search open safari tabs

How to search through tabs in Safari on iPhone and iPad

If you do a lot of browsing on the internet with Safari on your iOS device, there may come a time when you want to find a specific site or page that you have open. While you can easily scroll through your open tabs, if you’re looking for something in particular, it may take less time to simply search for it, especially if you have a bunch of tabs opened.

So, here’s how to search through tabs in Safari on iPhone and iPad.

Access your Safari tabs

With Safari open on your iPhone or iPad, tap the Tabs button on the bottom right corner.

Now to search through your tabs, slide down on that tabs screen, and you’ll see a search box appear at the top. Type in your search word or phrase, and all tabs not containing it will disappear, leaving the one or more that apply.

You’ll notice as you begin typing that the results will start to narrow down immediately. So, in many cases, you won’t even have to type the complete word or phrase you’re looking for. When you see the site or page you want, tap it, and you’re set.

More Safari tutorials:

• How to find a specific word inside webpages in Safari for iPhone and iPad
• How to hide Favorites in Safari on iPhone, iPad and Mac
• How to turn off Frequently Visited Sites in Safari for iPhone and iPad

Screen Rant

How to easily find safari tabs on your iphone.

Apple made it possible to find one tab among dozens with its Safari browser for the iPhone which is important since 5G encourages opening more tabs.

For  iPhone  owners, it doesn't have to be hard to find the right Apple Safari tab even when there are dozens of  websites  open at once. The tab overview is nice for websites that are visually distinctive in colors or that have bold graphics or photos that might stand out in the preview thumbnails but otherwise, it can be difficult to distinguish one particular website from another in a sea of tabs. Apple has a quick and easy solution for this problem that's hidden in plain sight in the Safari browser.

Apple's Safari app was initially developed as a desktop web browser to provide an alternative to Microsoft's Internet Explorer has seen big changes over the years. In 2007, Apple introduced the iPhone and Safari was the obvious choice to use as the default browser . Right from the start, an iPhone was capable of displaying full desktop websites, although the slow carrier speeds at that time-restricted use. In modern times, 5G speeds and advances in iPhone performance provide a very inviting browsing experience and it's quite easy to open a huge number of tabs in a short period of time.

Related: How To Customize Safari's New Tab Start Page On iPhone

When more than a handful of tabs are open on an iPhone, it begins to become cumbersome to locate a specific tab. This is particularly true when some tabs look nearly the same in the thumbnail preview. A little-known trick is to pull the tab overview list down until a search box appears at the top. Typing keywords in the box will filter the tab list by matching titles and website addresses, which makes it easy to narrow down to relevant tabs. To see the tab overview in Safari on iOS, the user should tap the button at the bottom-right when in portrait mode or top-right when in landscape mode (if enabled). Then  Apple's  thoughtful tab search box can be found by scrolling to the top and typing in a keyword will show only the matching tabs, making it easy to open the right one.

Sorting iPhone Safari Tabs

Another way to find Safari tabs more easily when using an iPhone to browse the internet is by sorting them. This can be done alphabetically or by the domain name. After opening the tab overview, pressing and holding any tab preview will open a context menu. There are several useful options, including copying that tab's website address, creating a bookmark for all of the open tabs, moving the selected tab to a Tab Group, sorting tabs, or closing all other tabs and keeping only the selected one open.

To sort iPhone Safari tabs, the user should select  Arrange Tabs By , which will open another menu with options to  Arrange Tabs By Title  or  Arrange Tabs By Website . 'By Website' is usually the choice that will provide the best organization. This places all websites from the same domain next to one another so every YouTube , Amazon, or Reddit tab will be clumped together. Naturally, the iPhone's Tab Groups provide a more structured way to find tabs that are used frequently. For the usual flurry of websites being visited, however, using Safari's search and sort make it easy to find tabs on an iPhone.

Next: How To Enable Private Browsing On Safari In iOS 15

Source:  Apple

How to use tabs and private browsing in Safari for iPhone and iPad

Become a tab master.

• How to open a new tab in Safari
• How to switch tabs in Safari
• How to close a tab in Safari
• How to view recently-closed tabs in Safari
• How to view websites from your other devices in Safari

How to use Tab Groups in Safari

• How to use private browsing in Safari

Tabs in Safari let you keep multiple web pages open so you can switch between them efficiently or refer back to them whenever you want. You can open links in new tabs, so you don't lose where you're currently surfing, and even go into Private Mode to give you some privacy on the internet.

Safari has been around for a couple of decades now, and there's a lot to learn — especially for power users. As a first-party app, there are some excellent iOS features Apple's browser can offer, and it integrates seamlessly with your other Apple devices, making it the best web-browser to navigate seamlessly between iPhone, iPad, and Mac. 

How to open a new tab in Safari on iPhone and iPad

Note: We have our Safari Tab Bar at the bottom of our iPhone screen, but all the steps in this guide work if you have yours at the top except from gesture-based manoeuvring. For more on moving the Safari address bar, check out our guide: How to change the Safari address bar on iPhone .

• Open Safari
• On an iPhone, tap the show pages icon in the bottom right of the screen (it looks like two squares). A quick swipe up from the Bottom Tab Bar on iOS 15 and newer gets you there even quicker.
• Tap the + button.

Alternatively, tap and hold the show pages icon, then tap New Tab . For those who like gestures, a quick swipe to the left on the Bottom Tab Bar opens a new tab while a swipe to the right goes back to your previous one. 

You can also open links you come across in a new tab by doing the following:

• Tap and hold (long press) the link you want to open in a new tab.
• Tap Open in New Tab (or Open in Background on iPad).

If you're on an iPad, you can open a link in a new window with Split Screen in Safari . Instead of tapping Open in Background, hit Open in Split Screen to have both tabs side by side -- great for when you're working on an essay for example.

How to switch tabs in Safari on iPhone and iPad

• On an iPhone, tap the show pages icon in the bottom right of the screen (it looks like two squares). On iPad, this looks like four squares and appears in the top right of the screen.
• Tap the tab you want to view.

You'll also benefit from Mac-like tab dividers beneath the URL field on the iPad's larger display. You can tap these to switch between tabs too.

Master your iPhone in minutes

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How to close a tab in Safari on iPhone and iPad

• Tap the X in the top right of a tab to close it. (You can also swipe the card to the left to throw it away).

While the above steps work on an iPad, it is easier to tap the X next to your tab in the toolbar to close it and save yourself an extra tap.

How to quickly close all tabs in Safari on iPhone and iPad

• On an iPhone, tap and hold the show pages icon in the bottom right of the screen (it looks like two squares). On iPad, this looks like four squares and appears in the top right of the screen.
• Tap Close All X Tabs .

How to view recently-closed tabs in Safari for iPhone and iPad

• On an iPhone, tap the show pages icon in the bottom right of the screen (it looks like two squares). On iPad, you can skip this step.
• Tap and hold the + button to bring up the Recently Closed Tabs menu.

How to view tabs open on your other devices in Safari on iPhone and iPad

Safari's iCloud Tabs feature lets you quickly and easily access web pages you've already opened in Safari on any of your other Apple devices — iPhones, iPads, or Macs. It's a very useful tool for getting the most out of your Apple ecosystem.

• On iPhone or iPad, tap the URL field in the Bottom Tab Bar .
• Scroll down to the bottom of the page to see tabs open on your other devices.
• Click on the tab you want to access from your other device.

Each device linked to your iCloud account is sorted alphabetically -- if you don't see your iPhone, iPad, or Mac make sure you sign in with the same Apple ID credentials across all devices. Note: tabs created in Private Browsing mode do not appear in iCloud Tabs, so you won't see those.

In iOS 16 , Apple improved upon Tab-Groups in Safari. Tab-Groups are a great way to combine several tabs together and organize them to make them easy to find. The feature also saves you from leaving a ton of tabs open for later reference.

We have a dedicated guide on how to use Tab Groups in Safari , so check that out to get the most out of the organizing tool. 

How to use private browsing in Safari on iPhone and iPad

Private browsing works just like regular browsing, except Safari won't cache your search terms or add the pages to your browser history -- this can be useful around the holiday period when gift shopping. Here's how to open private browsing on iPhone or iPad.

• Tap Private or New Private Tab .

To exit private browsing mode, press and hold the show pages icon and tap (number) Tabs to return to your previously open regular tabs.

You can also start and stop a private browsing section from the sidebar menu on the iPad.

Become a tab master

Using Safari on iPhone and iPad is similar to using Safari on Mac , however, the interface has some differences to account for smaller screens and touchscreen input. With the above guidance, you'll be well on your way to browsing Safari like a pro on your iOS devices making sure you're getting the best iPhone and best iPad experience possible.

John-Anthony Disotto is the How To Editor of iMore, ensuring you can get the most from your Apple products and helping fix things when your technology isn’t behaving itself. Living in Scotland, where he worked for Apple as a technician focused on iOS and iPhone repairs at the Genius Bar, John-Anthony has used the Apple ecosystem for over a decade and prides himself in his ability to complete his Apple Watch activity rings. John-Anthony has previously worked in editorial for collectable TCG websites and graduated from The University of Strathclyde where he won the Scottish Student Journalism Award for Website of the Year as Editor-in-Chief of his university paper. He is also an avid film geek, having previously written film reviews and received the Edinburgh International Film Festival Student Critics award in 2019.  John-Anthony also loves to tinker with other non-Apple technology and enjoys playing around with game emulation and Linux on his Steam Deck.

In his spare time, John-Anthony can be found watching any sport under the sun from football to darts, taking the term “Lego house” far too literally as he runs out of space to display any more plastic bricks, or chilling on the couch with his French Bulldog, Kermit. 

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Tips & Tricks

Troubleshooting, how to search safari tabs in ios.

One of the great new Safari features in new versions of iOS is the ability to search through your browser tabs using a keyword. For those of us who basically live in a web browser with a billion tabs open, this is incredibly useful, as it makes retrieving and narrowing down Safari tabs significantly faster on an iPhone or iPad since you can just search for a keyword match.

This tutorial will demonstrate how to use this excellent Tab Search feature in Safari for iOS.

Be aware that searching Safari tabs looks for the search term match in the webpages title or URL, it does not search for matches on a webpage itself (however, you can use the “Find on Page” function in iOS Safari for page level matches ).

How to Search Safari Tabs for Matches on iPhone & iPad

• Open Safari in iOS as usual and then tap on the Tabs button (the Tabs button looks like two overlapping squares)
• On iPhone, rotate the iPhone sideways into horizontal mode – note rotating is not necessary on iPad
• Tap into the “Search” box in the upper left corner and then enter a search term to narrow down browser tabs

The matching tabs will immediately display in the tab view of Safari:

In the screenshot example, multiple Safari tabs are open but a search for “osxdaily” narrows down the visible tabs to only display the browser tabs which match the search term.

If you are having any difficulty with this feature, remember that the iPhone (or iPod touch) must be rotated sideways into horizontal mode for the feature to work on those devices, whereas the iPad does not need to rotate. Accordingly, you may need to toggle orientation lock into the OFF position on the iPhone to gain access to this feature.

This is obviously going to be most useful for users who have many browser tabs open at once, but it’s handy even if you want to quickly sort through and only display open tabs which match for a specific website or topic as well.

Currently the ability to search tabs is limited to iOS 10.0 or later for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, the tab search ability is not yet implemented on the Mac.

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Related articles:

• How to Restore & Reopen All Closed Tabs in Safari on iPad
• How to Close Search-Matched Safari Tabs on iPhone or iPad
• How to Turn Off Split Screen in Safari for iPad? Exiting Safari Split Screen in iPadOS
• 2 Ways to Close Tabs in Safari on iPhone

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How to search tabs in Safari on iPhone

Submitted by Frank Macey on January 10, 2019 - 11:17am

Finding the right tab in Safari can be difficult when many tabs are open. It can be downright impossible if your iOS device is running up against Safari's maximum tab limit . Luckily there is a simple way to search open tabs on the iPhone, right in the Safari app.

To quickly find an open tab, follow these steps to show the tab Search field in Safari:

• Launch the Safari app on iPhone, iPad or iPod touch
• Tap the tabs button at the lower right to view open tabs

• Swipe down to scroll to the top of all open tabs, revealing the Search field
• Enter the text to search. Only the matching tabs will be displayed
• Make sure Rotation Lock is OFF in the Control Center
• While looking at Safari tabs, rotate the iPhone to landscape orientation
• Tabs appear as thumbnails with the Search field above

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How to master Safari tabs in MacOS Monterey

There are a lot of useful ways you can use and manage tabs in the Safari web browser on MacOS. With a few settings hidden in preference panes and right-click menus, you can make your web browser much more effective and efficient in day-to-day use.

Step 1: Change tab appearance

Step 2: create a new tab group, step 3: manage your tab groups.

• Step 4: Get a bird’s eye view

Step 5: Move and reorder tabs

Step 6: reopen closed tabs and windows.

Things get interesting when you start using Safari’s Tab Groups , which were introduced with MacOS Monterey . These let you organize your tabs into related groups and then switch between them. For instance, you might have one group containing a few tabs for work, then a second group for news sites that you read during your lunch break. Switch from your news group to your work group, and all the news tabs are hidden. It’s like moving between two different Safari windows, but with less hassle. And even better, all your Tab Groups sync between your other Apple devices that are using the same Apple ID.

Of course, there is far more to Safari tabs than just Tab Groups and plenty more useful tips and tricks to learn along the way. We will cover these as well in this guide, helping you get much more from the humble web browser tab.

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By default, Safari keeps the URL bar above the row of tabs you have open. However, you can merge the two so that clicking the active tab lets you enter a new web address directly into the tab.

To do so, click Safari > Preferences in your Mac menu bar. In the Preferences pane, click Tabs , then click Compact next to Tab Layout .

Don’t forget to check the other settings while you’re there. You can change how tabs behave, including whether new pages open in tabs or windows and whether the focus switches to a new tab as soon as you open it.

In most browsers, all your tabs are grouped together into one long stream. In situations like that, it can be easy to lose track of the different things you were working on in different tabs. Safari does things a little differently with its Tab Groups feature, which lets you create named groups of tabs and switch between them with ease.

To create a Tab Group, click the sidebar button in the top-left corner, then click the New Tab G roup button on the right of the sidebar. Next, choose whether you want the Tab Group to comprise your currently open tabs or to create a new, blank group. Give it a name, and you’re done.

Alternatively, you can create a Tab Group by right-clicking on any tab and clicking Move to Tab Group > New Tab Group . Or open the sidebar, right-click the X Tabs button (where X is the number of tabs you have open), then click New Tab Group with X Tabs .

When you switch between Tab Groups, the tabs in your previous group will be replaced by those in the new group. Don’t worry, they still exist, they’re just hidden. To move between Tab Groups, click the downward arrow next to the name of the group in the top-left corner, then click the name of a different Tab Group. Or simply click a different Tab Group in the sidebar.

You can add a tab to an existing Tab Group at any time by right-clicking it and clicking Move to Tab Group , then clicking the name of the destination group. Alternatively, open the sidebar, then drag and drop a tab from the main window into your desired Tab Group.

To remove a tab from a Tab Group (but still keep it open), right-click it and click Move to Tab Group > X Tabs , where X is the number of tabs this group contains. This will put the tab in an unnamed group of tabs located at the top of the sidebar.

You can rename a Tab Group by double-clicking its name in the sidebar or by right-clicking it and selecting Rename . Note that this only works with groups you have created, not the X Tabs Group at the top of the sidebar. To remove a group entirely, right-click it and click Delete . This will close all tabs contained in the group.

Step 4: Get a bird’s eye view

If you use a lot of tabs at once, it can be hard to find the one you want because tabs shrink in size the more you have open. However, there’s a quick way to get a bird’s eye view of your tabs. Just press Shift + Command , click View > Show Tab Overview  or click the Tab Overview button in the top-right corner of the Safari window (it looks like four squares arranged into a larger square). This will show all your tabs as large tiles. Just click one to make it the active tab.

Additionally, you can add a new tab to a Tab Group using the overview feature. Open the overview, then click the large Plus tile, and a new tab will open. And if you need to find a specific tab, open the overview and start typing. You will notice the cursor is active in a Search Tabs box in the top-right, and results will appear as you type.

Reordering your tabs is as easy as clicking and dragging one to a new place in the tab bar. There is another, more ordered way to do it, though. Right-click any tab, then click Arrange Tabs By and choose either Title or Website . This will arrange the tabs alphabetically either by tab name (the website title that’s shown in the tab) or by the website address.

Accidentally closed a tab? Not to worry — you can instantly reopen it by pressing Command + Z . Keep pressing it to keep reopening other tabs.

If there’s a specific tab you want to reopen, click History in the menu bar to see recently visited websites. Or click History > Recently Closed for a long list of recently closed tabs. You can even reopen tabs from days prior by clicking History , then choosing a date from the bottom of the menu and picking a tab.

To reopen a closed window, just press Shift + Command + T , or click History > Reopen Last Closed Window .

Want a quick way to switch between tabs? Just press Command + Shift + Right Arrow or Command + Shift + Left Arrow to move along the row of tabs. Alternatively, use Command + 1 to Command + 9 to switch to the tab that corresponds to each number. Both are great  Mac keyboard shortcuts that will save you time.

And if you have several Tab Groups open when you close Safari, the likelihood is you will want them open again when you next launch your web browser. To ensure they load when Safari opens, click Safari > Preferences in the menu bar, then click the General tab. Under Safari Opens With , click All Windows From Last Session .

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8 Ways to Manage Tabs in the Safari Web Browser

Safari is the default web browser app on all Apple devices. When you select links in other apps and open them in Safari, new tabs will open. After a while, it can become difficult to navigate and manage your tabs. Learn to close all safari tabs, bookmark tabs, open incognito tabs, and navigate the Safari web browser seamlessly.

• See Your Open Safari Tabs
• Search Tabs in Safari
• Rearrange Tabs in Safari
• Bookmark All Tabs in Safari
• Open a New Tab in Safari
• View & Reopen Recently Closed Tabs in Safari
• Close All Safari Tabs At Once
• Automatically Close All Safari Tabs At a Certain Time

1. How to View Safari Tabs

• Open the Safari app .

• Scroll through the list of open tabs.

2. How to Search Tabs in Safari

• Swipe down to access the Search Tabs bar , and tap on it.

3. How to Rearrange Tabs in Safari

It's not obvious how to do it, but once you know how to rearrange tabs in the Safari web browser on your device, your new knowledge will make finding the tab you're looking for a much faster process.

4. How to Bookmark All Tabs in Safari

Bookmarking is another quick way to save your browsing history so that you don't have to go back and find what you're looking for from scratch. Bookmarks are easy to access, and you can even bookmark all of the tabs you have open , all at the same time!

Related:  How to Make Bookmark Folders in Safari on the iPhone or iPad

5. How to Open a New Tab in Safari

• Tap on the + icon at the bottom middle of the screen to open a new standard (non-private) tab.
• A new tab will open.

One point of clarification is that in the Safari web browser, private browsing is not called "incognito," it's labeled "Private." You won't find a anything that says "Open Incognito Tab," but private tabs function similarly to those you'd find in other browsers.

6. How to View & Reopen Recently Closed Tabs in Safari

• Long-press the + icon at the bottom middle of the screen.
• You will see a list of your recently opened tabs.
• Scroll through to find the webpage you wish to reopen.

7. How to Manually Close All Safari Tabs At Once

You can close all your tabs at once, or program your iPhone to automatically close all tabs at a certain time every day.

• Long-press the Tabs icon in the bottom-right corner of the screen. If you don't see the Tabs icon, swipe down slightly and it will appear.

• A popup will ask if you are sure you want to close all open tabs.

8. How to Automatically Close All Safari Tabs At a Certain Time

• Open the Settings app .

• Scroll down to Tabs .
• Select Close Tabs .

• Tap on the desired option so that a blue check mark appears.
• Leave settings or go back; your selection will be saved automatically.

Now you know how to close all tabs in Safari, open a new tab, and bookmark tabs for easy access. You can also check out how to mute a tab in Safari . Navigating the Safari web browser is simple once you get the hang of it. Learning how to use Safari extensions can also be a great way to block ads and look for discounts. Happy browsing! 

Author Details

Olena Kagui

Olena Kagui is a Feature Writer at iPhone Life. In the last 10 years, she has been published in dozens of publications internationally and won an excellence award. Since joining iPhone Life in 2020, she has written how-to articles as well as complex guides about Apple products, software, and apps. Olena grew up using Macs and exploring all the latest tech. Her Maui home is the epitome of an Apple ecosystem, full of compatible smart gear to boot. Olena’s favorite device is the Apple Watch Ultra because it can survive all her adventures and travels, and even her furbabies.

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Disappearing Safari Tabs on iPhone or iPad? How to Find Them

Every so often, a seemingly small bug in Apple's operating systems survives the company's annual OS launches and continues to cause users huge frustration from one software update to the next.

While there isn't an accepted solution to the problem of disappearing tabs, there are cases where it might seem that your tabs are gone, when in fact they are just hidden from view. Here are some ways that you may be able to get them back or stop them from disappearing in the first place.

Reveal Hidden Tabs

On iPadOS, for example, if you press and hold the Show Tab Overview button (four squares in a quadrant) in the top-right corner of the Safari window, this will reveal a dropdown menu that includes an option to Merge All Windows .

Reveal the Shelf

Another action worth trying on iPadOS is pressing and holding the Safari icon in the Dock or on the Home Screen and selecting Show All Windows from the popup menu that appears.

Recently Closed Tabs

If you have an inkling that some of the tabs you're missing have been inadvertently closed, you can always use the Recently Closed Tabs option to re-open them. All you have to do is open up the tab view in Safari and long press on the "+" icon to get a look at all of the tabs that you've recently closed.

Turn Off Auto-Close Tabs

If you still haven't been able to find some of your tabs, make sure that Safari isn't closing them after a certain duration on your behalf: Open Settings , tap through to Safari -> Close Tabs and ensure that Manually is selected.

Bookmark All Open Tabs

If the above suggestions haven't worked for you, there is a workaround: Consider bookmarking your open tabs after each browsing session. This might sound like more hassle than it's worth, but since iOS 13 Apple has included a one-tap option to just that.

A popup menu will appear at the on the screen from which you can select Add Bookmarks for X Tabs , the X being the number of tabs open.

Once you've tapped this option, you'll be asked to save the tabs in a new bookmarks folder (remember to give it a recognizable name). Alternately, you can choose a location from the existing folder list in which to save the tabs.

To access your bookmarks in Safari at any time, simply tap the Bookmarks icon in the main browsing interface or the sidebar to reveal all of your saved favorites and folders. Press and hold on the folder of bookmarks and select Open in New Tabs , or alternatively, Open in Tab Group if you want them grouped.

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How do I make Safari open search results in a new tab by default?

I'd like for results from the search toolbar to open in a new tab by default, like I've configured in Firefox. How can I get this same default behavior in Safari? I already know that Command-Enter will do this for me, but I want to change the default behavior so that I don't have to hold down Command every time I do a search.

• Not an answer, but I wonder how you get the cursor into the search field to start with. If you use your mouse or touchpad, then maybe the following makes your workflow a bit easier: Command-N for a new window, followed by Tab to get into the search field, and after typing your search text: Return to show the search results in that (new) window. –  Arjan Oct 28, 2010 at 19:40
• @Arjan: Can be slow on some machines, because it might load the Top Sites for new windows. Cmd-L for Location bar, Tab, Search, Cmd-Enter is faster (at least on my machine and in my opinion). –  Daniel Beck ♦ Oct 28, 2010 at 19:45
• @Arjan Glims can be configured to focus the search field for new windows and tabs. Saves a keystroke. –  Daniel Beck ♦ Oct 28, 2010 at 20:16
• I don't think it's possible. I just checked Saft (well-known commercial Safari modification), Glims and the Safari Extensions library, nothing turned up. It seems you need to continue using Firefox for full customizability. –  Daniel Beck ♦ Oct 28, 2010 at 20:26
• Wow, that's horrible. -1 to Safari. –  Jeff Oct 28, 2010 at 22:52

4 Answers 4

If you're in to some work, then Glims with a custom search provider, and some AppleScript to create your own protocol handler (URL scheme) can do the trick. But I think pressing Command-Return is much easier. ;-)

Here's what you'd need:

Open Applications, AppleScript Editor, and paste the following:

Select menu File, Save As, and be sure to select File Format: "Application". This will create something that looks like a single application, but actually holds a folder structure.

In Finder, find the place where you saved the application, right-click it and select "Show package contents".

Find file Contents/FileInfo.plist and open it with a text editor.

At the end, just above the last two lines </dict></plist> , add:

Move the whole application package into, for example, Application/Utilities (to ensure Launch Services registers it ).

Test in any browser, using newwindow://http://www.google.com/search?q=abc . If it doesn't work, then double-click the application or even rename the package, just to trigger the discovery by Launch Services again.

Install the Glims plugin for Safari.

In Safari's preferences, tab sheet Glims, Search Engine List, add a new entry. Note that Glims requires the slashes after newwindow: . Without that, Glims would prefix http:// to whatever text you entered:

I don't know how to change the icon that Glims shows... Also, when using this, there's no key you can hold down to not open the results in a new window.

• ...and to open in a new Tab: set Safari to use tabs when a new window is opened. Did I mention that Command-Return is soooo much easier? ;-) –  Arjan Oct 31, 2010 at 22:10
• Yikes! I think I'll stick with Command-Return for now. –  Jeff Nov 2, 2010 at 3:29
• And generally I guess I'll use Chrome and Firefox instead of Safari. –  Jeff Nov 2, 2010 at 3:30
• 1 Wow. This is... insane. Wow. Good job! –  Daniel Beck ♦ Nov 2, 2010 at 6:55

Here's what I found out so far:

• It is not possible in vanilla Safari
• It is not added in Saft (well-known commercial Safari modification)
• It is not added in Glims .
• There is no Safari extension for that and the Safari API does not support this for an extension.

Therefore, I don't think it's possible. It seems you need to continue using Firefox for full customizability.

• Hmmm, now the homepage shows this question has an answer... –  Arjan Oct 28, 2010 at 20:08
• @Arjan what do you mean? –  Daniel Beck ♦ Oct 28, 2010 at 20:11
• I mean this does not answer the question. But now this question no longer has zero answers, and hence might not trigger others to read it? –  Arjan Oct 28, 2010 at 20:17

Jeff wrote:

...I wonder how you get the cursor into the search field to start with...

You can do that with Command-k just as you would with Firefox. Just go into Apple -> Preferences -> Keyboard and add a new keyboard shortcut for Safari.

• Jeff didn't write that, Arjan did. Furthermore, Command-Option-F is the shortcut to directly focus the search bar. –  NReilingh Apr 3, 2011 at 18:10

Be default, here is how I do it:

• With Safari open, press CMD + OPTION + F (puts cursor in search field)
• enter my search term
• press CMD + ENTER (opens results in a new tab)
• Done, search results open in a new tab in 4 seconds or less

That said, I have updated CMD + OPTION + F to be CMD + K to match Firefox (and I think Chrome?)… but I would prefer that there was a checkbox in Safari Preferences on the "Tabs" tab to make search results open in a new tab.

• Note: To customize the Safari search shortcut you have to: –  jono Dec 11, 2011 at 2:27
• 1 … you have to do what? –  slhck Dec 11, 2011 at 9:56

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for browse other questions tagged macos search safari ..

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How-To Geek

How to make safari always open your previous tabs on mac.

Tired of losing all your browser tabs when you close or restart Safari on Mac? Here's how to make Safari restore your session every time you start the app.

It can be frustrating when you need to restart Safari on your Mac and you lose what you've been working on because all of your tabs and windows close. Luckily, there's an easy way to make Safari restore your session every time you start the app. Here's how to set it up.

First, launch Safari on your Mac. At the top of your screen, click the "Safari" menu and select "Preferences."

When the "Preferences" window appears, click the "General" tab, then locate the "Safari opens with" option. In the drop-down menu beside it, select "All windows from last session" if you want all of your windows---including your Private Browsing windows ---to be restored.

If you only want your non-Private windows to be restored, select "All non-private windows from last session" in the drop-down menu.

After that, close Preferences. The next time you restart Safari, it will remember your browsing session, and all the windows and tabs you had open last time will reopen automatically. Happy browsing!

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

Safari User Guide

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

Keyboard shortcuts and gestures in Safari on Mac

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

Open Safari for me

Current webpage

Preferences, reading list, bookmarks sidebar and bookmarks view.

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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How to go incognito in Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari

While incognito mode in any of the big four web browsers offers a measure of privacy, it doesn’t completely hide your tracks online. here’s how the feature works in each browser, and how to use it..

Private browsing. Incognito . Privacy mode.

Web browser functions like those trace their roots back more than a decade, and the feature — first found in a top browser in 2005 — spread quickly as one copied another, made tweaks and minor improvements.

But privacy-promising labels can be treacherous. Simply put, going “ incognito ” is as effective in guarding online privacy as witchcraft is in warding off a common cold.

That’s because private browsing is intended to wipe local traces of where you’ve been, what you’ve searched for, the contents of forms you’ve filled. It’s meant to hide, and not always conclusively at that, your tracks from others with access to the personal computer. That’s it.

How to keep web browsing private

Google chrome’s incognito mode, microsoft edge’s private browsing, mozilla firefox’s private browsing mode, apple’s safari private windows.

At their most basic, these features promise that they won’t record visited sites to the browsing history, save cookies that show you’ve been to and logged into sites, or remember credentials like passwords used during sessions. But your traipses through the web are still traceable by Internet providers – and the authorities who serve subpoenas to those entities – employers who control the company network and advertisers who follow your every footstep.

To end that cognitive dissonance, most browsers have added more advanced privacy tools , generically known as “anti-trackers,” which block various kinds of bite-sized chunks of code that advertisers and websites use to trace where people go in attempts to compile digital dossiers or serve targeted advertisements.

Although it might seem reasonable that a browser’s end game would be to craft a system that blends incognito modes with anti-tracking, it’s highly unlikely. Using either private browsing or anti-tracking carries a cost: site passwords aren’t saved for the next visit or sites break under the tracker scrubbing. Nor are those costs equal. It’s much easier to turn on some level of anti-tracking by default than it would be to do the same for private sessions, as evidenced by the number of browsers that do the former without complaint while none do the latter.

Private browsing will, by necessity, always be a niche, as long as sites rely on cookies for mundane things like log-ins and cart contents.

But the mode remains a useful tool whenever the browser — and the computer it’s on — are shared. To prove that, we’ve assembled instructions and insights on using the incognito features — and anti-tracking tools — offered by the top four browsers: Google Chrome , Microsoft’s Chromium-based Edge , Mozilla’s Firefox and Apple’s Safari.

How to go incognito in Google Chrome

Although incognito may be a synonym to some users for any browser’s private mode, Google gets credit for grabbing the word as the feature’s snappiest name when it launched the tool in late 2008, just months after Chrome debuted.

The easiest way to open an Incognito window is with the keyboard shortcut combination Ctrl-Shift-N (Windows) or Command-Shift-N (macOS).

Another way is to click on the menu on the upper right – it’s the three vertical dots – and select New Incognito Window from the list.

Open a new Incognito window in Chrome using keyboard shortcuts or from the menu (1) by choosing New Incognito window (2).

The new Incognito window can be recognized by the dark background and the stylized “spy” icon just to the left of the three-dots menu. Chrome also reminds users of just what Incognito does and doesn’t do each time a new window is opened. The message may get tiresome for regular Incognito users, but it may also save a job or reputation; it’s important that users remember Incognito doesn’t prevent ISPs, businesses, schools and organizations from knowing where customers, workers, students, and others went on the web or what they searched for.

Each time a new Incognito window is opened, Chrome reminds users what Incognito doesn’t save. As of Chrome 83, it also puts a toggle on the screen for blocking third-party cookies.

Incognito’s introductory screen also displays a toggle — it’s on by default — along with text that states third-party cookies will be blocked while in the privacy mode. Although cookies are never saved locally as long as the user stays in Incognito, websites have been able to track user movements from site to site while within Incognito . Such tracking might be used, for example, to display ads to a user visiting multiple sites in Incognito. This third-party cookie blocking, which halts such behavior, debuted in Chrome 83 in May 2020.

Google has been experimenting with new language on Chrome’s Incognito introductory page, but it’s yet to make it to the desktop browser. In the Canary build of Chrome on Android, however, the intro now outlines “What Incognito does” and “What Incognito doesn’t do,” to make the mode’s capabilities somewhat clearer to the user. (Some have speculated that the changes were made in reaction to a still-ongoing class-action lawsuit file in 2020 that alleged Google continued to track users’ online behavior and movements in Incognito.)

Once a tab in Incognito has been filled with a website, Chrome continues to remind users that they’re in Incognito by the dark background of the address bar and window title.

A link on an existing page can be opened directly into Incognito by right-clicking the link, then choosing Open Link in Incognito Window from the resulting menu.

What Incognito looks like after pulling up a website. Note the “spy” icon at the right of the address bar.

To close an Incognito window, shutter it like any other Chrome window by clicking the X in the upper right corner (Windows) or the red dot in the upper left (macOS).

Pro tip: Google has been working on locking Incognito mode tabs on mobile devices — the tabs unlocked with built-in biometric features — so that others can’t get a look at the privacy mode’s content simply by picking up another’s phone or tablet. Google is currently rolling out this feature in Chrome 92 on iOS, and still testing it in preview builds of Chrome for Android. No word on whether desktop Chrome will get something similar.

How to privately browse in Microsoft Edge

borrowed the name of its private browsing mode, InPrivate, from Internet Explorer (IE), the finally-being-retired legacy browser. InPrivate appeared in IE in March 2009, about three months after Chrome’s Incognito and three months before Firefox’s privacy mode. When Edge was first released in 2015 and then relaunched as a clone of Chrome in January 2020, InPrivate was part of the package, too.

At the keyboard, the combination of Ctrl-Shift-N (Windows) or Command-Shift-N (macOS) opens an InPrivate window.

A slower way to get there is to click on the menu at the upper right — it’s three dots arranged horizontally — and choose New InPrivate Window from the menu.

Like other browser, Edge will take you incognito from the menu (1) when you pick New InPrivate window (2).

Edge does a more thorough job of explaining what its private browsing mode does and doesn’t do than any of its rivals, with on-screen paragraphs dedicated to describing what data the browser collects in InPrivate and how the strictest additional anti-tracking setting can be called on from within the mode. In addition, Edge 92 — the current version as of this writing — uses the more informal “What Incognito does” and “What Incognito doesn’t do” language on its InPrivate introductory screen, something desktop Chrome hasn’t yet gotten to.

Microsoft’s browser also well marks InPrivate when the mode is operating: a blue-colored oval marked “In Private” to the right of the address bar combines with a full-black screen to make sure users know where they’re at.

The white-on-blue oval at the upper right tells you Edge is in InPrivate mode.

It’s also possible to launch an InPrivate session by right-clicking a link within Edge and selecting Open in InPrivate Window . That option is grayed out when already in a private browsing session but using Open Link in New Tab does just that within the current InPrivate frame.

To end InPrivate browsing, simply shut the window by clicking the X in the upper right corner (Windows) or click the red dot at the upper left (macOS).

Although Microsoft based the relaunched Edge on Chromium, the same open-source project that comes up with the code to power Chrome, the Redmond, Wash. company has integrated anti-tracking into its browser, something Chrome has yet to do. Dubbed “Tracking Prevention,” it works both in Edge’s standard and InPrivate modes.

To set Tracking Prevention, choose Settings from the three-ellipses menu at the right, then at the next page, pick Privacy, Search and Services . Choose one of the three options — Basic, Balanced or Strict — and make sure the toggle for Tracking prevention is in the “on” position. If you want InPrivate to always default to the harshest anti-tracking — not a bad idea — toggle Always use “Strict” tracking prevention when browsing InPrivate to “on.”

Toggle Always use Strict to the ‘on’ position and InPrivate will apply the most stringent anti-tracking even though Edge’s standard mode is set to, say, Balanced.

Pro tip: To open Edge with InPrivate — rather than first opening Edge in standard mode, then launching InPrivate — right-click the Edge icon in the Windows taskbar and select New InPrivate Window from the list. There is no similar one-step way to do this in macOS.

How to do private browsing in Mozilla Firefox

After Chrome trumpeted Incognito, browsers without something similar hustled to catch up. Mozilla added its take — dubbed Private Browsing — about six months after Google, in June 2009, with Firefox 3.5.

From the keyboard, a private browsing session can be called up using the combination Ctrl-Shift-P (Windows) or Command-Shift-P (macOS).

Alternately, a private window will open from the menu at the upper right of Firefox — three short horizontal lines — after selecting New private window .

Opening a private browsing window is as simple as choosing New Private Window (2) from the Firefox menu (1).

A private session window is marked by the purple “mask” icon in the title bar of the Firefox frame. In Windows, the icon is to the left of the minimize/maximize/close buttons; on a Mac, the mask squats at the far right of the title bar. Unlike Chrome and Edge, Firefox does not color-code the top components of the browser window to signify the user is in privacy mode.

Like other browsers, Firefox warns users that private browsing is no cure-all for privacy ills but is limited in what it blocks from being saved during a session. “While this doesn’t make you anonymous to websites or your internet service provider, it makes it easier to keep what you do online private from anyone else who uses this computer,” the caution reads.

Firefox reminds users that while a private session doesn’t save searches or browsing histories, it doesn’t cloak them in complete anonymity.

(Firefox also uses the Private Browsing introductory screen to shill the Mozilla VPN service, a $5 to $10 per month virtual private network that can, like other VPNs, hide your actual IP address from destination servers.)

A link can be opened into a Firefox Private Window by right-clicking the link, then choosing Open Link in New Private Window from the menu.

To close a Private Window, shut it down just as one would any Firefox window by clicking the X in the upper right corner (Windows) or the red dot in the upper left (macOS).

Notable is that Firefox’s private browsing mode is accompanied by the browser’s superb “Enhanced Tracking Protection,” a suite of tracker blocking tools that stymie all sorts of ad-and-site methods for identifying users, then watching and recording their online behavior. While the earliest version of this was offered only inside Private Windows, the expanded technologies also work within standard mode.

Because Enhanced Tracking Protection is enabled by default within Firefox, it doesn’t matter which of its settings — Standard, Strict or Custom — is selected as far as private browsing goes; everything that can be blocked will be blocked.

The shield appears in the address bar to note what trackers were blocked by Firefox in a Private Window. Clicking on the icon brings up an accounting of what was barred.

Pro tip: As of Firefox 91, Private Browsing sessions take place over the more secure HTTPS, not the once-standard HTTP protocol. Users don’t need to do anything: The new HTTPS-only policy is on by default. (If the destination site doesn’t support HTPPS, Firefox will recognize this and go into fallback mode, connecting via HTTP instead.)

How to browse privately using Apple’s Safari

Chrome may get far more attention for its Incognito than any other browser — no surprise, since it’s by far the most popular browser on the planet — but Apple’s Safari was actually the first to introduce private browsing. The term private browsing was first bandied in 2005 to describe Safari 2.0 features that limited what was saved by the browser.

Side note: Early in private browsing, the label porn mode was often used as a synonym to describe what many writers and reporters assumed was the primary application of the feature. The term has fallen out of favor.

To open what Safari calls a Private Window on a Mac, users can do a three-key combination of Command-Shift-N , the same shortcut Chrome adopted. Otherwise, a window can be called up by selecting the File menu and clicking on New Private Window.

From the File menu (1), New Private Window (2) gets you started.

Safari tags each Private Window by darkening the address bar. It also issues a reminder of what it does — or more accurately — what it doesn’t do. “Safari will keep your browsing history private for all tabs of this window. After you close this window, Safari won’t remember the pages you visited, your search history or your AutoFill information,” the top-of-the-page note reads. The warning is more terse than those of other browsers and omits cautions about still-visible online activity.

The darkened address bar up at the top is the signal that this Safari window is for private browsing.

Like Firefox, Safari automatically engages additional privacy technologies, whether the user browses in standard or private mode. Safari’s Intelligent Tracking Protection (ITP), which kicked off in 2017 and has been repeatedly upgraded since, now blocks all third-party cookies, among other components advertisers and services use to track people as they bounce from one site to another. ITP is controlled by a single on-off switch — on is the default — found in Preferences under the Privacy icon. If the Website tracking: box is checked to mark Prevent cross-site tracking , ITP is on.

Switching on cross-site tracking enables Safari’s Intelligent Tracking Protection, which blocks a wide variety of bits advertisers try to use to follow you around the web while you’re using a Private Window

A link can be opened directly to a Private Window by right-clicking, then selecting Open Link in New Private Window . Close a Private Window just as any Safari window, by clicking the red dot in the upper left corner of the browser frame.

Pro tip: Once in a Safari Private Window, opening a new tab — either by clicking the + icon at the upper right or by using the Command-T key combo — omits the Private Browsing Enabled notice. (The darkened address bar remains as the sole indicator of a private browsing session.) Other browsers, such as Firefox, repeat their cautionary messages each time a tab is opened in an incognito session.

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Gregg Keizer covers Windows, Office, Apple/enterprise, web browsers, and web apps for Computerworld.

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Safari tab switching lag

• Thread starter AppleFan.
• Start date Sunday at 1:39 AM
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macrumors newbie

• Sunday at 1:39 AM

Hi, when I have multiple tabs open in Safari, sometimes, there is a noticeable lag or delay when switching tabs. This doesn't happen in other webbrowsers. Has anyone else been experiencing this?  

Contributor

• Sunday at 3:57 AM

Safari version? System config? Disable extensions. Still happening?  

• Sunday at 9:34 AM

Bigwaff said: Safari version? System config? Disable extensions. Still happening? Click to expand...

• Sunday at 1:58 PM

AppleFan. said: I don't have any extensions, and it is still happening. Click to expand...

• Sunday at 2:54 PM

How many tabs are we talking about? As you have the lowest RAM configuration (8GB) this may be due to swap use, where the MacBook starts using the internal storage (SSD) as RAM which is quite slow.  

• Sunday at 11:46 PM

Bigwaff said: Do you quit Safari or just close windows using the little red circle? Click to expand...

• Sunday at 11:48 PM

ImKo96 said: How many tabs are we talking about? As you have the lowest RAM configuration (8GB) this may be due to swap use, where the MacBook starts using the internal storage (SSD) as RAM which is quite slow. Click to expand...