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How to un-sync the browsing history on your iPhone from your iPad or other iDevices

How to unlink the Safari browser on your iPhone from your iPad or other iDevices

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How to view and clear your web browsing history in Safari on iPhone or iPad

Easily wipe your browsing history in Apple's Safari web browser in seconds.

How to find your web-browsing history

How to clear your web browsing history.

Clearing your browsing history on iPhone and iPad in Safari has been a straightforward affair for years now.

Sometimes, you may want a fresh start with your web browsing — perhaps to get rid of some history that may bring up a memory you'd rather forget as you type in a website URL in the address bar.

Apple makes this feature very easy to access on both the iPhone and iPad by offering two ways to clear your history. So with this in mind, here's how you can do just that and make a fresh start in Safari .

Viewing your web history in iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 is very easy to do — and it's all done from Safari.

• In Safari, tap the Bookmarks button in the toolbar that's below the address bar.
• Tap the History icon in the upper right corner. Here, you can view your entire web history.

• Use the History search bar to find previously viewed pages.

If the time calls to wipe most or all of your web browsing history in Safari, here's how to do it on both iPhone and iPad.

To note, the below steps will be the same if you attempt to wipe your web browsing history on an iPhone 15 Pro Max , and an iPad Mini 6 for example.

• In Safari, tap the Bookmarks button.
• Select the History icon in the upper right corner.
• Tap Clear and select how much history you'd like to clear: the last hour, the last day, 48 hours' worth, or all recorded history.

One more thing… A feature no one talks about

Privacy on the web matters more than ever in these modern times. Websites store the pages you click on, especially when you sign into a page that can contain personal information about you.

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!

It's great to have a feature like this in Safari — but it would be good to have this automated. To tell Apple's web browser to automatically clear history after 24 hours would be very useful, as you wouldn't leave a trail behind.

Regardless, it's still a good feature, and one you should use every week.

Daryl is iMore's Features Editor, overseeing long-form and in-depth articles and op-eds. Daryl loves using his experience as both a journalist and Apple fan to tell stories about Apple's products and its community, from the apps we use everyday to the products that have been long forgotten in the Cupertino archives.

Previously Software & Downloads Writer at TechRadar, and Deputy Editor at StealthOptional, he's also written a book, ' The Making of Tomb Raider ', which tells the story of the beginnings of Lara Croft and the series' early development. He's also written for many other publications including WIRED, MacFormat, Bloody Disgusting, VGC, GamesRadar, Nintendo Life, VRV Blog, The Loop Magazine, SUPER JUMP, Gizmodo, Film Stories, TopTenReviews, Miketendo64 and Daily Star.

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How to clear Safari browsing history on iPhone and iPad

Clear Safari browsing history on iPhone and iPad in a few simple steps

You'll definitely want to know how to clear Safari browsing history on iPhone and iPad . Know how to delete browsing history is part of basic user operation on all your devices, and is especially if you share devices with others. 

Luckily, deleting browsing history on Safari is easy and can be done in just a few taps, and is the same on iOS and iPadOS, so whether you're using an iPhone 15 Pro or an iPad Air , these steps will apply.

Remember, though, that deleting your browsing history only stops your activity being visible on that device. Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) will still be able to see the webpages you have visited. If you want to stop that, for ultimate privacy, you'll need to use one of the best VPN services .

The following screenshots were taken on an iPhone running iOS 17 . If you aren't running the latest version of your device's OS, we can show you how to update an iPhone or how to update an iPad .

• In Safari, tap the book icon
• Go to the history tab (clock)
• Select how far back to clear

Read on to see full illustrated instructions.

1. In Safari, tap the book icon

Firstly, open Safari and tap the book icon in the bottom bar.

2. Select the history tab (clock icon) and tap Clear

Now select the history tab (clock icon) and tap Clear at the bottom.

3. Select how far back to clear and tap Delete

Now choose how far back you'd like to delete : last hour, today, today and yesterday, or all time.

If you like, you can toggle on Close All Tabs , which will close every open tab that isn't in a tab group (we can show you how to use tab groups if you aren't sure).

Finally, when you're happy, hit Delete .

As you can see in the screenshot above, if you now go back to the history tab, your history will have been deleted.

For more iPhone tutorials, check out our guides on how to transfer data from iPhone to iPhone , how to clear RAM on iPhone , how to delete multiple contacts on iPhone and how to rearrange the iOS 17 Messages '+' menu .

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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.

Keep up with AppleInsider by downloading the AppleInsider app for iOS, and follow us on YouTube , Twitter @appleinsider and Facebook for live, late-breaking coverage. You can also check out our official Instagram account for exclusive photos.

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2 Easy Ways to Check Your Safari Search History

Last Updated: January 17, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Rain Kengly . Rain Kengly is a wikiHow Technology Writer. As a storytelling enthusiast with a penchant for technology, they hope to create long-lasting connections with readers from all around the globe. Rain graduated from San Francisco State University with a BA in Cinema. 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 156,848 times. Learn more...

Do you need to check your Safari browser history? In a few simple steps, you can easily view all the websites you accessed in the past. You can also search for specific websites in your history and clear any website data you don't want. This wikiHow will teach you how to view and delete your Safari history on iPhone, iPad, and macOS.

Things You Should Know

• On iPhone and iPad, you can click the book icon, then the clock icon to find your Safari history.
• On macOS, you can click the "History" tab, then "Show History".
• You can search for specific websites and clear your history data.

Using iPhone and iPad

• If needed, you can change your General Settings .

• If you're signed in with the same Apple ID to you use to log into your Mac, your Mac's Safari history will appear in this list as well.

• You may have to swipe down on the History page to find it.
• The results will load as you type.

• Tap a time period to delete the history from just that time period. To delete the entire log, select All time .
• You can also swipe left on individual websites in your history, then click Delete .

Using macOS

• Be sure to update Safari.

• If you're logged into the computer with the same Apple ID you use on your iPhone or iPad, you'll also see sites you've visited on those devices.

• A list of matching results from your history will appear. Click a site to load it in Safari.

• Select a time frame from the drop-down menu, then click Clear History .
• You can also delete cookies from Safari .

Expert Q&A

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/safari/search-your-browsing-history-ibrw1114/mac
• ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201265

About This Article

iPhone/iPad: 1. Open Safari . 2. Tap the book icon. 3. Tap the clock button. macOS: 1. Open Safari . 2. Click History . 3. Click Show All History . Did this summary help you? Yes No

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How To Check Safari History on iPhone and Mac [2024]

Recently a man in the EU discovered that his Safari browsing history was included in his Apple data download. After I discussed the issue with him and compared my data download, it turns out he received a lot more information than I did.

After this experience, I decided to research and learn different ways to manage your Safari browser history on your Mac and iPhone. But before we dive into this, what exactly is the Safari Browsing History and why is it so important?

How To Check Safari Search History on iPhone?

1.  Open Safari .

2.  In the Menu bar, look at the lower right corner of the screen and tap the History icon.

A Pop-up window showing the list of all the websites you have visited in Safari will appear. Also, If you want to, you can search the history for particular websites, and do this:

3. Enter a phrase into the search bar at the top of the screen.

This filters just the websites with that particular keyword or phrase. It is also important to know how to clear your Safari Browsing History.

To do this, follow these simple steps below.

How To Check Safari Search History on Mac?

There are a number of ways you can manage your browser history for Safari on both your macOS and iOS. Here are different techniques and how you can do it. First, let´s consider how to view your browsing history.

Time needed:  1 minute

View Your Safari Browsing History on Mac

Follow the simple steps below to view your browsing history on your iPhone as well.

Delete Your Safari Browsing History on your Mac

To clear your browser history on Mac, follow these straightforward steps:

1.  Open Safari.

2. Open the  History Bar  at the top of the screen.

3.  Click the Show All History tab in the Menu bar or press Command (⌘) + Y in Safari, which will take you to the history view.

4.  Select Clear History .

A pop-up menu will come up and it will allow you to choose how far back you want to clear the existing history. This option lets you choose if you want to clear your history from the last hour, day, week, two weeks, a month, or even for all time.

5.  Choose your preferred option and click Clear History .

Great! You have successfully cleared your Safari browsing history on Mac. Now, Let´s see how we can do this for iPhone as well.

Delete Your Safari Browsing History on iPhone

Clearing your browsing history on your iPhone is also easy. Follow these simple steps too:

1.  Open the Settings app on your iPhone.

2.  Scroll through the options and click on Safari .

3.  Again, scroll and find the Clear History and Website Data option.

4. Tap Clear History and Data .

Yes! You have successfully cleared all Browsing History on Mac and iPhone.

Following these next easy steps to remove all the records of the web pages or sites you have visited over the selected period.

You can also prevent Safari from tracking your browsing history. Let us quickly dive into this too.

Prevent Safari From Tracking Your Browsing History on Mac

Suppose you prevent Safari from tracking the history of the websites you visited. In that case, it means that Safari cannot save any record of the searches you perform or the websites you visit. How can you do this?

2.  Navigate to click Safari in the Menu Ba r .

3.  Select Preferences from the Menu Ba r .

4.  Next, Click on the Privacy tab.

5. You´ll see a box that is next to Prevent cross-site tracking, Check the box.

Let me also walk you through how to do this on your iPhone.

Prevent Safari From Tracking Your Browsing History on iPhone

1.  Open the Settings  app.

2.  Scroll down to the bottom and tap Safari .

3.  On this page as well, scroll down to the Privacy and Security section .

4.  Toggle on the switch that is next to the Prevent Cross-Site Tracking .

You have successfully prevented Safari from tracking your browsing history both on your Mac and iPhone!

If you prefer additional protection for your browsing activity and for your iPhone and Mac overall, we recommend a dedicated antivirus like Intego Internet Security that can block malicious websites from accessing your data.

That is not all. Sometimes, you might not want your Safari Browser to save your browsing history, website data, or even cookies. Using the private browsing mode is the solution to this.

Keep Your Browsing History Private on Mac

To keep your browsing history private on Mac, you need to use the private browsing mode. Follow these very easy and straightforward steps to do this:

2. Look at the top of your screen, select File , and click New Private Window .

A new window will be opened and this will disallow Safari from saving your Browsing or search history.

This would also restrict Safari from sending auto-fill information to any website you visit while using the window. You can also do the same on your iPhone.

Keep Your Browsing History Private on iPhone

2.  Tap the Page tab in the bottom right corner of the Safari screen.

3. Switch the page option to Private .

4. Finally, Click the ‘+’ sign at the bottom left corner to open a new private browser.

Keeping your browsing history private is very important, but in some situations, you may have visited a website by mistake or you don´t want another person to see that you visited the website. In this situation, the best thing you should do is delete the individual website from your Browsing history. Let me quickly show you how to do this:

Delete Individual Websites From Your Browsing History for Mac

To delete individual items or websites from your Safari Browsing history, follow these very easy steps:

1.  Open your Safari Browser .

2.  Click on the History tab in the Menu bar

3.  Select the Show All History tab

4.  Find the website you want to remove and Right-click   on it.

5.  Select the Delete from History option.

Let me quickly walk you through how to do this on iPhone as well.

Delete Individual Websites From Your Browsing History for iPhone

1.  Open the Safari app.

2.  Click the history tab at the bottom right corner of the screen of the browser.

3.  Look for the website you want to delete from your history and swipe left on it.

4.  Finally, Tap the Delete  option.

Yeah! You have successfully deleted individual websites from your browsing history. But if you use Safari on multiple devices of yours such as iPhone, Mac, and maybe your iPad, iCloud sync can help you to keep all your history synchronized across all the devices you own. This means that you can start browsing on your iPhone and continue later on your Mac. Let me quickly show you how to set this up.

Manage Your Safari Browsing History Across Multiple Devices Using iCloud Sync

To use the iCloud sync feature, you must have iCloud enabled on all the devices you own and they all need to be signed in to the iCloud with the same Apple ID.

If you have Safari iCloud syncing turned on and you clear your history, it will also be cleared from all of your other Apple devices with iCloud sync enabled. How can you enable and disable iCloud sync for your Safari browsing history on your Mac and iPhone?

Manage Your Safari Browsing History Across Multiple Devices Using iCloud Sync on Mac

2. Select Safari > Preferences > iCloud Option

4. Check the checkbox next to Safari to make sure that it syncs across all your devices

To sync your browsing history across certain devices, do this:

5. Click on the Manage Devices Button and select the devices you want to sync with.

6. Click Done  

Manage Your Safari Browsing History Across Multiple Devices Using iCloud Sync on iPhone

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.

2.  Click on your name at the top of the settings screen.

3.  Tap the iCloud option.

4.  Under Apps Using iCloud , select Safari.

5.  Finally, toggle on the switch next to Safari.

Great! You have successfully enabled iCloud sync for Safari browsing history and it will be updated on all your devices using the same Apple ID when you visit new websites or close an existing Safari tab.

Suppose you’ve carefully followed the methods and steps I’ve provided in this step-by-step guide. In that case, you will have a great edge over efficiently managing your Safari browsing history on one or even multiple devices.

Which of these methods worked for you?  Feel free to share your thoughts here in the comment section. Also, if you are having problems with iCloud syncing on your devices, check out our guide for effective solutions.

One thought on “ How To Check Safari History on iPhone and Mac [2024] ”

I like to use imymac——Browser Cleaner to clean up browser traces, historical records, etc.Browser Cleanup lets you clean up junk files, cookies, and history, eliminate deceleration reasons, clear privacy traces to protect your confidential data and more. It is performed on Mac OS and Mac OS X.

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How to Find Safari History on iPhone 13

You can find your iPhone 13 Safari history by opening Safari, tapping the book icon, then choosing the Clock tab.

Our guide continues below with additional information about viewing your iPhone browsing history, including pictures of these steps.

You can also watch this video about how to find Safari history on iPhone for more on this topic.

How to See Your iPhone Safari History (Guide with Pictures)

The steps in this article were performed on an iPhone 13 in the iOS 17 operating system.

These steps will work for most other versions of iOS and many other iPhone models, including the following:

• iPhone 13 Mini
• iPhone 13 Plus
• iPhone 13 Pro
• iPhone 13 Pro Max

Step 1: Find the Safari icon on your Home screen and tap it to open the browser.

Step 2: Touch the book icon at the bottom of the screen.

Step 3: Select the Clock icon at the top-right of this menu.

You can then choose a date to view the browsing history for that day. You can also delete individual pages from your history by swiping to the left on them and then touching the trash can button.

Now that you know how to find Safari history on iPhone 13, you can use this feature to revisit a page that you have viewed in the past.

Note that pages that you view in private browsing mode will not be saved to your history.

You can clear your Safari browsing history by going to Settings > Safari > and then tapping the Clear History and Browsing Data button, then tapping Clear History and Data to confirm.

Video About Safari Browsing History

Summary – How to Look at Your Safari History on iPhone

• Open Safari .
• Tap the book button.
• Touch the clock icon.

Related: How to Pin a Safari Tab on an iPhone 14

One feature that you will find with many Web browsers, either on your computer or your phone, is an option to store your history.

This provides you with a simple way to go back and view a Web page that you had looked ar previously.

While you might be familiar with or comfortable performing this action on your computer, you might be struggling to find the history on the Safari browser on your iPhone.

Hopefully, our tutorial above about how to find Safari history on iPhone 13 has helped you to find the menu that contains this information so that you can use it to re-visit a page that contains information you wish to see again.

Matthew Burleigh has been writing tech tutorials since 2008. His writing has appeared on dozens of different websites and been read over 50 million times.

After receiving his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science he spent several years working in IT management for small businesses. However, he now works full time writing content online and creating websites.

His main writing topics include iPhones, Microsoft Office, Google Apps, Android, and Photoshop, but he has also written about many other tech topics as well.

Read his full bio here.

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How to View Safari History on iPhone

The Safari Web browser on your iPhone keeps a record of the websites you visit.

This can be a useful tool, especially if you’ve already read something and want to go back to it.

Our tutorial below will show you how to view Safari history on iPhone by completing just a few steps.

You can also visit ashevilleatc.com for additional iPhone tutorial topics.

How to See Safari History on iPhone 11

• Launch Safari.
• At the bottom of the screen, tap the book icon.
• To examine your history, tap the clock symbol.

Our explanation continues below with further information on seeing your iPhone’s Safari history, as well as screenshots of these procedures.

When you use your computer or smartphone’s Web browser without using a private browsing session, the browser saves your browsing history.

When iPhone users are concerned about their phone’s browsing history, they frequently want to delete it. That history, though, can be valuable.

It can assist you with locating an intriguing article that you read earlier but can’t remember the address for, or it can assist you in determining which store had the greatest pricing on a product that you were looking at from a range of various retailers.

When you use the Safari Web browser on your iPhone, it saves a history of all the pages you visit.

Possessing this history makes it much easier to return to a previously visited page, as you can access that history and simply tap on the page that you want to visit.

Our article below will show you how to quickly discover and use your Safari iPhone history.

Related: Find out what that delivered message means that shows up under some of your iPhone texts.

How to Locate Safari History on Your iPhone (Guide with Pictures)

The procedures in this post were carried out using an iPhone 11 running iOS 13.6.1. The same methods will work on most other iOS versions and iPhone models.

If you’ve updated to iOS 15, your address bar may now be at the bottom of the screen. If this is the case, your screen may differ from the examples in the guide below. Yet, the buttons for accessing the history remain in the same locations.

Step 1: Launch the Safari browser.

Step 2: Tap the icon that looks like an open book at the bottom of the screen.

Step 3: Click the clock-shaped tab at the top of the screen.

Now that you know how to discover your Safari history iPhone data, you may utilize it to find information that you previously saw and either wanted to double-check or share with someone else.

You should now be able to see your browsing history. You can navigate to the page by tapping on an item in the list. Individual Web pages in this history can be deleted by swiping to the left and hitting the Delete button.

Your browser’s search history will be mixed in with the pages you’ve visited. This implies that the terms you entered in the search field at the top or bottom of the screen will be visible as well. Depending on your selected search engine, your search phrases will appear beside domains such as “google.com” or “bing.com.”

Continue reading our tutorial below for more information on locating and using history data in your iPhone’s Safari browser.

Further Details about Checking Safari History on iPhone

It is important to note that Safari does not save your history for pages visited while using Private Browsing. Toggling between ordinary and private browsing is as simple as touching the Tabs icon (two overlapping squares) at the bottom of the screen and selecting the Private option.

Safari also does not save browsing history for other iPhone browsers, such as Google Chrome or Firefox. Instead, you’d have to open those browsers to see their history.

Also, deleting the browsing history for Safari will only affect the browsing history for the Safari app. Other browsers’ history menus will remain accessible on your iOS device unless you opt to delete the existing data for those browsers as well.

Go to Settings > Safari > Clear History and Website Data to remove your Safari history. This will also clear your cookies and log you out of any accounts you are presently signed into.

When you remove Safari’s browser history, you won’t be able to view Safari history for any browsing sessions that occurred before the deletion. Safari will only display your Online surfing history when that information has been removed.

If you haven’t erased Safari history previously, your browser history can be quite large. Normally, the device’s full history will be available for 30 days.

How to Lookup Safari History on an iPhone

Searching through your iPhone Safari history is another intriguing thing you can do with it.

When you open Safari, press the book symbol at the bottom of the screen, then select the History tab at the top of the screen, you’ll notice a “Search History” area.

When you tap inside that field and type a search query, you’ll see a list of pages from your history that contain those search terms.

This is especially useful if you recall a single word or term but don’t remember where you saw it or the name of the website where you saw it.

If you have another browser installed on your iPhone, such as Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox, those browsers will also retain history, which you may search through in the same way.

Commonly Asked Questions About iPhone History in Safari

How can i view my iphone’s safari history.

By opening Safari and clicking the book symbol at the bottom of the screen, you may access the history of all Web pages you’ve visited in the iPhone Safari Web browser.

Then, at the top of the window, select the tab with the clock on it. This is your browsing history, arranged chronologically. You may either search through it or scroll down to see everything. Touching on a location in your past will take you there.

How can I view my whole Safari history?

When you pick the book symbol, and then the History tab in the Safari browser on your iPhone , the full Safari history that is available is displayed.

To view your whole history in the Safari app on a MacBook Pro or a MacBook Air, go to the History tab and then click on Show All History.

How long does the iPhone Safari history last?

The Web sites you visit in your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch’s Safari browser are saved for one month.

Safari history on a Mac is retained for one year.

How can you check your iPhone’s history?

On your iPhone, you can view your history at any moment by launching Safari, selecting the open book button, and then pressing on the History symbol to see a list of Web pages that you have viewed.

Pages viewed in Private tabs, as well as pages viewed in other Web browsers such as Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox, are not included in this history.

To view the history in Chrome, open the browser, hit the three dots in the bottom-right corner, and then tap the History button.

To view the history in Firefox, launch the Firefox iPhone app, tap the three lines in the bottom-right corner, and then select the History option.

It is important to note that the history displayed in the Safari browser on your iPhone is distinct from the history displayed in other phone browsers such as Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox.

Also, clearing the history in Safari does not remove the history in the other browsers, and vice versa.

Video on Safari History iPhone

Matt Jacobs has been working as an IT consultant for small businesses since receiving his Master’s degree in 2003. While he still does some consulting work, his primary focus now is on creating technology support content for SupportYourTech.com.

His work can be found on many websites and focuses on topics such as Microsoft Office, Apple devices, Android devices, Photoshop, and more.

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How to Access Your Safari Browsing History on Your iPhone

If you’re an iPhone user, you know the importance of being able to access the websites you visit. Whether it’s for research or entertainment, having quick and easy access to your browsing history can be invaluable.

Unfortunately, with Safari for iOS there’s no straightforward way to view your browsing history. But don’t worry! We’re here to show you how to access it quickly and easily on your iPhone or iPad.

To begin, open Safari for iOS on your device. Next, press and hold the back arrow button on the far left hand side of the bottom tool bar. This will bring up a menu that contains all of your recent web activity. From here, you can tap on any link to pull up that page again.

If you want to search through your browser history quickly and easily, use the Search field at the top-right corner of the window in Safari on your Mac. This will allow you to type in specific keywords or phrases which will help narrow down your results.

It’s also important to note that when browsing with Safari for iOS, data such as history, cache, and cookies are stored on your device as well. This data helps deliver faster load times while also providing records of all searches performed while using Safari from an iPhone or iPad. Additionally, this data is what allows web forums to automatically populate when visited again and tailors advertisements specifically for each user based off their past browsing habits.

if you’re looking for a way to access information such as websites visited from within Safari for iOS on an iPhone or iPad then press and hold the back arrow button at the bottom of the screen and look thrugh your browser history menu that appears afterwards! And don’t forget about searching through it with keywords from within Safari on Mac too!

Viewing Full History on Safari for iPhone

You can view the full history of your web browser activity in Safari on your iPhone or iPad by following these steps:

1. Open Safari and tap the bookmarks icon (the open book icon) at the bottom of the screen. 2. Tap the clock icon at the top of the screen to access your browsing history. 3. Here, you will see a list of all websites that you have visited for that session, organized by date and time. You can scroll through this list to view all of your browsing history for today or any other date listed in the sidebar. 4. If you wuld like to view more detailed information about a specific website, tap on it to open up its page info window. This window will provide details such as when you visited it, how many times you’ve visited it, and other related data points. 5. To clear your browsing history in Safari on an iPhone or iPad, simply tap “Clear” at the bottom of the page info window and confirm this action with “Clear History” when prompted.

Viewing Browser History in Safari

To view your browser history in Safari, open the Safari app on your Mac and go to History > Show All History. This will open a window showing all of your recent browsing activity. You can search for specific websites by typing in the Search field at the top-right corner of the window. You can also use this window to view how long ago you visited a certin website, or to quickly jump back to a page you recently visited.

Does Browsing History Get Stored on iPhones?

Yes, browsing history is stored on iPhone. It is stored as part of the data that your iPhone collects when you use its web browser. This includes information such as which websites you have visited, when you visited them, and how long you spent on each site. Additionally, your web browser may store details about the webpages you visited such as images, text and oter elements of the page. This information is stored in a cache and may be used to speed up loading times for returning visitors or to tailor ads to your preferences. Finally, cookies are also stored on your device and can contain data about website visits or preferences.

Recovering iPhone Safari History

Yes, you can recover iPhone Safari history. If you have an iTunes backup of your phone, you can restore that backup to get your deleted Safari history back. To do this, open iTunes and click on your iPhone icon. Then select the ‘Restore Backup’ option and choose the file that contains your deleted Safari history. You can also use third-party data recovery software to recover your lost data from an iOS device.

Deleting Safari History on an iPhone

Yes, iPhones can delete Safari history. To do this, go to Settings > Safari and tap Clear History and Website Data. This will remove all of your browsing history, cookies, and other website data from the Safari app. It won’t affect any of your AutoFill inforation though, so if you’ve saved details like credit cards or passwords for websites in the past, they’ll still be there.

Viewing My iPhone History

Your history on your iPhone is located in the Safari app. To find it, open the Safari app and tap the book icon at the bottom of your screen. This will bring up a menu showing your recent browsing history. Pull down on this History menu to reveal a bar at the top labeled “Search History” with a magnifying glass to the left of it. You can use this search bar to search for specific sites that you have visited in the past. You can also scroll throgh your full history by selecting “Show All History” from the bottom of this menu.

How Long Does iPhone Browsing History Remain Accessible?

Browsing history on an iPhone typically stays visible for the last 30 days. Unfortunately, thre is currently no way to change this behaviour in Safari on iOS, so if you need to view a longer period of time, you’ll need to use a third-party app or use Safari on Mac OS. On Mac OS Safari, you can choose to Show All History and also set when history is deleted (daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, manually).

Retention Period of Safari History on iCloud

Apple’s iCloud stores your Safari browsing history for up to two weeks. This includes all the webpages you have visited, even if you have cleared your browser history manually. It is important to note that this data is stored in iCloud, not on your device itself. After two weeks, it may be deleted or made invisible to tools like Phone Breaker – however, it is important to remain aware that this data may still be stored in iCloud even if it is not visible on your device.

In conclusion, Safari for iPhone and iPad offers a convenient way to view your browsing history. By pressing and holding the back arrow button on the bottom toolbar, you can view all the websites you have visited in an easy-to-access menu. Additionally, search functions allow you to quickly find websites you visited in the past. Data such as history, cache, and cookies are stored on your device, which can make loading webpages faster and more tailored to your needs. Keeping track of your browsing history is a great way to stay organized and protect your privacy.

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How to search your browsing history on an iPhone, in Safari or Google Chrome

• It's easy to search the history on your iPhone's web browser to return to a specific webpage you've visited previously. 
• You can search the history on your iPhone in the Safari or Google Chrome browsers with these steps. 
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The search history on your iPhone's web browser can be helpful in taking you back to a site you want to see again, but scrolling through the whole list can be time consuming and annoying. 

Luckily, there's a search tool to help you get back to websites you may have visited a while ago — without going through the trouble of trying to remember the date you visited it. 

This feature is available on both the Safari and Google Chrome browsers. Here's how to use it to search your web history on an iPhone . 

Check out the products mentioned in this article:

Iphone 11 (from $699.99 at best buy), how to search the history on your iphone in safari .

1. Open the Safari app.

2. Tap the book icon at the bottom of your screen. It is the second icon from the right. This will bring up your search history.

3. Pull down on this History menu to reveal a bar at the top labeled "Search History" with a magnifying glass to the left of it.

4. Tap the search bar you just revealed to bring up the keypad, and type your search query. The query doesn't have to be exact to bring up results.

5. The result you are looking for should appear. Tap it to return to the website you visited.

How to search history on your iPhone in Google Chrome

1. Open the Google Chrome app.

2. Tap the three dots in the bottom right hand corner of the screen. This will bring up an options menu.

3. Tap "History," which is the second to last option on the list of items in blue. The icon looks like a clock with an arrow around the outside pointing counterclockwise.

4. On the new History page, tap the search bar at the top to bring up your keyboard.

5. Type your search query into the search bar. 

6. Tap the name of the site you were looking for. This will bring you back to the page.

Related coverage from How To Do Everything: Tech :

How to close all of the open tabs on your iphone's safari browser at once, how to stop pop-ups from appearing on your iphone's safari browser, how to add bookmarks and favorites on an iphone's safari browser for quick access to your preferred webpages, how to clear the safari search history on your iphone in three different ways.

On February 28, Axel Springer, Business Insider's parent company, joined 31 other media groups and filed a $2.3 billion suit against Google in Dutch court, alleging losses suffered due to the company's advertising practices.

Insider Inc. receives a commission when you buy through our links.

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How to Clear Search History on iPhone

Clear selected Safari entries or your entire browsing history

In This Article

Jump to a Section

• Clear History Via Safari
• Clear History Via the Settings App
• Frequently Asked Questions

The Safari web browser on your iPhone keeps a log of web pages that you visit. If you want to clear your search history, you can do so through Safari or your iPhone's Settings app.

These procedures work for all recent versions of iOS.

Clear Browsing History Using the Safari App

Here's how to delete your browsing history through the Safari app on your iOS device.

Open the Safari app and tap Bookmarks (the icon that looks like an open book) at the bottom.

Tap History (clock icon).

Select Clear , and then select All time to erase your browsing history completely. Alternatively, choose The last hour , Today , or Today and yesterday .

Depending on the setting you chose, you've deleted your browsing history.

To delete individual entries, instead of tapping Clear , swipe from right to left over the website you want to remove, and then choose Delete .

Clear Browsing History Using the Settings App

You also can delete your browsing history through your iOS device's Settings app.

Tap Settings and then scroll down and tap Safari .

Scroll down and tap Clear History and Website Data .

In the confirmation box, tap Clear History and Data . You've deleted your Safari browsing history.

This method clears your entire browsing history, with no option to delete items selectively.

Open the Safari app and tap the book icon at the bottom of the screen. Tap the History icon (clock) and pull down on the screen to reveal the Search History field. Enter a search term .

You can't, but neither can anyone else. When you enter Safari's Private Browsing mode , the iPhone doesn't store your browsing history. To browse without recording the history, tap the Safari app > Tabs icon > [number] button > Private .

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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

Search your web browsing history in Safari on Mac

You can search your browsing history to quickly find web pages you visited.

Open Safari for me

Type in the Search field at the top-right corner of the window.

Safari uses iCloud to keep your browsing history the same on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Mac computers that have Safari turned on in iCloud preferences . On your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, go to Settings > [ your name ] > iCloud, then make sure Safari is turned on. Your Mac can keep your browsing history for as long as a year, while some iPhone, iPad and iPod touch models keep browsing history for a month. To change how often your Mac removes history items, see Change General preferences in Safari .

Why Is Safari So Slow on iPhone & iPad

What to know.

• Why is Safari so slow lately? You may have a weak cellular or Wi-Fi signal or too many tabs open.
• If Safari is slow still, open the Safari app, touch and hold the tabs icon, and tap Close All (#) Tabs.
• You can also open Settings, tap General, Transfer or Reset iPhone, Reset, Reset Network Settings. 

Why is Safari so slow on my iPhone? If Safari is slow to load, you may have too many tabs open or not enough iPad or iPhone storage available. There are a few other ways to fix Safari acting slow, too. Read on to find out!

Check Your Internet Speed

Close all safari tabs, clear browsing history and data, check iphone or ipad storage, reset network settings.

You need a strong Wi-Fi or cellular connection on your iPhone or iPad, or Safari will run slowly. To check your Wi-Fi or cellular connection, look at the symbols at the top-right of your screen. 

The four vertical bars represent your iPhone's cellular connection. The more bars are white, the stronger the connection. If only one or no bars are white, Safari will run extremely slowly or not at all. You may also see 5G, 4G, or 3G, depending on your iPhone model, and whether or not your cellular carrier offers those speeds. If you're relying on your cellular connection alone for your internet connection, Safari may still be slow if the network is congested or you've used or almost used up your data for the month. 

The pie slice-shaped icon to the right of the cellular connection bars represents your iPhone's Wi-Fi signal. The more white bars you see, the stronger your connection. If you aren't connected to a Wi-Fi network or are out of range of the network you are connected to, you'll see LTE instead. This means that your iPhone is relying on its cellular connection to browse the web.

If you think there's a problem with your cellular connection, we have a troubleshooting article on what to do if your data is not working on your iPhone or iPad. We also have an article about how to fix it if your Wi-Fi is slow . 

Back to Top

If Safari is running slowly, it may be because you have too many tabs open. Close all Safari tabs and see if Safari speeds up! If you regularly leave multiple tabs open, you can set Safari tabs to close automatically on a regular schedule. 

Safari slow to load still? Try the next step.

Safari acting slow still? It's time to clear the browsing history and data on your iPhone or iPad. We can also offer guidance if you  can't clear your Safari browsing data .

Safari browser slow still? Read on!

If Safari is slow after the previous steps, check your iPad or iPhone storage and optimize storage if needed. There's no hard and fast rule for how much storage should be free, but I've found that keeping roughly 25% of my storage free keeps things running quickly and smoothly. 

Safari loading slowly still? There's one more thing to try!

There's one more thing to try if you want to make Safari run faster: reset your network settings. 

I hope these tips helped Safari run faster on your iPhone or iPad. If not, please contact Apple Support . Also, be sure to check out our free Tip of the Day for more great Safari tutorials!

• What if Safari is not working on my iPhone at all? If Safari isn't working on your iPhone or iPad, make sure you have a strong cellular or Wi-Fi connection. You can also check to see if you've set Screen Time limits for Safari, and clear your Safari history and browsing data.
• Can you tell me what to do when Safari says Safari cannot open the page? Yes, we can help you fix that! We have a troubleshooting article on how to fix the "Safari cannot open the page"  error message. Solutions include removing extensions, clearing your Safari cache, and more.
• Why is my Google search not working? If you're having trouble with Google not showing search results , close and reopen the app, and make sure you have a strong Wi-Fi or cellular connection. You can also make sure the app is updated, reboot your iPhone, and more.

Author Details

Leanne Hays

Leanne Hays has over a dozen years of experience writing for online publications. As a Feature Writer for iPhone Life, she has authored hundreds of how-to, Apple news, and gear review articles, as well as a comprehensive Photos App guide. Leanne holds degrees in education and science and loves troubleshooting and repair. This combination makes her a perfect fit as manager of our Ask an Expert service, which helps iPhone Life Insiders with Apple hardware and software issues. In off-work hours, Leanne is a mother of two, homesteader, audiobook fanatic, musician, and learning enthusiast.

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Why Apple’s iPhone Browser-Choice Option Sucks

You just bought a new iPhone in Europe and finished setting it up. You’re excited to start planning a much-needed vacation, so you tap on the Safari browser to search for upcoming flights. Oh, you suddenly see a pop-up asking you to choose a default browser. You quickly scan the list of options, only recognizing one or two, then decide to keep Safari and move on with your hunt for travel deals.

With the iOS 17.4 update , Apple now includes a default browser selection pop-up screen for European iPhone users. It’s part of the company’s response to the Digital Markets Act , which EU lawmakers enacted earlier this year to encourage competition on the internet. (The browser choice screen is not currently rolling out to iPhones in the United States.) While browser choice screens are, in theory, meant to level the playing field in markets dominated by a handful of gatekeepers , their effectiveness is determined by the quality of the user experience.

Many of the competitors appearing on Apple’s browser choice screen are dissatisfied with how it’s been implemented in European markets. Brendan Eich, CEO and cofounder of Brave , compared powerful companies that control the defaults on smartphones to street magicians who fan out cards to pick from but hustle you by forcing a specific card to the top of the deck.

An Apple spokesperson requested to speak off the record about browser choice screens. When WIRED declined and asked for an on-the-record comment, all further requests for an interview went unanswered.

Whenever someone updates their software to iOS 17.4 in Europe, they may see the browser choice pop-up the first time they tap on the Safari browser. After a short introductory screen about the default browser choice, a list of 12 browser options are displayed in a random order. The browsers that appear on the list vary slightly by country. Safari is automatically included, and the 11 other picks are browsers with the most iPhone downloads in a particular country that also adhere to Apple’s configuration requirements for defaults.

“It starts from you clicking Safari,” says Jon von Tetzchner, CEO and cofounder of Vivaldi . “Which, I think all of us agree, that’s the wrong spot.” Tetzchner said he prefers Google’s implementation of its new browser choice screen that guides Android users to select a default while setting up their phone.

Google actually has some experience implementing a choice screen to appease European regulators. When it was forced to add a search engine default selector to Android in 2019, many of the developers behind alternative options initially criticized the design and denounced Google’s practice of selling slots on the screen through auctions. The company responded by rolling out an updated pop-up without slot auctions in 2021. Google did not respond to multiple requests for comment on this story.

The slow speed of enforcement from European regulation means any changes mandated by lawmakers only arrive after a drawn-out process. “Google had implicit permission to implement a bad version of it and run out the clock. In the process, it makes the entire remedy of a choice screen look bad,” says Kamyl Bazbaz, a vice president of public affairs for DuckDuckGo . “If you can only judge the effectiveness of a thing based on a bad version of it, you're gonna think it sucks.”

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A few representatives from smaller browser companies also expressed that they wanted more information included with Apple’s choice process, like definitions of what a browser is for less tech-savvy users and descriptions of the different browsers’ specialties. “Giving people information about the choice, and also information about what they're choosing is really, really important,” says Kush Amlani, a global competition and regulatory counsel at Mozilla , which makes the Firefox browser.

Sophie Dembinski, a head of public policy and climate action at Ecosia , mentioned how Apple’s pop-up appears for all iPhone users even if they’ve already gone into their phone’s settings and set an alternative browser as their default. In comparison, Google’s browser choice screen for Android users won’t show up if you’ve already gone through the steps of setting a preference for a third-party option.

While many developers are unhappy with Apple’s implementation, not every company with a browser on the choice screen expressed frustration. “We believe that Apple's approach to presenting the browser choice screen is fair and acceptable,” says Andrew Moroz Frost, the Aloha Browser founder. He pointed out the randomized order of the browsers shown on the pop-up as one example of Apple designing it in a fair manner.

Richard Socher, the founder and CEO of You.com , seemed more encouraged by there being a browser choice screen that includes the search-focused startup rather than frustrated by Apple’s implementation. “I think it’s great that there’s not the default already preselected,” he says. Socher highlighted the randomized order as a positive sign as well.

Is this choice screen a true turning point for alternative browsers to grow their user base? “We’re expecting to have a clear picture on user uplift within months, not weeks,” says Dembinski. While some browsers reported initial upticks in downloads , it still seems too soon to make sweeping generalizations about the long-term efficacy of Apple’s choice screen.

“We would like to encourage platform providers to also level out the playing field for app developers around the world, not just in the EU,” says Jan Standal, a vice president of product marketing at Opera . Some of the companies WIRED spoke with remain hopeful that the precedent of browser choice screens set by the DMA will inspire international software changes.

Shortly after Apple’s choice screen launched, the European Commision announced that the screen would be part of its wider investigation into how Apple, Google, and Meta might be breaking these updated regulations: “The Commission is concerned that Apple's measures, including the design of the web browser choice screen, may be preventing users from truly exercising their choice of services within the Apple ecosystem, in contravention of Article 6(3) of the DMA.” In keeping with its slow-moving tradition, this investigation may take up to a year to complete.

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Apple Releases Safari Technology Preview 193 With Bug Fixes and Performance Improvements

Apple today released a new update for Safari Technology Preview , the experimental browser Apple first introduced in March 2016. Apple designed the ‌Safari Technology Preview‌ to test features that may be introduced into future release versions of Safari.

The current ‌Safari Technology Preview‌ release is compatible with machines running macOS Ventura and macOS Sonoma , the latest version of macOS that Apple released in September 2023.

The ‌Safari Technology Preview‌ update is available through the Software Update mechanism in System Preferences or System Settings to anyone who has downloaded the browser . Full release notes for the update are available on the Safari Technology Preview website .

Apple's aim with ‌Safari Technology Preview‌ is to gather feedback from developers and users on its browser development process. ‌Safari Technology Preview‌ can run side-by-side with the existing Safari browser and while designed for developers, it does not require a developer account to download.

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I'm always curious about these Safari Tech Preview posts. Are they just a quick way to add another headline? I suspect so, as I don't see many people trusting these builds as their daily driver. I've tried that in the past, but it never stuck.

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