how to search safari history

How to See the Safari History on an iPhone: A Step-by-Step Guide

Seeing the Safari history on an iPhone is a straightforward process. Just open the Safari app, tap the book icon at the bottom of the screen, and then tap the clock icon to view your browsing history. You’ll be able to see a list of all the websites you’ve visited, sorted by date.

After completing this action, you’ll have access to the list of websites you’ve visited using Safari on your iPhone. This can be useful for finding a site you forgot to bookmark, checking what sites were visited on a particular day, or clearing your history for privacy reasons.

Introduction

Browsing the internet on your iPhone is a daily activity for many of us, but how often do we think about our digital footprints? Whether you’re a privacy-conscious individual, a parent wanting to check what your kids have been up to online, or simply trying to find that one website you stumbled upon a few days ago, knowing how to view your Safari history is essential.

Safari, the default browser on all Apple devices, keeps track of all the websites you visit, allowing you to revisit a site whenever you need to. However, not everyone knows how to access this history. This article is for iPhone users of all ages and skill levels who want to learn how to see their Safari history. It’s an important skill that can help you in a variety of situations. Plus, it’s super easy to do!

How to See the Safari History on an iPhone

The following steps will guide you through the process of viewing your Safari history on an iPhone.

Open the Safari app on your iPhone. Upon opening the Safari app, you’ll be greeted with your default homepage or the last page you visited.

Tap the book icon located at the bottom of the screen. This icon will take you to your bookmarks, reading list, and history.

Tap the clock icon to view your browsing history. The clock icon is typically at the top of the list, and tapping it will display all the sites you’ve visited, organized by date.

Additional Information

When browsing through your Safari history, you can tap on any entry to revisit that webpage immediately. Plus, if you’re looking to delete certain parts of your history, you can do that too! Just swipe left on any entry and tap ‘Delete’ to remove it from your history. If you want to clear your entire browsing history, there’s an option for that at the bottom of the history list. Remember, once it’s gone, it’s gone for good, so make sure you really don’t need that history before you delete it.

Additionally, keep in mind that if you’re using iCloud to sync Safari across your devices, your history will be visible on all devices signed into that iCloud account. This is super handy if you want to access a webpage you visited on your Mac from your iPhone, for example. However, if privacy is a concern for you, consider using private browsing mode, which doesn’t save any history.

• Open the Safari app.
• Tap the book icon.
• Select the clock icon to view history.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do i delete my safari history.

To delete your Safari history, go to the history page, tap ‘Clear’ at the bottom, and choose the time range you want to clear.

Can I search through my Safari history?

Yes, there’s a search bar at the top of the history page where you can enter keywords to find specific sites.

Will my Safari history be synced across all my Apple devices?

If you’re using iCloud Safari syncing, then yes, your history will be visible on all devices signed into that iCloud account.

How long does Safari keep my browsing history?

Safari typically keeps your browsing history for up to one month, but this can be adjusted in settings.

Is there a way to keep my browsing private?

Yes, you can use private browsing mode in Safari, which does not save your history or AutoFill information.

Knowing how to see the Safari history on your iPhone is a neat trick that can save you time and ensure that you’re never too far from a useful website you’ve visited. Whether it’s for privacy, parental control, or pure convenience, mastering this skill is a must for any iPhone user. Remember to manage your history responsibly and enjoy the vast wealth of information the internet has to offer right at your fingertips. Happy browsing!

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 Check and Search Safari History on Mac

Browsing history is one of the essential features of Safari that keeps a detailed record of your online activity, allowing you to quickly access previously visited websites and track your digital footprint. Whether you need it for research or personal security, learning how to manage Safari’s browsing history is essential for every Mac user. Follow this guide to learn how to check, search and clear your Safari browsing history on a Mac.

How to Check Safari Browsing History on a Mac

How to manage browsing history in safari.

Safari for Mac offers several different methods to access your browsing history. You can do it via the Safari menu, toolbar, or a keyboard shortcut.

Use the Safari Menu to Access Browsing History

The easiest way to check browsing history in Safari is from the web browser’s menu. Follow the steps below to check Safari history on your Mac.

Launch the Safari browser on your Mac. Find the ribbon menu in the upper-left corner of your screen, and select History .

You’ll get access in the drop-down menu to a list of all the websites you’ve previously visited.

If you want a more detailed view, click on Show All History at the top of the drop-down menu. This opens a dedicated browsing history window where you can search for specific websites and delete individual entries.

View Browsing History in the Safari Toolbar

If you often need to check or search Safari history, customize your Safari toolbar, and add a button to quickly access your browsing history.

Open the Safari browser on your Mac. From the ribbon menu, select View -> Customize Toolbar .

Drag History from the options and place it in any place you would like on the Toolbar.

Select Done in the bottom right of the window.

If you want to change the position of this button later or delete it from the toolbar altogether, follow the same steps and drag the button back to the items menu.

Use a Keyboard Shortcut to Check Safari History

For those who prefer using keyboard shortcuts, you can use a shortcut to open and check Safari history.

When you have a Safari window open, press the Command + Y keys to open your browsing history in a new window.

Along with viewing your browsing history, you can also keep your history organized.

Search Your History for Specific Websites

It’s easy to locate a particular website in your Safari history. When you open your browsing history, use the Search bar in the upper-right corner of the window to search within the list of your previously visited websites.

Enter the website’s name or any related keywords, and Safari will display all relevant results.

Clear Safari Search History

See something you don’t like in your browsing history? Or maybe it’s something you want to hide from prying eyes, should someone else access the list? You can delete specific entries from Safari history.

Open your browsing history window in Safari on either your Mac, right-click on the website entry you wish to delete, and select Delete .

You can also clear your entire browsing history or auto-delete it instead.

Open your browsing history window in Safari on your Mac. Look for the Clear History or Clear option at the bottom of the screen and select it. Select the time range of your browsing history that you want to clear (e.g., last hour , today , today and yesterday , or all history ).

Confirm your selection by clicking on Clear History or Clear Browsing History .

Improve Your Safari Experience

Mastering your Safari browsing history is essential for efficient web browsing and maintaining privacy on your Mac. With the various methods outlined here, you can easily access, search, and clear your browsing history to suit your needs. For those looking to optimize the Safari experience and protect their privacy, we recommend taking the next step and learning how to create Safari profiles on Mac, iPhone and iPad .

Image credit: Unsplash . All screenshots by Anya Zhukova.

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Anya is a bilingual writer who has spent over 8 years writing about all things tech. She's contributed to high-traffic tech publications such as MakeUseOf, Online Tech Tips, Help Desk Geek, and Switching to Mac. Anya's always looking for new ways to make life easier using technology. When she's not writing, you can find her shredding fresh pow on a snowboard, or exploring new mountain bike trails.

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.

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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.

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How To View History in Safari on a PC, Tablet, or Mobile Device

Lee Stanton Lee Stanton is a versatile writer with a concentration on the software landscape, covering both mobile and desktop applications as well as online technologies. Read more July 19, 2022

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Safari for iOS provides a convenient way to keep track of your browsing history. You can use it to call up web pages quickly you’ve visited. You can easily go down the rabbit hole when performing searches online. This makes it difficult to remember exactly where you found a valuable piece of information. Reviewing your browsing history can retrace your steps, saving you the arduous task of finding the data from scratch. This article covers how to see your history in Safari. Check out how to do that below.

How to View History in Safari on an iPhone

Safari stores your browser activity, making it possible to revisit sites at a later date. You could either view your most recent history or check out the entire list of previously visited websites. This is how to do that.

You have now accessed your recent history on Safari.

If you would like to view your complete Safari browsing history, here’s how to do that.

You’ve now accessed your Safari browsing history.

How to View History in Safari on an iPad

Safari allows users to keep track of their browsing history. This feature can then be used to revisit sites that might be of interest. You could either view recent history or peruse all your browsing data. The steps listed here detail how to do that.

You have now viewed the recent history on your iPad.

To view your complete browsing data, follow the steps outlined here.

How to View History in Safari on a Mac

Your Safari browsing history allows you to revisit sites you viewed in the past. You can even use the search tool so that you don’t have to scroll through the entire list of results to find what you are looking for. Here’s how to view your browsing history on an iPhone.

• Click on it to open the page in your browser.

You can now see your history in Safari. If you signed in to your device using the same Apple ID that you use on your other Apple devices, that history would also be displayed on your Mac.

Can You View History From Private Browsing?

Private Browsing is a feature that prevents Safari from storing information on sites you have visited. It ensures there’s no record of your online activity, including passwords or autofill information. It also prevents iCloud from storing data on any tabs that you open. To provide an additional layer of privacy, Safari prevents sites and content providers from tracking you. Any cookies you might have picked up are deleted once you close the tab.

This means that Safari doesn’t store your browsing history when you activate Private Browsing. You will therefore be unable to view it in the future.

How to Clear History in Safari

If your Apple device is lagging or otherwise misbehaving, you might consider clearing your browsing data. This is how to do that.

Your browsing data will now be removed from your device.

Retracing Your Steps

Like many web browsers, Safari stores information on websites you’ve visited. This data can come in handy when you want to go back to a particular site. This guide shows you how to retrieve the browsing history stored on your Apple devices.

Have you viewed your browsing history on Safari? What did you think of the process? Let us know in the comments below.

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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 Manage Browsing History on Safari for iPad

Protect your privacy on your mobile device

What to Know

• Open Safari . Select the Bookmarks icon.
• Choose the Clock icon to open the History pane displaying the list of sites visited during the past month.
• Select Clear and indicate which entries to delete using one of the four options: The last hour, Today, Today and yesterday, and All Time.

This article explains how to manage browsing history on Safari for iPad, including how to view and delete the iPad Safari history, cookies, and stored website data. This article applies to all iPad devices with iOS 10 or iPadOS 13 or later. The process for managing browser history in Safari on an iPhone is slightly different.

How to View and Delete Your iPad Browser History in Safari

Reviewing your iPad browser history is a straightforward process. Safari stores a log of websites you visit along with other related components, such as the cache and cookies. These elements enhance your browsing experience, but you may want to delete your browsing history for privacy reasons.

You can manage your web browsing history on the iPad in two ways. The easiest option is to do it directly in Safari:

Open the Safari web browser.

Select the Bookmarks icon (it looks like an open book) at the top of the screen. 

Select the clock icon to open the History pane. A list of sites visited over the past month appears.

To delete a single website from the browser history, swipe left on its name.

Select  Clear at the bottom of the panel to reveal four options: The last hour, Today, Today and yesterday, and All time.

Select your preferred option to remove the browsing history from your iPad and all connected iCloud devices.

How to Delete History and Cookies From the iPad Settings App

Deleting the browser history through Safari doesn't remove all the data it stores. For a thorough cleaning, go to the iPad Settings app. You can also delete the browsing history and cookies from the Settings app. Clearing the history this way deletes everything Safari saved.

Select the gear icon on the Home screen to open the iPad Settings .

Scroll down and select Safari .

Scroll through the list of settings and select  Clear History and Website Data to delete the browsing history, cookies, and other cached website data.

Select  Clear to confirm, or select Cancel to return to the Safari settings without removing any data.

How to Delete Stored Website Data on iPad

Safari sometimes stores additional website data on top of a list of web pages you visited. For example, it can save passwords and preferences for frequently visited sites. If you want to delete this data but don't want to clear the browsing history or cookies, selectively delete specific data saved by Safari using the iPad Settings app.

Open the iPad Settings app.

Scroll to the bottom of the Safari settings screen and select Advanced .

Select  Website Data to display a breakdown of the data each website currently stores on the iPad.

Select Show All Sites to display the expanded list if necessary.

Select  Remove All Website Data  at the bottom of the screen to delete the site data at once, or swipe left on individual items to clear items one at a time.

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Quickly search Safari bookmarks and history

If you frequently dig through your browser history to find a Web page you looked at a few days earlier (or accidentally closed a few seconds ago), or peruse your bookmarks to revisit a page you saved months ago, today’s hint can help you find those pages more quickly than by browsing menus or venturing into Safari’s Bookmarks screen.

You could do this using Mac OS X’s Spotlight feature, which searches your Safari bookmarks and history; however, Spotlight also searches everything else on your hard drive, making it an inefficient way to find something specific to your browser. What few people know is that Safari has its own “quick search” feature, hidden in an unexpected location.

To perform a Safari-specific search, you simply click on Safari’s Help menu—or, if your fingers prefer to remain on the keyboard, press Command+?—and enter your search term. Instead of searching just Help documents, OS X also searches your Safari history and bookmarks—or, more specifically, the title of each Web page in your History and Bookmarks menus.

The results of your search appear instantaneously in the Menu Items section of the Help menu—listed first are history items, followed by bookmarks. (Results from Mac OS X Help are listed at the bottom of the menu next to Help Topics.) Mouse over a result, or use the up- and down- arrow keys to highlight it, and OS X will show you exactly where in the History or Bookmarks menus that Web page resides. Click the page name—or press Return—to open the Web page in Safari.

(This “feature” is really just a side effect of the fact that the OS X Help system searches the current application’s menu commands to make it easier to find a particular command; since your bookmarks and history items are listed in Safari’s menus, they get searched, as well. This means that to include Safari’s bookmarks bar in these searches, you must enable the Safari setting to include the bookmarks bar in the bookmarks menu. Of course, if you’ve created additional bookmark folders outside of the bookmarks menu or bar, those folders won’t be searched.)

For example, in the screenshot below, I was looking for a specific site I visited while checking for the latest versions of the screen savers I covered last week. The search for “screen saver” found six results in my history and two in my bookmarks; when I highlighted one of the history results, OS X showed me the name of the site and the date on which I visited it.

There are a couple limitations to this approach to searching Safari compared to a full-blown Spotlight search. The first is that whereas standard Spotlight queries, as well as queries you initiate in Safari’s Bookmarks/History screen, search both the title and the content of every Web page, the Help-menu version searches only the title. The second issue is that the Help menu is often too narrow to view each site’s name, especially for history results, where each site’s name is preceded by the day and date you visited it; in these cases, you need to highlight an item to view its name. (Bookmarks are displayed with the folder name preceding the name of the page, so you’ll have the same issue with long bookmark-folder names.)

I find myself using Safari’s “hidden” search feature several times each day to quickly revisit a site. It’s also useful when I accidentally close a tab or window, and it’s especially convenient if, like me, you prefer keyboard shortcuts to mousing about: just press Command+?, type a few characters, and then use the arrow keys to select the desired site from the search results.

Oh, and here’s a related bonus hint: If you’re using 1Password 3, and you enable 1Password’s Show In Top Menu Bar setting, Safari’s Help-menu search will also search your 1Password logins, letting you quickly open and log in to a Website.

Author: Dan Frakes

Dan is former Macworld senior editor. You can find him on the web at danfrakes.com .

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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.

What you'll need

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 want to clear your history to get rid of bloat and streamline your browsing experience. Other times, you're trying to hide a gift purchase from a loved one.

Apple makes it very easy to clear your browsing history on both the iPhone and iPad and we're here to show you how. Here's how you can make a fresh start in Safari and debloat your web browsing experience.

On the latest models, web browsing is smoother than ever before thanks to ProMotion in the iPhone 15 Pro and faster chipsets like the M2 found in the iPad Air 6 . If you're looking for a new Apple device, we highly recommend one of the following: 

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Viewing your web history in iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 is very easy to do, here's how:

• 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 or an iPad Mini 6 , all Apple devices require the same steps.

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• 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.

It's great to have a feature like this in Safari — but it would be good to have this automated in iOS 18 . If Apple's web browser could automatically clear history after 24 hours it 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 every day 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. His second book, ' 50 Years of Boss Fights ', came out in June 2024, and has a monthly newsletter called ' Springboard '. 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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2 Simple Ways to Clear Safari Search History

Last Updated: November 28, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was written by Gonzalo Martinez and by wikiHow staff writer, Rain Kengly . Gonzalo Martinez is the President of CleverTech, a tech repair business in San Jose, California founded in 2014. CleverTech LLC specializes in repairing Apple products. CleverTech pursues environmental responsibility by recycling aluminum, display assemblies, and the micro components on motherboards to reuse for future repairs. On average, they save 2 lbs - 3 lbs more electronic waste daily than the average computer repair store. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 510,726 times.

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

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

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

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

Troubleshooting Safari History Data

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

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

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

Community Q&A

You Might Also Like

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

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

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5 Ways to View & Recover Deleted Safari History on iPhone/iPad

“Is it possible to recover deleted Safari history on iPhone? I want to retrieve deleted history from around 3 months earlier.”

Safari is the default browser for iOS devices and Mac computers, which is widely used among Apple users. While searching the internet with Safari, it usually keeps the browsing history and bookmarks for picking up what has been read.

What if you have accidentally deleted your browsing history, or it is suddenly gone without a record? Don't worry. You still have a chance to get back the deleted Safari history. Keep reading to find out how to recover deleted Safari history on iPhone with or without backup.

Can Safari History Be Recovered Once It Is Deleted?

Yes, you can recover deleted browsing history from Safari, but it's not guaranteed. When you clear your browsing history in Safari, it's not permanently erased from your iPhone or iPad. Instead, it's temporarily stored in a different part of your device's memory for a limited period. This storage period typically lasts around one month for iPhone/iPad and up to one year for Mac. If you act quickly, you sitll have a good chance to recover deleted Safari history.

Check iPhone Settings for Deleted Safari History

Before you try any other methods listed below, first check your iPhone itself. The simplest way of recovering your browsing history is to find them in Safari Website Data under Settings. Here's how to do it:

• On your iPhone, open the Settings app. Scroll down to find Safari and tap on it.
• On the next screen, scroll to the bottom and tap on the Advanced option.
• Now choose the Website Data and you'll view the domain of the deleted browsing history.

The drawback of this method:

This method will only show you the root domain of your visited sites. You won't be able to find a specific page you've viewed before. Also, this method only works as long as you don't clear cookies and history from Safari.

Recover Safari History on iPhone without Backup (Recommend)

If there is no backup of your deleted Safari history, FoneGeek iPhone Data Recovery is highly recommended to you. As the world's 1st iPhone and iPad data recovery software, it has helped tens of thousands of iOS users find deleted or lost data. What makes it so popular? The answer is its reliability and function:

• Offers 3 recovery modes, and you can choose the one that best fits your needs to recover deleted Safari history.
• Preview the  deleted Safari history for free before the recovery process and selectively recover only the browsing history you need.
• Supports to recover many other types of data like messages, contacts, photos , videos, notes , WhatsApp messages, Viber, etc.
• Works well on all iPhone models and iOS versions, even the latest iPhone 15/14 and iOS 17/16.

Follow the steps below to recover deleted safari history on your iPhone without backup:

Step 1. Connect iPhone to Computer

To start with, install the program on your Windows PC or Mac and launch it. Choose Recover Data from iOS Devices and then connect your iPhone to the computer using a USB cable.

Step 2. Select Safari History to Scan

Once the program detects your iPhone, choose Safari History or any other type of files you would like to recover, and then click Scan to begin scanning.

Step 3. Recover Deleted Safari History

After the scan, click Safari History from the category list to preview the recoverable Safari history. Then select the ones you need and click the Recover to PC button to save the deleted Safari history to your computer.

Recover Deleted Safari History on iPhone from Backup

Option 1. recover safari history from icloud web.

You are allowed to recover only Safari history from iCloud's official site as long as you have turned on iCloud Auto Syncing on your iPhone. Follow these simple steps:

• Sign in to the iCloud official site from any browser using your iCloud account.
• Navigate to the Advanced option and scroll down to click Restore Bookmarks .
• Choose an archive of bookmarks you want and click on Restore .

Only the deleted Safari history within the last 30 days can be retrieved. Also, the existing Safari bookmarks on your iPhone will be replaced and erased, which might cause new data loss.

Option 2. Restore iPhone Safari History from iCloud Backup

If you have backed up your iPhone to iCloud, restoring your iPhone from the iCloud backup is also one of the feasible choices you can try. Doing this will get back all the app data, including the deleted Safari history. But you need to factory reset the iPhone before performing the restore.

• Open Settings and click on General , scroll down to tap on " Transfer or Reset iPhone and select Erase All Content and Settings .
• Follow the instructions to set up your iPhone until you reach the page of Apps & Data . Then, choose Restore from iCloud Backup .
• Sign in to iCloud and choose a backup to restore the device. All data in the backup file, including the deleted Safari history, will come back.

You're not allowed to preview the deleted files and selectively recover what you need only. What's worse, all the existing data on your iPhone will be erased and you'll lose your latest data that are not included in the iCloud backup.

Selectively Recover Deleted Safari History on iPhone from iCloud Backup

With FoneGeek iPhone Data Recovery, you're able to preview and selectively recover deleted Safari history from iCloud backup.

• Run FoneGeek iPhone Data Recovery and switch to Recover Data from iCloud .
• Sign in to iCloud with your Apple ID and password. Then select the data types you want to restore and click on Scan .
• After you've downloaded the iCloud data, preview and select the data you need, then click on Recover to PC .

Option 3. Recover Deleted Safari History from iTunes Backup

If you have made an iTunes/Finder backup before you deleted the Safari history, you can also recover the deleted browsing history by restoring your iPhone from the backup. However, to restore the backed-up data, you will have to erase the existing data on your iPhone.

• Connect your iPhone to your computer and launch iTunes or Finder.
• Click on the iPhone icon when it shows up, and then choose Restore Backup .
• Select the backup file that contains your deleted Safari history and click on Restore .

Same as iCloud, preview and selective recovery are not supported. Restoring from iTunes backup might also lead to data loss as any new files added to your iPhone since the backup will be replaced and overwritten.

Selectively Recover Deleted Safari History on iPhone from iTunes Backup

Again, we recommend you use FoneGeek iPhone Data Recovery to recover deleted Safari history from iTunes backup without erasing any data.

• Launch FoneGeek iPhone Data Recovery and choose the option of Recover Data from iTunes Backup .
• Select the iTunes backup file you want and click Next . Then select Safari History and click on Scan .
• After the scan, you can preview the Safari history and selectively recover those you need by clicking on Recover .

FAQs about iPhone Safari History Recovery

Q1. How long does Safari keep your browsing history?

This question has confused a lot of iPhone users. Actually, there is a definite answer to this question: your Mac can keep your browsing history for as long as a year, while iPhone and iPad keep browsing history for a month. This is what is demonstrated on Apple’s official site.

Q2. How to recover deleted Safari history on an iPad?

There are different methods for recovering deleted Safari history on your iPhone, most of which apply to iPads. You can try using FoneGeek iPhone Data Recovery, which is compatible with major iOS devices, including iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

Q3. Where is Safari history stored on your Mac?

All the Safari history you can see on your Mac is stored in the ~/Library/Safari/ folder.

• Just click on Finder > Go > Go to Folder .
• Then, enter the path in the textbox and click on OK to open the History.db file.

Q4. How to avoid losing Safari history?

To avoid the possible loss of Safari history, you can enable Safari in iCloud preferences. In this way, the Safari data will be backed up to the cloud automatically.

Besides that, you can also use some tools such as FoneGeek iOS Backup & Restore to back up iPhone data to your computer selectively or fully.

This article has outlined all feasible solutions to recover deleted Safari history on your iPhone. You can pick the one that works best for you. We strongly recommend FoneGeek iPhone Data Recovery for its easy-to-use interface and ablility to recover Safari history with or without backup.

Joan J. Mims is interested in researching all tips about iPhone, iPad and Android. He loves to share useful ideas with all users.

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• 1 Can Safari History Be Recovered Once It Is Deleted?
• 2 Check iPhone Settings for Deleted Safari History
• 3 Recover Safari History on iPhone without Backup (Recommend) Hot
• 4 Recover Deleted Safari History on iPhone from Backup
• 5 FAQs about iPhone Safari History Recovery
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Tips & Tricks

Troubleshooting, how to search safari browser history on iphone & ipad.

Did you know you can search through web browsing history in Safari on an iPhone or iPad? With the excellent Safari History search feature you can easily retrieve and find previously visited sites, webpages, and videos, whether from earlier in the day or even well over a year ago – assuming the searchable Safari history has not been removed anyway.

This offers a fantastic tool to track down old web content that you may have a hard time finding on it’s own. For example, if you knew you watched a web video somewhere about a topic like “Carl Sagan” but can’t quite remember what it was or where it was located on the web, you can search for that term and all history matching the search terms will be retrieved.

How to Search Browser History on Safari for iPhone, iPad

All modern versions of Safari in iOS have searchable history, here’s how it works:

• From the Safari app on iPhone or iPad, tap the bookmarks / history button (it looks like an open book icon)

• Choose the the book tab and go to the History section
• At the top of the History section, tap into the “Search History” box

• Type your search query term to search Safari browser history on the iOS device

If you tap on any searched history result, the page or site will immediately open in Safari.

In the example above, I searched for “Charlie Rose” to track down an old interview I had watched on YouTube, and the video I was searching for was found immediately.

You can search through any search history on Safari on the iOS device, even history that is quite a bit older, as long as you (or the user) has not cleared Safari history on the device being searched.

Note that if you use Safari and iCloud on an iPhone or iPad as well as another device, you will have other devices history to search through as well – even if it was not searched for on the current device. This is a feature of iCloud and is available to users with the same Apple ID and iCloud enabled on multiple iOS and Mac OS devices.

You can also search for an item match in Safari history and then remove that specific page from Safari history in iOS after it has been matched and found, offering a way to selectively clear history from a device without wiping it all.

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Related articles:

• How to Recover Deleted Safari History on Mac
• How to Delete Specific Safari History on Mac
• View Browsing History on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch from Safari
• How to Access & Search Safari History on Mac

11 Comments

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The step “From the Safari app on iPhone or iPad, tap the bookmarks / history button (it looks like an open book icon)” is inaccurate. My iPad lacks such a button.

Bookmarks and history is indeed a feature in Safari for iPad. Make sure you are using Safari and not another browser.

I would like to see Michael Frank’s location at the exact time I am looking for him everything was working fine when I first bought this phone now everything is messed up my map is completely incorrect with names of streets and highways doing what he did and I can never get Michael Franks timeline

I would like to see my partner that I share location with timeline and location when I look up his location why is it that he can see me perfectly fine but I can never see where he is

Only seems to go back 2 weeks to 1 month, is this accurate?

The Safari browser cache will usually go back as far either the last time the cache was emptied, or when the device age is, or when the device was last restored from. Safari in iOS can contain a significant time of browsing cache, depending on those circumstances and perhaps others too.

Searching safari history on my iPhone… how far back will the history go? I see only a month. I need two months at least.

You need to mention the search history section does not display unless you pull down on the list. It’s hidden at the top by default. Thanks

Nope I don’t get a history tab if I pull down

How can I download or put safari back on my iPad I have the icon but no app when I pull up. To use it

I do not have the history section on all my IOS devices, even I didn’t clear the history. I can see them on macOS but not on IOS. Any idea why?

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Safari User Guide

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

Clear your browsing history in Safari on Mac

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

Open Safari for me

Choose how far back you want your browsing history cleared.

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

History of webpages you visited

The back and forward list for open webpages

Frequently visited site list

Recent searches

Icons for webpages

Snapshots saved for open webpages

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

Websites added for Quick Website Search

Websites that asked to use your location

Websites that asked to send you notifications

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

How Can I find search history a year ago from safari?

Posted on Aug 15, 2022 6:22 PM

Similar questions

• View Safari's History I want to see the history of Safari from 2-3 months ago, so that I have visited the web during that period. 1087 2
• How do I see my search history from the past years? I really need to find the date when I search something and my search history only gives me the searches of a couple months. 308 1
• Can I get a copy of my Safari search history? Is there a way to track Safari search history associated with my Apple ID? 351 1

Loading page content

Page content loaded

Aug 15, 2022 6:50 PM in response to Maryamamo

Safari on iPhone and iPad doesn’t keep history anywhere near that far back.

On iPad, it keeps ~two weeks.

Which means you need old backups, and a willingness to restore those backups.

Which erases all existing contents.

• Services & Software

Take Google Back to 1998: How to Get 10 Blue Links in Google Search Results

Not interested in AI Overviews? Here's how to get stripped-down search results.

Google Search has changed considerably since the product was initially launched in 1998.

Google Search results are changing drastically for the first time in decades -- a new feature called  AI Overviews  will return AI-summarized answers for certain questions and search terms. These AI Overviews appear first on the page and can often take up much of users' screens. 

Not all users are thrilled by the new AI Overviews , however, especially those who are searching for links, not answers to questions. But Google also introduced a new "Web" search filter  that gives you nothing but text-based links -- no AI, no images and no videos.

Even better, you can get those link-based results on Google just by searching from your browser address bar. We'll show you how to do it on Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari or Microsoft Edge.

What is the Google Search Web filter?

Google's new Web filter is similar to its filters for results like News, Images, Videos or Shopping. When the Web filter is selected, your search results will return only text-based links, with no AI summaries, videos or knowledge panels like "Top Stories" or "People Always Ask."

The new filter should appear below the search box on the Google Search results page, among other filters like News, Images and Videos. You'll usually have to click the three-dot "More" menu to see it as an option.

The Web filter for Google Search will usually be placed in the menu for More filters underneath the search box.

Clicking the Web filter link will give you Google Search results composed entirely of text-based links, with no answers, AI or anything else. "Web" will now be underlined and highlighted in blue under the search query box.

Google's Web filter removes snippets and other knowledge panels from your results.

In our initial tests of Google's Web filter, we did not see any sponsored search results or other advertisements, but that filter will still return ad results for certain search queries, according to a Google spokesperson. After testing out more search terms with the Google Web filter, we were also able to see search ads for a few specific queries.

How do I get Google Search Web filter results for my address bar searches?

Depending on your browser, it's fairly easy to customize your browser settings so that your address bar searches go straight to the Google Web filter results. You'll need to create a custom site search shortcut in your browser and then trigger that search option with a keyword or make it your default for all searches. 

The critical URL that you need to remember is https://www.google.com/search?q=%s&udm=14 . The "%s" represents your search query, and the "udm=14" tag limits your results to the new Web filter.

Here's how to add the necessary custom site search for Google's Web filter in the four most popular web desktop browsers -- Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox and Apple Safari.

Google Chrome

Open up a Google Chrome browser window, then click on the three-dot menu in the upper-right corner, next to your Google account profile. Click Settings near the bottom of that menu. You can also get to your Chrome settings by entering chrome://settings in the browser address bar.

Select Search engine from the left-hand column, then click "Manage search engines and site search" in the middle of the browser window. Next, scroll down to "Site search" and click the blue Add button.

In the resultant pop-up window, create a name for the new search shortcut and a keyword for triggering it. We chose "Old Google" and "og." For the last field -- "URL with %s in place of query" -- enter that URL we mentioned above: https://www.google.com/search?q=%s&udm=14 . Then click the blue Add button.

Now when you search your address bar using "og" + your search term, you'll get results using Google's Web filter.

If you'd like to make it your default search option, click the three-dot menu next to your new site search and select "Make default." After you make the new search shortcut your default search, all of your address-bar searches will use the Web filter -- no keyword needed.

After you create the site search shortcut for Google's Web filter, you can make it your default search engine.

Microsoft Edge

The Windows browser is based on the Chromium codebase, so the steps for adding a Google Search Web filter shortcut are similar to Google Chrome. Navigate into Settings by clicking the three-dot menu in the upper-right corner, then select Privacy, search, and services . 

Near the bottom of the following screen, select Address bar and search , then Manage search engines . Alternatively, you can navigate directly to that screen by entering edge://settings/searchEngines in your Edge address bar.

Click the Add button to create your new site search shortcut. The Search engine is your name for the shortcut (I used "Old Google"), the Shortcut is the term that triggers that specific site search (I used "og"), and the URL template is the string that triggers the Google Search Web filter: https://www.google.com/search?q=%s&udm=14 . 

Search engines in Microsoft Edge work very similarly to Google Chrome.

To make that new Google URL your default search, go back to the Address bar and search settings page and click on the drop-down menu next to Search engine used in the address bar . Select your new custom site search, and your address bar searches will default to the Google Search Web filter.

Mozilla Firefox

Firefox works a little bit differently for setting up search shortcuts. Instead of using the search settings, you'll create a new bookmark with a keyword shortcut, then use that keyword in the address bar to trigger the Web filter results for Google Search. Unfortunately, Firefox doesn't let you add new search engines in its desktop version.

From the Bookmarks drop-down in Firefox, select Manage Bookmarks . On the following screen, right-click on the folder in your Bookmarks where you'd like to place the shortcut, then select "Add Bookmark." (Since you'll be triggering it from the address bar, it doesn't matter where the bookmark lives.)

In the following pop-up window, enter a Name (for example, "Old Google"), the URL https://www.google.com/search?q=%s&udm=14 and a Keyword (such as "og") to save the search filter as a bookmark. Hit the "Save" button, and the Google Web filter results will be available by entering your keyword before any address-bar searches.

To search Google's Web filter with Mozilla Firefox, you'll need to use a bookmark with a keyword shortcut.

Apple Safari

Safari doesn't enable custom site shortcuts by default. The only way we were able to add the Google Web filter search was by installing the free Safari extension Smart Keyword Search , which enables site search shortcuts.

After installing Smart Keyword Search, the first thing you'll need to do is enable it to adjust your Google search results. Go into Settings , click Extensions at the top of the window, select Smart Keyword Search , then click on the "Edit Websites" button. On the following page, click the drop-down menu next to google.com and select "Allow."

You'll need to allow the Smart Keyword Search extension the permission to adjust Google searches.

Now close the Settings window, and click the icon for Smart Keyword Search that appears next to the Safari address bar. You'll see a pop-up window with the various "rules" the extension uses to modify searches. Click the "compose" button to start a new rule, then enter a name (such as. "Old Google"), prefix (for example, "og") and a familiar URL for the Web filter search shortcut.

The Smart Keyword Search extension for Safari uses slightly different syntax.

Smart Keyword Search uses the variable "{search}" instead of "%s" to indicate a search query, so you'll need to enter a slightly different URL: https://google.com/search?q={search}&utm=14 . Hit the "submit" button. Now entering "og" (or your selected prefix) before any searches in your address bar will return results restricted by Google's Web filter.

How to restrict your Google Web searches to 'verbatim' results

You can further customize your searches on Google so that the search engine only returns results based on the exact terms that you use -- not synonyms or related terms. The "verbatim" option was introduced back in 2011 and is usually accessed via the "Tools" link under most Google searches.

To add a "verbatim" restriction to your Web filter shortcut, append the attribute "&tbs=li:1" to the end of your custom search URL: https://www.google.com/search?q=%s&udm=14&tbs=li:1

Any searches that you make using that new URL will now only return text-based web links for your exact search queries.

For more, discover how to use Google's circle-to-search feature on the iPhone and five Google Assistant settings you need to change right now .

Correction, July 2: An earlier version of this story misstated the absence of advertisements on Google Web filter results. After further testing, we were able to confirm that search ads can appear on Google Search Web filter results.

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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