how to clear safari history from mac

Clear your browsing history

You can remove all records that Safari keeps of where you’ve browsed during a period of time you choose. If your Mac and your other devices have the iCloud Safari feature turned on, your browsing history is removed from all of them. Clearing your browsing history in Safari doesn’t clear any browsing histories kept independently by websites you visited.

Open Safari for me

Choose History > Clear History and Website Data, then click the pop-up menu and choose how far back you want your browsing history cleared.

When you clear your history, Safari removes data it saves as a result of your browsing, including:

History of webpages you visited

The back and forward list for open webpages

Top Sites that aren’t marked as permanent

Frequently visited site list

Cookies and website data saved while visiting webpages

Recent searches

Icons for open webpages

Snapshots saved for open webpages

List of items you downloaded (downloaded files aren’t removed)

Websites added for Quick Website Search

Websites that asked to use your location

Websites that asked to send you notifications

Websites with plug-in content you started by clicking a Safari Power Saver notice

Responses to requests to let websites use WebGL

You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience.

How to clear browsing history on Safari on iPhone or Mac

You can clear your Safari browsing history on both iOS and Mac

As tracking goes, Safari keeping your browsing history is less about privacy-busting security and more about just being useful. It's your history that means Safari remembers where to go to when you choose forward and back within a site, for instance.

It's also how Safari is able to offer you a list of sites that you regularly go to, on account of how handy it is to be able to back to them with a click. History also does keep things you may not expect, though, such as a list of items you've downloaded.

If you don't want that, though, or you're just fed up of Safari going to site addresses you haven't looked at in years, you can wipe the whole browsing history.

On a Mac, you can also wipe, for instance, just the last hour's browsing history. So if you share Safari and it's someone's special birthday coming up, you can avoid them inadvertently finding out you plan to surprise them with dance lessons.

How to clear search history on Safari on Mac

• In Safari, choose the History menu
• Select Clear History from the very bottom of the menu
• In the dialog box that appears, choose from clearing the last hour , today , today and yesterday , or all history
• Click on Clear History

Alternatively, within Safari you can press Command-Y and the current page will be replaced by a history list. There's a Clear History... button toward the top right.

Clicking on that gives you exactly the same dialog about choosing how far back you want to clear your browsing history. But this page does also give you one extra option — the ability to delete one specific item.

How to clear one item from Safari search history on Mac

• In Safari, press Command-Y
• From the long list, click once on a history item to select it
• Right-click to bring up a menu, then choose Delete

Alternatively, if you select one, two, or more items in the history list, you can then press the Delete key to remove them all.

That kind of precision removal is only possible on your Mac, not on iOS . However, whether it's precision or wholesale clearing of your history, though, there is a way to replicate it on iOS.

If you have set iCloud to share your Safari history, then just doing this on your Mac also removes the history from your iPhone, and iPad.

Otherwise, you're stuck with going to your iOS device. And then with clearing the entire history.

How to clear search history on iPhone

• Go to Settings on your iOS device
• Tap on Safari
• Scroll down to Clear History and Website Data
• Tap that, then tap Clear History and Data to confirm

One important thing to note is that you can't selectively remove, say, today's browsing history on the iPhone or iPad . It's all or nothing, with iOS.

What you leave behind

Clearing your history like this does remove the list of sites and pages you've visited. It does mean you can't go back to that site you read last Tuesday, not without remembering what it was and going there yourself.

What it doesn't remove, though, is the information that gets used by something like AutoFill. If you have your address, for instance, and you're used to online forms being filled out with it, you've still got that feature.

You've also still got anything you downloaded. It's purely that Safari won't keep the list of downloads.

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How to delete your safari history on a mac, iphone, or ipad.

Want to scrub your searches? Here's how to delete your history in the Safari browser, whether you're using it to surf the web on iPhone, iPad, or Mac.

Key Takeaways

• Clearing your Safari history removes cookies and reduces online tracking.
• The process for deleting web history is different for Mac, iPhone, and iPad.
• You can use Private Browsing Mode to prevent web history from being saved.

From accessing your bank account on a shared computer to Googling embarrassing queries, there are a number of reasons to want to clear out your search history. Deleting your history on Safari removes your trail of web browsing, but the process also does more than clear out potentially embarrassing websites.

Clearing your history will also remove associated cookies from the web browser, reducing the number of ways you are being tracked online. While clearing your web history only removes cookies from Safari and not third-party websites that already have your data, it can still be helpful to reduce online tracking. Clearing the related cache can also sometimes fix bugs.

Deleting a web history from Safari isn't a terribly complicated process, but the steps are a bit different if you are using a MacBook , iPad , or iPhone . The steps for clearing several web pages and a single website are also different. Some privacy settings can also prevent you from deleting any web history, leaving the buttons you need grayed out.

There are also a few tricks that can make the process simpler. For example, if you turn on iCloud for Safari, when you delete the history from your Mac, it will automatically be deleted from your phone and tablet too. If you know you want to delete your web history before you make a single click, you can use Private Browsing Mode instead.

Whether you are a murder mystery writer looking to eliminate search queries that would raise the eyebrows of any detective, or you want to reduce the number of cookies tracking you, this guide will tell you how to delete Safari history in a few simple steps.

Too many Safari tabs open on your iPhone? Close them all with this trick

How to delete safari history on a mac, click on history in the toolbar.

Safari allows you to delete a lot of web history from a Mac or MacBook at once by allowing you to choose the dates for which you would like to erase. If you want to clear websites from the last hour, last day, last two days or all of your web history, this is the process to use.

• Open Safari
• From the top toolbar, click on History , then click Clear History.
• In the pop-up window, use the drop-down menu to select the time period you want to clear from your history.
• Click Clear History .

14 Safari tips and tricks you absolutely need to know

How to delete safari history on an iphone or ipad, open settings app and go to safari.

The steps for clearing out your Safari history on an iPhone is quite different from using a Safari browser on a Mac. But, the process is the same across both iPhones and iPads, so these steps below work for both your phone and tablet.

• Open the Settings app.
• Select Safari.
• Scroll down to the Privacy & Security section and select Clear History and Website Data.
• On the next page, tap the time frame that you would like to delete the history for.
• Optional: If you also want to close out of all open websites, tap the toggle for Close All Tabs.
• Tap Clear History.

How to delete a single website from Safari history

Safari allows you to easily delete websites from the last hour, day, two days, or your entire web history easily. But, if you only want to remove a single website, you'll instead have to access your history, and then select the individual page to remove.

• Open a Safari browser.
• From the top toolbar, select History > Show All History. Or, you can use the keyboard shortcut Command + Y.
• Select the website entry that you wish to delete. If that site was not visited today, you will need to tap on the date that you visited the website to find it or use the search bar at the top.
• Right-click on the website entry and select delete.

On an iPhone or iPad:

• Tap the Bookmark icon on the bottom (it looks like an open book).
• Tap the Clock or History icon at the top of the page.
• Locate the website that you wish to delete from your history -- your history is organized by the date you visited.
• On the website you wish to delete, swipe left, then tap on the red trash icon.

How to use Bing Chat on Safari

How to use private mode in safari.

If you know that you'll want to delete the website that you are about to visit from your history, try using Private Browsing Mode instead. This mode does not save any website history, including search history and autofill information. That means you can do your online banking without going back and deleting your web history when you are done.

To use Private Browsing Mode on a Mac:

• Open Safari.
• On the top toolbar, go to File > New Private Window.
• Use this new private window for browsing. You can quickly see if a Safari browser is Private because the field to type in the URL is dark gray instead of white.

To use Private Browsing Mode on iOS:

• Tap the tab icon in the bottom left corner.
• At the bottom of the screen, tap Private (swipe to see all the toppings in this toolbar if you do not see the Private option.)
• Private browsing will have a dark gray URL field instead of white. To return to regular browsing, repeat the steps but this time swipe back to your open tabs.

How to use picture-in-picture mode in Safari on Mac

Q: how to instantly clear your web history from multiple devices.

With iCloud , Safari can save your web browsing across all the devices that you use with your Apple ID. While that's helpful for quickly recalling a website no matter what device you first opened it with, it also syncs any deletions to the web history across your devices . That means if you delete a web page from your history on a Mac, it will automatically be deleted from your iPhone too -- as long as both devices are logged into the same Apple ID and iCloud for Safari is enabled.

iCloud for Safari can be enabled during the setup process for a new device, but it can also be turned on and off from the Settings app:

• Tap on your Apple ID or name at the top.
• Tap on iCloud.
• Under Apps Using iCloud, select Show All . (If you are running iOS 15 or earlier, you may not see the full list already instead of the Show All option, in which case you can jump to the next step.)
• Toggle on Safari from the list.

Q: Why can't I clear my Safari history?

In some cases, the buttons that you need to tap to clear your Safari history are gray. But why can't you delete your Safari history, and how do you fix it? Here are a few common reasons why the Safari history options are grayed out:

• You've already deleted your history and there are no more websites to clear out.
• Web content restrictions are turned on. Some parental control settings prevent kids and teens from deleting their web history, while other content restrictions can also prevent you from deleting. To access the content restriction options, open the Settings app and go to Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions.
• You are using Private Browsing Mode. This mode does not save your web history, so you have nothing to delete.

Q: Can you permanently delete Safari history?

Deleting your Safari history makes it difficult for the average person to recover the past websites that you have visited. However, if you are connected to your work or school network, in some cases the network administrator can still see your website access. Deleting your website history also may not fool a trained digital forensics expert during an investigation.

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How to Clear Safari Browsing History and Cache

Whenever you browse the web in Safari, the browser stores website data so that it doesn't have to download it again each time you revisit a site. In theory this should speed up your browsing experience, but there are some scenarios where you might want to clear the cache and start anew. Keep reading to learn how it's done on Mac, iPhone , and iPad .

If a site you regularly frequent has elements that have stopped working, or if a site has stopped loading completely, there may be a conflict between an older version of it that Safari has cached and a newer one.

Or perhaps you simply want to protect your privacy by wiping the slate clean and removing all the data associated with websites you've visited. Either way, here's how it's done on macOS and iOS.

How to Clear Safari's Cache on Mac

There are two ways to clear Safari's cache on a Mac. The first method outlined below deletes everything relating to a website you've visited, including not only the cached versions of the site, but also cookies and any other related data. The second method described offers a more targeted approach and clears only Safari's cache, but it does involve enabling a hidden menu.

• Launch Safari browser on your Mac.

How to Clear Safari's Cache on iPhone and iPad

Note that the following steps clear all history, cookies and website data on your device, regardless of when the sites were accessed.

• Launch the Settings app on your iOS device.
• Scroll down and select Safari .
• Scroll down and select Clear History and Website Data .
• Choose the timeframe to clear ( Last hour , Today , Today and yesterday , or All history ), choose the profile or select All Profiles , then tap Clear History .

For another way to protect your privacy while browsing the web, be sure to check out our guide on how to use Safari's Private Browsing Mode .

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You may want to clear Safari history, cache, and website data on Mac to prevent others from seeing what you were browsing. Removing these helps make the browser responsive . It also comes handy when Safari lags or takes ages to load webpages. The steps to delete website data of Safari in macOS is easy. Let us see how.

Consequences of clearing Safari History and Website Data

• Records of visited web pages are deleted.
• A list of the frequently visited sites is also cleared.
• It may reduce tracking by websites. (a good thing)
• You may be logged out of websites.
• Records of blocked or allowed location access, notification, etc. are also reset. So, if you visit a website, it will again ask your permission for these.
• The download list is deleted. (Actual downloaded files are not.)
• If you have several Apple devices that sync via iCloud, the changes will reflect on all.

How to clear Safari history on Mac

You can choose to clear all history in a few clicks. Or choose to delete them date-wise or by specific pages. Let me show you how.

• Open Safari on Mac.
• Click on History from the top menu bar

• Dropdown menu will show all history . Click on it if you want to select another option, like the last hour, today, today, and yesterday.

Now, if you don’t want to clear the entire history but just a few specific pages, here’s what you need to do.

How to delete specific webpage from Safari history on Mac

• From the top menu bar, click on History .

• Or, click on the tiny triangle arrow ▶ to expand.

How to clear Safari cache and cookies on Mac

To clear cache and cookies of your existing Safari profile, you need to delete all of its Website Data. Here’s how you can do that:

• Launch the Safari browser .

The above-mentioned method will only delete website data for a particular profile in Safari.

If you’re like me and enjoy using multiple profiles on Safari to maintain a separation between your personal and professional activities, then I’d like to notify you about something.

However, if you wish to clear the cookies and cache for all your Safari profiles, then you must employ the following method.

How to clear cache of all Safari profiles on Mac

• Launch Safari → Click Safari in the menu bar → Select Settings .

How to block all cookies for Safari on Mac

Cookies are tiny data packets that a website saves on your device. It helps the site know that you are revisiting it. (If this is your first visit to iGeeksBlog, you might have seen a banner at the bottom asking for your cookie consent.)

When you clear history and website data, cookies are also deleted. However, here is how you can remove cookies (cache, etc. too) individually and how you can block them from accumulating further.

• Launch Safari browser → Click Safari in the menu bar → Select Settings .

No, clearing your Safari history will not lead to the removal of your bookmarks or saved passwords.

Yes, clearing cookies will log you out from websites and services where you were previously signed in. This process removes stored login credentials.

Yes, clearing cache, history, and cookies might have a temporary impact on your browsing experience. Websites could a bit slowly.

If you want to remove the Safari cache, history, and cookies on your Mac, just follow the instructions above. Furthermore, I’d highly recommend our complete guides if you’re thinking of changing your default search engine for normal and private windows in Safari.

Did you find this guide helpful? Let me know in the comments!

• How to create Safari profiles on iPhone, iPad and Mac
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I have been an Apple user for over seven years now. At iGeeksBlog, I love creating how-tos and troubleshooting guides that help people do more with their iPhone, iPad, Mac, AirPods, and Apple Watch. In my free time, I like to watch stand up comedy videos, tech documentaries, news debates, and political speeches.

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2 Simple Ways to Clear Safari Search History

Last Updated: November 28, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was written by Gonzalo Martinez and by wikiHow staff writer, Rain Kengly . Gonzalo Martinez is the President of CleverTech, a tech repair business in San Jose, California founded in 2014. CleverTech LLC specializes in repairing Apple products. CleverTech pursues environmental responsibility by recycling aluminum, display assemblies, and the micro components on motherboards to reuse for future repairs. On average, they save 2 lbs - 3 lbs more electronic waste daily than the average computer repair store. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 506,592 times.

Do you need to delete searches that pop up when you click Safari's URL bar? Whether you want to delete Safari history on your Mac computer or iPhone, you can do this in a few simple steps.

• This will remove all history, cookies, and other browsing data from Safari.

• If you choose to leave this on, Safari will suggest searches more often as your browser history builds.

• You can choose: the last hour , today , today and yesterday , or all history .

Troubleshooting Safari History Data

• Go to Settings → Screen Time → Turn Off Screen Time .
• You can turn Screen Time back on after you have successfully cleared your history.

• For iOS, go to Settings , then click your Apple ID . Click iCloud and toggle Safari off.
• For Mac, go to System Preferences → iCloud . Uncheck the box for Safari .
• Clear your Safari history following the steps above.

• To restart an iPhone without a home button, press and hold the lock button and top volume button for at least five seconds. Slide to power off. After a few minutes, hold the power button to turn it on.
• To restart an iPhone with a home button, press and hold the lock button and home button for at least five seconds. Slide to power off. After a few minutes, hold the power button to turn it on.
• To restart a Mac , click the Apple icon in the top left. In the drop-down menu, click Restart… . It will power on again automatically.

Community Q&A

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201265
• ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/safari/clear-your-browsing-history-sfri47acf5d6/mac
• ↑ https://support.apple.com/lv-lv/guide/safari/ibrwe75c2a3c/mac
• ↑ https://appletoolbox.com/cant-delete-safari-history-on-iphone-ipad-fix/#Why_cant_I_clear_Safari_history_and_website_data_on_my_iPhone_or_iPad

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1. Open Safari. 2. Click the URL bar. 3. Delete anything in the bar. 4. Click Clear Recent Searches . Did this summary help you? Yes No

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How to Manage Your Browsing History in Safari

Revisit websites or remove them from your Safari search history

In This Article

Jump to a Section

• Step-by-Step: Manage History on macOS
• Use Private Browsing in Safari
• Step-by-Step: Manage History on iOS Devices
• Use Private Browsing on iOS

The Apple Safari web browser keeps a log of your search history and the websites that you visit. Learn how to manage your browsing history in Safari and how to browse privately.

Instructions in this article apply to Safari for Mac computers with OS X Yosemite (10.10) through macOS Catalina (10.15) and Apple mobile devices with iOS 8 through iOS 14.

How to Manage Safari History on macOS

Safari has long been the standard web browser for macOS . Here's how to manage Safari's history on a Mac:

Open the Safari browser and select  History  in the menu bar located at the top of the screen.

You'll see a drop-down menu with the titles of the web pages you visited recently. Select a website to load the respective page or select one of the previous days at the bottom of the menu to see more options.

To clear your Safari browsing history and other site-specific data that's stored locally, choose  Clear History  at the bottom of the History  drop-down menu.

If you want to keep website data (like saved passwords and other autofill information), go to  History  >  Show All History . Press Cmd + A  to select everything, then press  Delete to remove your browser history while retaining website data.

Select the period you want to clear from the drop-down menu. Options include the last hour , today , today and yesterday , and all history .

Select Clear History to delete the list of sites.

If you sync your Safari data with any Apple mobile devices using iCloud , the history on those devices is cleared as well.

How to Use Private Browsing in Safari

To prevent websites from appearing in the browser history, use Private Browsing. To open a private window in Safari, go to File > New Private Window , or use the keyboard shortcut Shift + Command + N .

When you close the private window, Safari doesn't remember your search history, the web pages you visited, or any autofill information. The only distinguishing feature of the new window is that the address bar is tinted dark gray. The browsing history for all tabs in this window remains private.

In Safari for Windows , select the settings gear and choose Private Browsing from the drop-down menu.

How to Manage History in Safari on iOS Devices

The Safari app is part of the iOS operating system used in the Apple iPhone , iPad, and iPod touch . To manage the Safari browsing history on an iOS device:

Tap the  Safari app to open it.

Tap the Bookmarks  icon at the bottom of the screen. It resembles an open book.

Tap the History icon at the top of the screen that opens. It resembles a clock face.

Scroll through the screen for a website to open. Tap an entry to open the page in Safari.

To clear the browsing history, tap  Clear  at the bottom of the History screen.

Choose one of the four options:  The last hour , Today , Today and yesterday , and  All time .

Clearing your Safari history also removes cookies and other browsing data. If your iOS device is signed into your iCloud account, the browsing history is removed from other devices that are signed in.

Tap  Done  to exit the screen and return to the browser page.

If you only want to remove individual sites from your Safari history, swipe left on the entry, then tap Delete .

How to Use Private Browsing in Safari on iOS Devices

You can also use Private Browsing in iOS to prevent your Safari search history and web data from being saved:

Open the Safari app and then press and hold the tabs icon (the two overlapping boxes) at the bottom of the screen.

Tap Private .

Tap the plus sign to open a private browsing window.

When you are in private browsing, the background of the URL address bar is black instead of light gray. Enter a URL or search term as usual.

When you are ready to go back to regular browsing, tap the tabs icon and then tap Private to turn off private browsing.

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How to Clear Safari's Browsing History on an iPhone or Mac

Browsing data reveals your browsing habits, and can be accessed by sites you visit. If you're concerned about your privacy, you can manage and delete your browsing history.

Navigating the digital world creates a footprint similar to how our steps leave marks in real life. These digital traces, from sites visited to search queries, can pose privacy risks. So, it's essential to know how to clear your browsing history.

Whether you aim to clear search history on your iPhone or Mac, delete history from a specific timeframe in Safari, or fully clear your browsing history, Apple offers streamlined solutions. Let's take a look.

How to Delete Your Safari Browsing History on an iPhone or iPad

If you're looking to clear Safari's browsing history from within the Safari app on the iPhone or iPad, you're looking in the wrong place. Apple puts such options in the Settings app, and this is how to find them:

• Open the Settings app. Then, scroll down and tap on Safari .
• Scroll down to the Privacy & Security section and tap Clear History and Website Data .
• When a sub-window pops up, choose a timeframe and tap Clear History .

If you find yourself needing to delete your history in short timeframes, consider using private browsing (or incognito mode) in Safari instead of heading to the Settings app to do this often.

How to Clear Your Browsing History in Safari on a Mac

Unlike on an iPhone or iPad, you'll find all you need to clear Safari's history within the app. There's no need to open System Settings. Here's how to do it:

• Launch Safari using Spotlight search ( Command + Space ) or any other desired method.

There are still a few other things you would have to do if you want to reset Safari to default settings . But this method is all you need to delete your Safari browsing history on a Mac.

Safari Keeps Your History Private

Do not be worried if you suspect Apple is selling your browsing data; that is far from the truth. Apple has built a reputation for prioritizing privacy and security and even goes the extra mile to protect you from advertisers and third parties.

In fact, Safari might be safer to use than Google Chrome since Google doesn't offer the same commitment to privacy as Safari does. Use Private Browsing if necessary or delete your history if you still want to keep it from prying eyes.

• Clear Safari cache on Mac
• Clear Safari cache on iPhone or iPad
• How to save passwords when clearing your cache

How to clear your Safari browser cache on a Mac, iPhone, or iPad

• You can clear your cache on Safari in just a few steps on a Mac, iPhone, or iPad.
• Clearing your cache, as well as history and cookies, can help resolve your device's performance issues.
• Clearing your cookies will clear your passwords as well, unless you save them with keychain.

A cache is a store of data. When you visit a website on your Mac, iPhone, or iPad, the Safari browser keeps a snapshot of the pages you view.

If you go back to that website, Safari loads the cached page in an instant, instead of taking the time to retrieve the page from the internet again.

But an overloaded cache can take up storage space and cause your device to run inefficiently — and it could use a periodic clearing.

Here's what you need to know to clear your cache on Safari, as well as your cookies and browsing history.

How to clear Safari cache on Mac

You can either clear just your cache or your cache, history, and cookies. 

Clear your cache

1. Click on the Safari tab at the top left of your screen and choose Preferences from the dropdown menu.

2.  Click the Advanced tab of the menu that pops up.

3.  At the end of the tab, select the Show Develop menu in menu bar box and close the Preferences menu.

4. Click the Develop tab from the Safari menu at the top of the page.

5. Click Empty Caches from the dropdown menu.

Clear your cache, history, and cookies

You may also want to clear your browsing history and cookies in addition to emptying your cache. Here's how to do that.

1. Choose the History tab at the top of your screen.

2. At the very bottom of the dropdown menu, choose Clear History.

3.  A box pops up with a choice to clear the last hour, today, today and yesterday, or all history. Choose your time frame and click the Clear History button.  

Once you clear the history, it will also clear the cache and cookies associated with that time period.

How to clear Safari cache on iPhone or iPad

To clear your cache and browsing history:

1. Open the Settings app.

2. Tap Safari .

3. Tap Clear History and Website Data .

4. On the screen that pops up, choose Clear History and Data .

To clear your cache but not your browsing history:

3. Tap Advanced .

4. Tap Website Data .

5. Choose Remove All Website Data .

What happens to saved passwords when you clear your cache

When you clear your cache, history, and cookies, you may discover that Safari has logged you out of your favorite websites.

While clearing Safari's cache alone will not delete your passwords, clearing your history and cookies can. That's because when you empty your cookies, you will lose their password data saved in Safari as well. And keep in mind that clearing your history also clears its associated cookies.

Luckily, Apple has a solution to this problem. If you use iCloud, check your iCloud settings on your phone or computer.

Make sure that you've checked the box for Safari. As long as this box is checked, any passwords you save through your browser will stay safe in your keychain .

• Main content

How to Clear Safari History on a Mac in 4 Simple Steps

When you visit a website, your browser records your visit in the browser history. It also saves elements like the page’s URL, text, images, and lists of IP addresses in the browser cache.

This speeds up the loading time for that website the next time you visit it. What’s more, if you ever need to find that site again, you can just look in your browser history rather than searching for it on Google.

Apple makes it easy to retrieve links from your history with Safari — if you use iCloud on your devices, you can access your history from any device signed in to your iCloud account.

Similarly, deleting your Safari history will make it disappear on all of your connected devices. You can clear the whole of your Safari history or specific parts of it for a selected period of time or for all time.

However, clearing your Safari history still leaves the cache taking up precious disk space. You need to delete your Safari cache separately on each device.

You can find out how to delete your Safari search history, cookies, and cache from a Mac with the detailed guide below. We’ll cover:

• Clearing your entire Safari history
• Deleting specific pages from your history
• Removing the cookies and cache from your Mac
• Browsing privately in Safari

Before we start   One of the most popular reasons for clearing your history in browsers is that your Mac is running slow. However, it’s more effective to clean up your entire Mac with dedicated cleaning software. Download MacKeeper to remove all junk, useless apps, and duplicate files in just a couple of clicks.

• How to clear all your Safari history

You can remove your Safari history for a range of dates starting from the last hour and going up to your complete browsing history.

Here are simple steps:

1. Launch Safari . If you keep it in the Dock, simply click on the browser icon. Otherwise, go to Launchpad and find it there

2. In the menu at the top of the screen, click History

3. A drop-down menu will open. At the bottom of the menu, click Clear History

4. In the pop-up window, select the period of time for which you want to clear your Safari history

5. Click Clear History

• How to delete specific pages from your Safari history

What if you only need to delete one link from your Safari history? Luckily, there is an option on your Mac to erase particular pages rather than everything.

Here is your step-by-step guide:

• Launch Safari
• Open the History menu at the top of the screen
• Select Show All History from the drop-down menu
• Right-click on the desired page from the list that appears
• Click on Delete in the drop-down menu
• You can search for the website’s name by typing it into the search bar in the top-right corner of the pop-up window
• How to clear the cookies and cache in Safari

Cookies and cache files are essential for the optimal functioning of most websites. They allow pages to load much faster when you revisit them in the future.

Unfortunately, they can also contain a lot of personal information such as your location, username and password, language preferences, email, and other data. In this way, cookies in particular make your internet usage easily traceable.

How to delete cookies and cache in Safari:

1. Open Safari

2. Open the Safari menu at the top of the screen

3. Click Preferences

4. Go to the Privacy tab

5. Click on the Manage Website Data button

6. A window appears listing all the websites Safari is storing your cookies, cache, and other types of data for. You can delete all of them by clicking on the Remove All button, or you can select specific websites and click on the Remove button instead

Bear in mind that your browser will slow down when you delete your cache. If you’re not sure about the results, we suggest creating a backup before you start the cleanup.

How to clear the cache automatically with MacKeeper

When you visit websites, pieces of text, images, and other data downloads to your Mac. This information is called the cache and its purpose is to speed up the loading of a website on future visits.

Similarly, apps on your Mac and the system as a whole generate a cache, too.

With time, the cache piles up and starts taking up too much of your storage space, rather than just helping you browse or load apps faster.

With Safe Cleanup in MacKeeper, you can remove all types of cache data in just a few clicks, along with other junk files — leaving your Mac clean and free of junk.

We’ve created a separate article in case you want to learn more about clearing the cache on your Mac.

• How to browse privately

When you use Safari in Private mode, the usual data acquired when you visit a website isn’t saved in your browser history. Therefore, it won’t be synchronised with your other Apple devices that use the same iCloud account.

This is useful when you don’t want the history and cookies for your browsing session recorded but don’t have time to delete them manually afterwards. Take a look at our guide to learn more about how to browse in Safari Private mode .

For an even more private connection, use MacKeeper’s VPN Private Connect. This tool will help you hide your online activity and conceal what you browse while keeping your identity a secret from the websites you visit.

• How to clear history on Chrome on a Mac
• How to delete Firefox history
• Safari bookmarks disappeared: what to do
• How to remove unwanted browser toolbars

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Safari User Guide

• Change your home page
• Import bookmarks, history and passwords
• Make Safari your default web browser
• Go to websites
• Find what you’re looking for
• Bookmark web pages that you want to revisit
• See your favourite websites
• Use tabs for web pages
• 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 web page
• Download items from the web
• Share or post web pages
• Add passes to Wallet
• Save part or all of a web page
• Print or create a PDF of a web page
• Customise a start page
• Customise the Safari window
• Customise settings per website
• Zoom in on web pages
• Get extensions
• Manage cookies and website data
• Block pop-ups
• Clear your browsing history
• Browse privately
• Autofill username and password info
• Prevent cross-site tracking
• View a Privacy Report
• Change Safari preferences
• Keyboard and other shortcuts
• Troubleshooting

Clear your browsing history in Safari on Mac

You can remove all records that Safari keeps of where you’ve browsed during a period of time you choose. If your Mac and your other devices have Safari turned on in iCloud preferences , your browsing history is removed from all of them. Clearing your browsing history in Safari doesn’t clear any browsing histories kept independently by websites you visited.

Open Safari for me

Choose how far back you want your browsing history cleared.

When you clear your history, Safari removes data it saves as a result of your browsing, including:

History of web pages you visited

The back and forward list for open web pages

Frequently visited site list

Recent searches

Icons for web pages

Snapshots saved for open web pages

List of items you downloaded (downloaded files aren’t removed)

Websites added for Quick Website Search

Websites that asked to use your location

Websites that asked to send you notifications

Why Can’t I Clear My History on Safari? Solutions and Answers

• Safari allows you to clear your history for a certain length of time, or you can clear the whole thing.
• You may just need to restart your device to clear your history.
• Remember that the steps for iPhone and iPad will be roughly the same. 

If you’re having issues because you can’t clear your Safari history, know that a solution isn’t too far behind. I love using Safari for a great browsing experience, but I was recently unable to clear my history, which was giving me some problems. Fortunately, I discovered a solution to my problem. Let’s take a look at some troubleshooting steps and solutions. 

Why Is My Clear History Button Grey?

If your Clear History button is grey, the most likely reason is that you do not have any History to clear. However, you may also be experiencing a grey Clear History button due to certain Content & Privacy Restrictions within Screen Time being enabled. You can check on iPhone via Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions > Allowed Apps and ensure that Safari is enabled. Note, however, that this will require your password.

On Mac, you can disable Screen Time via System Settings > Screen Time>  Content & Privacy > Content Restrictions . Ensure Access to Web Content is set to  Unrestricted.  Of course, if you didn’t set up Screen Time in the first place, this likely isn’t your issue. Keep reading for further solutions.

How Do I Clear My Safari History and Cache?

1. how to clear your safari browser history.

If you need to clear your Safari history, you can check out our full guide here . However, note that on iOS, clearing your history is as easy as going to Settings >  Safari > Clear History and Website Data . For Mac, all you need to do is open Safari and select History > Clear History from the menu bar. With both Mac and iOS you are able to choose how much of your history you delete based on time. 

2. Disable iCloud Sync for Safari

If you’re still having issues clearing your Safari browsing history, it may just be that you need to disable iCloud sync for Safari. This default option shares your history and your reading lists across all your Apple devices. It may be the case that some history or content did not sync properly. 

Disable iCloud Sync iOS

Time needed:  2 minutes

If you need to disable iCloud Sync on iOS, follow these steps.

Disable iCloud Sync macOS

• From the Apple Menu, go to System Settings .
• Select [Your Name] .

3. Reset Network Settings (iOS Only)

If you are still looking for an effective solution to your clear history issue, you may want to consider resetting your network settings. 

• Go to the Settings app. 

4. Delete History Manually (Mac Only)

If you need to clear your Safari history on Mac and are having problems, remember you can delete your history manually. 

• While holding down the Command key, select the following items: History.db , History.db-lock , History.db.shm and History.db.wal . 

• Empty your Trash. 

Why Can’t I Clear History in Safari?

The most likely reason that you’re unable to clear your Safari history is that there is no history left to clear. However, if you’re having issues, look at basic things, such as restarting your Apple device or ensuring that Screen Time restrictions are not preventing you from clearing your history. You may also want to consider that iCloud Sync may prevent you from properly clearing your history. 

Being able to clear your entire history from Safari is incredibly useful. However, it’s only useful if it’s working correctly. Fortunately, solutions for your history clearing problems are rather easy, so there’s little to worry about. Not clearing your history can be a common issue for many users. However, a comprehensive solution is available.

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• Nick deCourville

How To Delete Browsing History on Mac?

Deleting the browsing history on Mac involves different steps, based on whether you’re using Safari, Chrome, or Opera.

There are also several third-party tools available for this purpose. But, why is it so crucial to clear the browsing data?

The digital privacy and security has now become something we can’t take lightly.

If your browsing history gets hacked, all your sensitive data, such as habits, interests, account credentials, financial details, etc. is jeopardized.

So, it’s important to clear off the browsing history on your Mac, especially if you’ve shared your Mac with others.

However, this can result in loss of cookies and website data which includes important preferences, language settings, and login credentials.

Still, losing cookies and website data is far better than letting your personal information be exposed to the public.

How Do I Clear My Browser History on My Mac?

First, you need to open the browser you often use on your Mac.

It can be Safari, Opera, Chrome, or Firefox, and, the steps for clearing history can be different based on which browser you’re using.

Let’s say it’s Safari and you’re wondering how to delete Safari history.You simply have to click “History” and then select “Clear History”.

In Opera, however, you get two options when you click on “History”.

You can either choose “Clear Browsing Data” and clear it all in one go, or, you can select “Show All History” and then delete every personal and valuable information one by one.

Moreover, in the case of Chrome, you first go to the menu bar, click on “Chrome” and then select “Clear Browsing Data”.

Does Safari Clear All History?

Yes, it does. Safari offers different options based on time ranges to choose from, such as last hour, today, yesterday, and all history.

If you go for “All History” the entire browsing history gets deleted, including all websites you visited so far.

Moreover, if you turn the iCloud Safari feature on, you can remove the browsing history from your Mac and other devices at once.

There are several ways to delete browsing history on Mac, based on which browser you’re using.

Here are easy steps to clear browsing history from Safari, Chrome, Firefox, and Opera on Mac:

01. Clearing Browsing History on Safari

• Open the Safari browser.
• Navigate to the menu bar that you can see at the top of your screen.
• Now, click on “History”.
• At the bottom of the dropdown menu, you’ll see “Clear History”, click on it.
• Once you select “Clear History”, you’ll be asked to select the time range. The options will include the last hour, today, today and yesterday, or all history. Choose as per your desire.
• Once you choose the time range, click on “Clear History”. The history will be deleted.

02. Clearing Browsing History on Chrome

• Open Chrome and then open the Chrome menu by clicking on the three dots located in the upper-right corner of your screen.
• Click on “History”. A dropdown menu will appear and here you have to select “History” again.
• You’ll see “Clear browsing data” on the screen’s left side. Click on it and then select the time range.
• Once you have chosen your desired time range, press the “Clear data” button, and you’re done.

03. Clearing Browsing History on Mozilla Firefox

• First, open the Firefox browser.
• Navigate to the menu by clicking on the three horizontal lines in the upper-right corner of your Mac screen.
• Click “History” and then select “Clear Recent History”.
• Then, select the time range you wish to clear. Here, you can also navigate to “Browsing & Download History” and further select any other information you wish to delete.
• Finally, confirm your action by clicking on “Clear Now”.

04. Clearing Browsing History on Opera

• First, open the Opera browser.
• Navigate to the menu by clicking on the Opera logo.
• Here, select “History” and then select “Clear Browsing Data”
• You can further select the type of information and time range you want to clear.
• Finally, confirm your action by clicking on “Clear data”.

There are also Mac-based software tools available to clear history, just in case if you’re still pondering on “how to delete browsing history on Mac”.

Some popular options include CCleaner, CleanMyMac X, and MacClean. Here’s how you clear history on Mac by using CleanMyMac X:

• First, visit MacPaw’s official website, get CleanMyMac X, and install it on your Mac.
• Open the tool and navigate to the “Privacy” section.
• Let the tool scan your data.
• Once it’s done scanning your data, it will ask you to review it.
• Review the data and click “Remove” to confirm.

How Do I Find My History on Safari?

The quickest way to find your history on Safari is using keyboard shortcuts.

Just open Safari and press “Command + Y”, your browsing history will be opened in a new window.

Moreover, you can also access your browsing history on Safari if you navigate to the menu bar and click on “History”.

How Do I Permanently Delete Browsing History in Safari?

You can easily delete your browsing history in Safari if you open Safari and navigate to “Clear History and Website Data”.

From here you have to select the time range that you want to delete, such as today, yesterday, today and yesterday, etc.

Once you do this, you can click “Confirm” and the history will be removed.

How Do I Delete Private Browsing History in Safari?

Actually, if you use a Private Browsing window in Safari, you don’t have to wonder “how to clear Safari history”. 

Because using the private browsing feature in Safari doesn’t leave any browsing history saved on your Mac.

All of your search records or cookies get deleted once you close the private browsing windows.

How Do I Delete Usage History on Mac?

It takes a while to delete your usage history on Mac as it includes several logs and activities.

First, go to the Apple menu and start clearing the recent items including applications and documents.

Then, go to the Finder and Dock to clear the recent documents present there as well.

And, finally, clear your history from Activity Monitor, and then from System Preferences.

Why Can’t I Delete My History on Safari Mac?

Several factors can cause this problem. Like, if you’re Safari is set to Private Browsing mode, you won’t be able to find and then delete your history, as private browsing doesn’t save history on Mac.

Some types of software glitches can also cause this problem. In this case, try refreshing your Safari or even Mac.

Moreover, just so you know, you can’t also delete history if your Safari is set to parental restrictions.

Tips on Secure Web Browsing on Mac

It’s crucial to make sure that your web browsing on Mac is well-secured. The following tips can help you in this regard:

• Try to create unique and strong passwords for your online accounts.
• Make sure your connections are secured. Prefer websites that use HTTPS.
• Ensure that your MacOS and all installed browsers are up to date. Keep updating them regularly.
• Try not to do any transactions over public Wi-Fi.
• Install browser extensions from trusted sources only. Also, don’t install unnecessary browser extensions.
• Install trusted antivirus and anti-malware software as they provide an extra layer of protection.
• Enable your Mac’s built-in Firewall feature as it blocks unauthorized incoming connections.

Final Thoughts

It’s important to maintain the privacy and secrecy of your browsing history.

Otherwise, your sensitive data can fall into the hands of hackers, or it might get leaked and you’d have to face potential embarrassment.

Be it Safari, Opera, Chrome, or Firefox, you can delete all of your browsing history.

Moreover, you can also clear your browsing history on Mac with the help of third-party software tools.

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How-To Geek

How to clear safari browsing data with a keyboard shortcut.

Need to quickly clear your Safari browser history on your Mac? Here's how to create a custom keyboard shortcut to get the job done in a flash.

If you use Safari on Mac and would like to quickly clear your browser history without digging through menus, you can take care of it with a keyboard shortcut and a click by creating a custom shortcut in System Preferences . Here's how.

First, we'll need to visit "System Preferences" to create the custom keyboard shortcut. On your Mac, click the "Apple" icon in the upper-left corner and select "System Preferences."

In "System Preferences," select "Keyboard." In "Keyboard" preferences, click the "Shortcuts" tab.

In the sidebar menu, click "App Shortcuts."

Click the plus sign (+) located near the bottom of the window to add a new shortcut.

A pop-up window will appear. First, click the drop-down menu labeled "Application" and select "Safari.app."

In the "Menu Title" text box, enter "

" exactly. It must include the three dots at the end, as it must match the existing menu command in Safari under the "History" menu.

Next, select the "Keyboard Shortcut" box and type the shortcut you want to use to clear Safari's browser history. We chose Shift+Command+H, but you can enter any unused keyboard combination.

Then click the "Add" button, and the shortcut will be added to the list. You're now clear to close System Preferences (unless you want to tweak the keyboard shortcut key combination after testing it out.)

Open "Safari" and press the keyboard shortcut you just defined. A small pop-over window will appear with a drop-down menu and two buttons. In the "Clear" menu, you can choose how much of your history is cleared. When you're ready, click the "Clear History" button.

Your Safari browsing history will be cleared to whatever level you selected. Safari will remember the setting you chose in the "Clear" menu, so next time you call up the window with your custom shortcut, you can just click the "Clear History" button.

If you find yourself frequently clearing your browser history, consider trying Safari's Private Browsing mode , which is a special mode that doesn't keep track of your browsing history. You can even configure Safari to start with a Private window every time you open the app .

Related: How to Always Start Safari in Private Browsing Mode on a Mac

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

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

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

What is cache?

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

Also:  How to clear Google search cache on Android

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

How to clear cache on iPhone

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

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

How do I clear the cache from Chrome on iPhone?

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

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

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

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

How can I browse on Safari without history?

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

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

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

How do I clear my app cache on my iPhone?

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

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

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

Is "clear cache" the same as offloading?

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

Also: Apple secures iMessage against threats from the future

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

Are cookies and cache the same thing?

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

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

Can I block cookies on my iPhone?

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

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

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

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

How do I check iPhone storage?

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

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

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

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

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

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