
• Mobile Devices
• PCs & Laptops
• Smart Home Gadgets
• Content Creation Tools
• Digital Photography
• Video & Music Streaming
• Online Security
• Online Services
• Web Hosting
• WiFi & Ethernet
• Browsers & Extensions
• Communication Platforms
• Operating Systems
• Productivity Tools
• AI & Machine Learning
• Cybersecurity
• Emerging Tech
• IoT & Smart Devices
• Virtual & Augmented Reality
• Latest News
• AI Developments
• Fintech Updates
• Gaming News
• New Product Launches

• Fintechs and Traditional Banks Navigating the Future of Financial Services
• AI Writing How Its Changing the Way We Create Content

Related Post

How to find the best midjourney alternative in 2024: a guide to ai anime generators, unleashing young geniuses: how lingokids makes learning a blast, 10 best ai math solvers for instant homework solutions, 10 best ai homework helper tools to get instant homework help, 10 best ai humanizers to humanize ai text with ease, sla network: benefits, advantages, satisfaction of both parties to the contract, related posts.

How To Delete Bookmarks In Safari

How To Hide Bookmark Bar In Safari

How To Hide Favorites On Safari

How To Delete Bookmark In Safari

How To Transfer Bookmarks From Safari To Chrome

How To Copy Bookmarks From Safari To Chrome

How To Transfer Safari Bookmarks To Chrome

How Do I Import Bookmarks From Safari To Chrome

Recent stories.

Fintechs and Traditional Banks: Navigating the Future of Financial Services

AI Writing: How It’s Changing the Way We Create Content

How to Know When it’s the Right Time to Buy Bitcoin

How to Sell Counter-Strike 2 Skins Instantly? A Comprehensive Guide

10 Proven Ways For Online Gamers To Avoid Cyber Attacks And Scams

• Privacy Overview
• Strictly Necessary Cookies

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.

How-To Geek

How to show or hide the favorites bar on safari for ipad.

Safari on iPad lets you select a handful of important bookmarks that always appear onscreen in a Favorites bar. If you'd like to enable (or disable it), we'll show you how.

If you'd like to keep some of your favorite Safari bookmarks a quick tap away on your iPad, Safari lets you enable an on-screen Favorites bar. Once it's enabled, you'll find it under your address bar. Here's how to turn the Favorites bar on (or off, if you want to hide it).

First, launch Settings. Locate the grey "gear" icon on your iPad and tap it.

In Settings, scroll through the list and tap "Safari."

In Safari settings, find the "General" section. In that section, you'll see a switch labeled "Show Favorites Bar." Flip the switch beside it to turn it on.

(If it's already enabled and you want to hide the Favorites bar, flip the switch "off.")

After that, launch Safari. If you've enabled the Favorites bar, you'll see it located just below the address bar at the top of the screen.

To use it, just tap any one of the names on your Favorites bar, and the website will load in the tab or window you're currently using.

You can change which links appear in the Favorites bar by editing your bookmarks and rearranging your "Favorites" list. Whatever is at the top of that list will appear in the Favorites bar---depending on the space available and the length of the link names. Happy browsing!

Related: How to Hide Favorites on Safari's New Tab Page on iPhone and iPad

• Great Tech Gifts for Any Occasion
• The Best Gadgets for The Beach or Pool

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.

In This Article

Jump to a Section

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.

Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day

• The 10 Best Tips for Apple Pages in 2024
• The 10 Best Bookmarking Tools for the Web
• How to Organize Safari Bookmarks and Favorites
• How to Manage Your Internet Explorer Favorites
• 8 Tips for Using Safari With macOS
• How to Bookmark on an iPad
• Customize the Mac's Finder Toolbar
• The 22 Best Chrome Extensions for Chromebooks in 2024
• How to Display the Menu Bar in Internet Explorer
• How to Show the Favorites Bar in the Edge Browser
• How to Modify the Mac Finder Sidebar
• How to Activate Full-Screen Mode in Google Chrome
• Customize the Apple Mail Toolbar
• Adding Favorites to Internet Explorer 11
• How to Modify Text Size in the Safari Browser on a Mac
• How to Customize the Apple Mail Toolbar

How to Show/Hide Website Favicons in Safari’s Favorites Bar on Mac in macOS 14 Sonoma

One of the lesser-known but notable features that Safari has received in macOS 14 is the ability to display website favicons. It’s important to point out that favicons are small icons that represent a website. Apart from enhancing the branding of a website, they also help you easily identify a specific website when you have several tabs open in a browser.

Even though other browsers like Chrome have got this feature for a long time, Safari has managed to get it with the arrival of macOS Sonoma. With that said, let me show you how to show/hide website favicons in Safari’s favorites bar on Mac in macOS 14 Sonoma.

Show or Hide Website Favicons in Safari’s Favorites Bar on Mac

Especially when you are deep into something serious, it’s easy to get lost in too many tabs. This is when it becomes a bit inconvenient to identify a particular website. Despite being a powerful browser, Safari lacked the ability to display favicons. But that void has just been filled out; much to the wish of the folks who heavily rely on the Apple browser.

Show Favourites Bar in Safari on Mac

• To begin with, launch  Safari  on your Mac. 
• Now, click on the  View  menu at the top.
• Next, look for the Show Favourites Bar in the contextual menu and select it.

• And that’s done. This will immediately enable the favorites bar in the browser, displaying the favicons of all the websites. Therefore, finding specific ones will no longer be a confusing affair.

Hide Website Favicons in Safari’s Favorites Bar on Mac

Though it’s pretty helpful to have the website favicons showing Safari’s favorites bar, some folks might find them distractive. Particularly those who prefer to have a clean look. If that’s you, do not worry as hiding the website favicons in Safari’s favorites bar is plain sailing.

By Unchecking the Show Icons Option

• Right-click anywhere on Safari’s favorites bar on your Mac.
• Now, from the menu that opens, uncheck the Show Icons  option. 

By Hiding Favorites Bar

• Open Safari on your Mac and click on the  View  menu.
• Now, click on  Hide Favourites Bar and you are done! It will instantly get rid of the favorites bar along with all the website favicons in the browser.

Bottom Line

Favicons are useful for identifying specific websites from a bunch of them. Personally, prefer to keep the favorites bar enabled in Safari in order to keep the confusion away. Hence, it’s a welcome addition to Apple’s browser.

And I’m sure many of you would appreciate this new feature. Anyway, it would be great to have your thoughts about this macOS 14 Sonoma feature and whether or not it is in accordance with your preference.

Ratnesh Kumar

Ratnesh Kumar is an experienced tech writer with over six years of experience. All this years he has written at TechYorker, BrowserToUse, Fossbytes, MakeTechEasier, SysProbs and several other publications. When not writing, he likes to listen Punjabi music or watch Cricket match.

You may also like

How to Fix Dell Laptop Sound Not Working in Windows 11

How to Fix Mail App Notifications Not Working on iPhone

How to Open TMP Files on Windows 11

How to Install and Use Arc Browser on Mac

Leave a reply cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

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.

Enjoy this tip? Subscribe to our newsletter!

Get more of our great Apple tips, tricks, and important news delivered to your inbox with the OSXDaily newsletter. 

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

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
• OSXDaily.com Privacy Policy
• How to Disable favicon Support in Firefox

» 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…

Leave a Reply

Name (required)

Mail (will not be published) (required)

Subscribe to OSXDaily

• - How to Use the Latest GPT 4 & DALL-E 3 Free on iPhone & iPad with Copilot
• - 15 Mail Keyboard Shortcuts for Mac
• - How to Use Hover Text on Mac to Magnify On-Screen Text
• - How to Bulk Image Edit on iPhone & iPad wth Copy & Paste Edits to Photos
• - How to Use Apple Watch as Viewfinder & Remote for iPhone Camera
• - Beta 2 of iOS 17.5, iPadOS 17.5, macOS Sonoma 14.5, Available for Testing
• - Opinion: Shiny Keys on MacBook Air & Pro Are Ugly and Shouldn’t Happen
• - MacOS Ventura 13.6.6 & Safari 17.4.1 Update Available
• - Using M3 MacBook Air in Clamshell Mode May Reduce Performance
• - First Beta of iOS 17.5, macOS Sonoma 14.5, iPadOS 17.5 Released for Testing

iPhone / iPad

• - What Does the Bell with Line Through It Mean in Messages? Bell Icon on iPhone, iPad, & Mac Explained
• - iOS 16.7.7 & iPadOS 16.7.7 Released for Older iPhone & iPad Models
• - Fix a Repeating “Trust This Computer” Alert on iPhone & iPad
• - The Best Way to Clean a MacBook Air Keyboard: Microfiber Cloth & KeyboardCleanTool
• - How to Check Disk Health on Mac with smartctl
• - Fix “warning: unable to access /Users/Name/.config/git/attributes Permission Denied” Errors
• - How to Fix the Apple Watch Squiggly Charging Cable Screen
• - NewsToday2: What it is & How to Disable NewsToday2 on Mac
• - Why Did My iPhone Alarm Stop Automatically & Turn Itself Off?

About OSXDaily | Contact Us | Privacy Policy | Sitemap

This website is unrelated to Apple Inc

All trademarks and copyrights on this website are property of their respective owners.

© 2024 OS X Daily. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction without explicit permission is prohibited.

How to Manage Bookmarks and Favorites in Safari on Mac: A Complete Guide

Bookmarks and Favorites in Safari help you keep track of your favorite sites and visit them instantly. Here's how to master them.

Bookmarks and Favorites in Safari are easy ways to keep track of interesting sites you want to visit again later and your favorite sites you visit often. Bookmarks and Favorites have similar, but slightly different, purposes.

Use bookmarks to save links for sites you want to visit again later. Use Favorites to store links to a select few sites you visit often or every time you open Safari.

We'll explain how to manage your bookmarks and Favorites in Safari so you can make the best use of them and keep them organized.

Managing Bookmarks in Safari

Browser bookmarks can quickly get out of hand, especially if you bookmark a lot of sites. So it's a good idea to start organizing your bookmarks into folders early on to keep them under control. But it's never too late to get organized. It just might take a while if you have a large, unorganized collection of bookmarks.

How to Create Bookmark and Favorites Folders

Before adding a bookmark for a site, create a folder to put the bookmark in. First, click Show sidebar , or press Cmd + Control + 1 .

Make sure the Bookmarks button is selected (blue) at the top of the sidebar. Either right-click or Control -click anywhere in the sidebar and select New Folder .

Your Favorites are at the top of this sidebar and you can also use this method for creating Favorites folders.

Enter a name for the folder and press Enter .

To create a new folder in the Bookmarks editor, click New Folder in the upper-right corner of the page.

If you want to add multiple existing bookmarks to a new folder, select the bookmarks and hold down Option as you click New Folder . The selected bookmarks are added to the new folder that you can rename as mentioned above.

How to Add Bookmarks

To add a new bookmark and customize the name, description, and location, click the Share button in the upper-right corner of Safari. Select Add Bookmark .

This enters a default name for the bookmark based on the website title. But you can change the name if you want.

You can also add an optional description for the bookmark, which helps you remember why you bookmarked a page in the first place.

The first time you add a bookmark in Safari, the default folder is Favorites . We'll talk about adding Favorites later. For now, we're going to add the bookmark to the new folder we created above.

Select the folder from the Add this page to dropdown list and click Add . The folder you select becomes the default folder next time you add a bookmark.

To quickly add a bookmark, move your mouse over the address bar. Click and hold the plus icon on the left side of the box.

Select a bookmarks folder from the dropdown list. Safari adds a bookmark with the default name of the page to the selected folder. We'll show you how to edit a bookmark later.

You can also add the page to your Favorites by selecting Favorites or a Favorites folder.

How to Move and Copy Bookmarks and Folders

If you already have a bunch of bookmarks , you can organize them into folders or rearrange them.

Drag the bookmark to a folder or another location on the sidebar. To copy a bookmark instead of moving it, hold down the Option key while you drag it.

This method also works for rearranging Favorites.

How to Rename Bookmarks and Folders

To rename a bookmark or folder, right-click or Control -click on an item in the sidebar and select Rename . You can also force-click to rename. To do this, click and hold on the item until its text highlights.

If you're in the Bookmarks editor, select the bookmark or folder you want to rename, and press Enter .

Enter a new name or change the current one, and press Enter to accept your changes.

This also works for renaming Favorites.

How to Edit the URL for a Bookmark

Safari contains a Bookmarks editor that allows you to edit and delete your bookmarks and Favorites. Go to Bookmarks > Edit Bookmarks .

Use the same method we described for renaming bookmarks to change the Address for a bookmark or Favorite. The editor also allows you to edit Website names, but you can't add bookmarks or Favorites in the editor.

How to Edit the Description for a Bookmark

You might want to add descriptions to your bookmarks, so you know why you saved the link to that page. If you forgot to do that for some of your existing bookmarks, you can edit their descriptions.

You can only edit the description for a bookmark on the sidebar, and only if the bookmark is in a folder. This is another good reason for putting bookmarks into folders.

To edit the description for a bookmark, double-click the folder containing the bookmark on the sidebar to expand it. Then, Control -click the bookmark you want to edit and select Edit Description .

The description is highlighted, allowing you to enter new text.

How to Delete Bookmarks

If your bookmarks are cluttered, you may want to delete old ones you don't use anymore.

On the sidebar, either right-click or Control -click the bookmark you want to delete and select Delete .

To delete multiple bookmarks, Cmd -click the bookmarks and press the Delete key.

You can also click and hold on the bookmark's name until it's highlighted. Then click the X to the right of the name.

Both methods also work for deleting Favorites.

How to Search Through Your Bookmarks

If you have a lot of bookmarks, you might find it hard to locate a certain one, even if you've organized them into folders. Thankfully, Safari allows you to search through your bookmarks.

Enter the text you want to search for in the search box at the top of the sidebar or in the upper-right corner of the Bookmarks editor. On the sidebar, you might have to scroll up to see the search box.

Results of the search display as you type. Click on the bookmark to open the page in the current tab.

To clear the search and go back to the full list of bookmarks, click the X button on the right side of the search box.

How to Import Bookmarks From Chrome or Firefox

Have you switched to Safari from Chrome or Firefox ? You can easily import your bookmarks from either browser into Safari.

Go to File > Import From > Google Chrome or File > Import From > Firefox . Check the Bookmarks box on the dialog box and click Import .

You can do this at any time, even if you've imported bookmarks already.

Safari is smart enough to know which bookmarks you've already imported from Chrome or Firefox. So if you import bookmarks again, you'll only get new ones you added to the other browsers. Or if you've deleted some bookmarks you imported, you'll get those back the next time you import.

The bookmarks and folders from Chrome or Firefox are imported at the root level on the sidebar. Use the methods we covered above to rename and rearrange bookmarks and folders, edit descriptions, or delete any imported bookmarks you don't want.

How to Import Bookmarks From an HTML File

You might want to import your bookmarks into a separate folder automatically, so you can keep them separate from the bookmarks you already had in Safari.

You can accomplish this by importing bookmarks from an HTML file, which you can export from Firefox or Chrome. See our guide to exporting Chrome bookmarks for info on this.

Go to File > Import From > Bookmarks HTML File . Then select the HTML file you want to import and click Import .

The imported bookmarks are put into a folder titled Imported with the current date.

Managing Favorites in Safari

The Favorites bar sits just below the address bar at the top of the Safari window. It provides quick access to sites you visit often.

You can only specify one web page as your homepage. But what if you want to open multiple pages every time you open Safari? You can add your favorite pages to your Favorites and have quick access to them when you open Safari.

How to Show the Favorites Bar

Safari stores favorites on the sidebar and in the Bookmarks editor, as we showed you earlier. You can also access them on the Favorites bar.

If you don't see the Favorites bar under the address bar, click Toggle the favorites bar on the toolbar, go to View > Show Favorites Bar , or press Cmd + Shift + B .

Only a certain number of sites will fit on the Favorites bar, so it's best to limit the number of pages you add to your Favorites.

How to View the Favorites Page on the Current Tab

If you want to view and access your Favorites as thumbnails, you can open the Favorites page on the current tab. Go to Bookmarks > Show Favorites .

If you don't see Show Favorites as the first option on the Bookmarks menu, you must make a change in Safari's settings . Go to Safari > Preferences . On the General screen, select Favorites from the New windows open with popup menu.

Your Favorites are available as thumbnails on the current tab.

How to View the Favorites Page on a New Tab

If you want access to Favorites page when you open a new tab, go to Safari > Preferences .

On the General screen, select Favorites from the New tabs open with popup menu. New tabs will now display the Favorites page, which includes Frequently Visited sites at the bottom. We'll show you how to hide the Frequently Visited sites section later.

How to View Favorites From the Smart Search Box

Use the Smart Search box, or address bar, as a quick way to access your Favorites page without leaving the current web page.

Click in the address bar to open the Favorites in a popup window. Then click the icon for the page you want to visit. The Favorites popup window goes away and the selected page opens on the current tab.

How to Change the Bookmarks Folder on the Favorites Page

By default, the Favorites page shows all your Favorites and the folders under Favorites. But you can change this to show only the Favorites in a Favorites folder or a folder of bookmarks.

Go to Safari > Preferences . On the General screen, select the folder you want to view from the Favorites shows popup menu.

The selected folder displays when you open the Favorites page on a new tab or from the Smart Search box.

How to Show/Hide Frequently Visited Sites in Favorites

If you don't want to see Frequently Visited sites at the bottom of the Favorites page, you can hide them.

Go to Bookmarks > Show Frequently Visited in Favorites . When the option does not have a check mark in front of it, you won't see the Frequently Visited sites on the Favorites page.

How to Open Your Favorites in Tabs When You Open Safari

If you visit the same pages every time you open Safari, you can add these pages to your Favorites and have them open in separate tabs when you open a new window.

To do this, set up your Favorites using the methods described earlier. Then go to Safari > Preferences .

On the General screen, select Tabs for Favorites in the New windows open with dropdown list.

Keep Track of Your Favorite Pages in Safari

Safari already offers great tools in the bookmarks and Favorites features. And they'll help you keep your favorite and important pages organized.

But if you want other options for managing your bookmarks, you can look through some great Safari extensions for bookmark management .

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

Jump to a Section

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 emoji, enhanced security, podcast transcripts, Apple Cash virtual numbers, and other useful features. There are even new additions hidden within Safari. Find out what's new and changed on your iPhone with the iOS 17.4 update.

Be the First to Comment

Share your thoughts, how to : customize and use control center on your iphone for quick access to your most-used apps, features, and settings, how to : use facetime's secret hand gestures and reaction buttons to add animated on-screen effects to your video feed, how to : 10 features coming to apple news on your iphone with ios 17.5 — including some big ones, how to : install facebook lite on your iphone, how to : 13 tips every apple pencil user needs to know for ipad, how to : the easiest way to convert videos to gifs on your iphone, how to : keep your night vision sharp with the iphone's hidden red screen, warning : sensitive info you black out in images can be revealed with a few quick edits on your iphone, how to : make siri say whatever you want every time you connect your iphone to a charger, how to : quickly extract the audio track from any video on your iphone — right from the share sheet, how to : prevent thieves from turning on your iphone's airplane mode, so you have a better chance to track it down, how to : there's a better way to zoom with your iphone's camera, how to : download and install ipados 16.8 on your ipad right now, how to : dial these secret codes to see if someone is hijacking calls & texts on your iphone, how to : 16 harry potter spells for siri that turn your iphone into a magical elder wand, how to : add unsupported cards and passes to apple wallet for quick, easy access on your iphone, how to : trigger imessage effects with just a keyword, how to : the easiest way to secretly record someone's conversation with your iphone, how to : your iphone's status bar can actually be customized — here's how, how to : there's an easy way to see all the unsent messages in your imessage conversations.

• All Features
• All Hot Posts

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

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.

Signing off

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

🗣️ Our site is supported by our readers like you. When you purchase through our links, we earn a small commission. Read Disclaimer .

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Safari Favorites Icons Missing? 7 Ways to Get Them Back

If you buy through affiliate links, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Full Disclosure Here…

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.

Recent Posts

How to connect an ethernet cable to a MacBook Air [Solution]

Apple introduced Ethernet ports in MacBook versions 2010 and 2011. After this, the tech giant focused primarily on Wi-Fi connectivity and removed the ports from all its devices. However, if you are...

8 Ways to Fix a MacBook Trackpad Not Working

Are you having trouble with your Macbook trackpad not working? You're not alone. Many Macbook users experience this issue, and it can be incredibly frustrating. So, after testing different methods, I...

Want to highlight a helpful answer? Upvote!

Did someone help you, or did an answer or User Tip resolve your issue? Upvote by selecting the upvote arrow. Your feedback helps others!  Learn more about when to upvote >

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

Any way to show favicons in favorites bar

I've already submitted this as a feature request multiple times over the past years.

Oddly this is the only reason I have not moved to Safari.

I use Google Chrome where all of my favourites in the bookmark bar are just icons and not text. This is to save space, smoother and faster to find what I want.

Safari being text only blends it all into one line and it's not fast to find the bookmark I want. For this I have continued to use Chrome through I'd love to use Safari.

Posted on Sep 28, 2020 5:26 AM

Posted on Nov 14, 2020 10:10 AM

The description above (pinning a website) is not exactly what Carter.x (and I) are looking for. It would be great if the website favicon could be used in the favorites/bookmarks bar, without any text. Favicons are much more helpful as they are easily recognizable and take up much less space than text,. Favicon usage would allow 2-3x the # of websites to be instantly seen/accessible when using safari. I, too, always used this in Firefox and just keep waiting, hoping Apple will eventually add it. Would love to see it someday soon.

Loading page content

Page content loaded

Nov 14, 2020 10:10 AM in response to barberlives123

Nov 20, 2020 7:12 AM in response to carter.x

I have just submitted a feature request on https://www.apple.com/feedback/safari.html

Subject: Favicon / Icons in Favorites Bar in Safari

"Hello,

I would appreciate if the Favorites Bar in Safari would show the Favicon of the website. There are two advantages:

1. It would make it easier to navigate to because it's not only text.

2. If it's possible to delete the text and show the icon only, if would leave more space for more favorites.

This is the main reason, why I am still using Google Chrome most of the time.

It would be great if you could consider this feature in an upcoming version of Safari. I'm sure it would enhance the use of Safari even further and I'm confident, that other users would also see the benefit.

Patrik"

This is how it looks in Google Chrome and how it could be implemented in Safari as well:

Oct 4, 2020 3:42 PM in response to carter.x

Hi there carter.x,

We understand you have a question about saving favorites as icons in Safari, and we'd like to share a resource that may help.

Check it out here: Pin frequently visited websites in Safari on Mac

Specifically, take a look at these steps:

"Pin a website

• In the Safari app on your Mac, drag the tab with the website you want to pin to the left side of the tab bar.
• When the tab shrinks and displays the website’s icon or initial, drop it in place.

You can also choose Window > Pin Tab, or Control-click a tab, then choose Pin Tab."

Apr 26, 2021 4:03 AM in response to carter.x

I just want switch from Chrome to Safari, but this feature (favicons in favs toolbar) is critical for me. Hands up for this feature.

Dec 2, 2020 1:15 PM in response to Delgotz

This is my #1 disappointment with Safari. Unfortunately other browsers have additional drawbacks on the M1 chip. But this one is big enough that I'm considering moving back to another browser.

This AND that you can't right click from a link within a bookmark folder to open in another tab. Basic feature that's decades old on other browsers.

Please fix, Apple.

(Superuser that recently moved from PC to Mac)

Jan 15, 2021 11:11 AM in response to jeffreythefrog

I was about to delete Safari until I saw this post! While it's not perfect it solves the problem and it's super easy. Thank you for posting and making me go back to barberlives123's post on how to pin a website.

Mar 16, 2021 7:29 AM in response to carter.x

I agree 100% and hope they implement this in the near future. It can be a toggled preference if needed (or auto if nothing is used, so you have the best of both, text if you want it w.o the more space of favicon or no text and just favicon). And/or toggle.

One workaround that isn't terrible that I've started to use is emojis.

One of the biggest factors is how much easier it is to quickly find an icon than sift to find letters/words.

So I'll put 🔥 for Firebase or 📫 for email etc.

Mar 16, 2021 8:34 AM in response to Gerald Fogarty

Exact same. An IT pro by training, I've actually attempted to move into the Apple ecosystem (got me on a Mac - and probably iPhone after I'm ready to leave my brand new Pixel 5), but these little things keep having me return to Chrome. I wish they'd pay more attention to the UX details. Visual cues dramatically improve UX over text in many cases (particularly for at a glance info), and Apple needs to get it right in their browser. Before long, that'll be the only software that really matters.

Apr 4, 2021 7:10 AM in response to carter.x

pinning the tab is not the same as a bookmark. It seems that's pinning a tab keeps that tab open perpetually. I don't want the tab open all the time, I just want to click an icon to open it when I want. the only reason I even want to switch to safari is because of touchID. allow touchID in edge chromium and I don't need safari at all

May 1, 2021 10:09 PM in response to carter.x

I was literally just trying to switch from Chrome to Safari. This is my biggest gripe with Safari so far. I was looking into a solution here and found it's been an issue for years. Please fix this, Apple.

Jun 9, 2021 1:04 PM in response to carter.x

Same for me.

I would consider moving to safari if that feature was present, but for sure without it, no way I will.

It's so basic !!

(and personally in chrome I use 2 or 3 letters in addition to the icon, like "lm" for "le monde", "Wf" for wikipedia french, "We" for wikipedia english etc.)

Like that still a lot of room in the favorites bar.

Truly amazing that this features isn't in Safari.

Feb 8, 2021 10:56 AM in response to carter.x

I agree. Every few months I try to move over to Safari, and then I get so frustrated with the text-based favorites bar that I move back to Chrome again because the icons are so much easier to use.

Jan 3, 2021 6:36 AM in response to carter.x

please look at barberlives123's post. all you need to do is wait until the site's favicon appears before dropping it.

Dec 1, 2020 4:14 AM in response to Patrik1995

100% wish Apple would fix this....seems so simple.

Dec 23, 2020 1:49 PM in response to carter.x

Been getting fed up with Chrome and decided to switch to Safari. This feature is a dealbreaker. Favicon-only bookmark/favorites bar is a feature I use literally dozens of times a day.

Safari User Guide

• Change your homepage
• Import bookmarks, history, and passwords
• Make Safari your default web browser
• Go to websites
• Find what you’re looking for
• Bookmark webpages that you want to revisit
• See your favorite websites
• Use tabs for webpages
• Pin frequently visited websites
• Play web videos
• Mute audio in tabs
• Pay with Apple Pay
• Autofill credit card info
• Autofill contact info
• Keep a Reading List
• Hide ads when reading articles
• Translate a webpage
• Download items from the web
• Share or post webpages
• Add passes to Wallet
• Save part or all of a webpage
• Print or create a PDF of a webpage
• Customize a start page
• Customize the Safari window
• Customize settings per website
• Zoom in on webpages
• Get extensions
• Manage cookies and website data
• Block pop-ups
• Clear your browsing history
• Browse privately
• Autofill user name and password info
• Prevent cross-site tracking
• View a Privacy Report
• Change Safari preferences
• Keyboard and other shortcuts
• Troubleshooting

Keyboard shortcuts and gestures in Safari on Mac

Here are shortcuts you can use, in addition to those that appear in Safari menus. To turn off or change keyboard shortcuts, see Create keyboard shortcuts for apps .

Open Safari for me

Current webpage

Preferences, reading list, bookmarks sidebar and bookmarks view.