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

safari close current tab

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 Quickly Close Open Tabs in Safari

Ever find yourself with a bunch of tabs open in Safari that you just don't need anymore? Instead of clicking on each tab's little X button, close all tabs at once with these shortcuts. This only works on Safari for the Mac, not Safari for the iPhone and iPad.

In Safari for OS X, you have a few options to close tabs simultaneously. Pick whichever one you'll remember most or seems easiest to you:

  • Right-click on a tab and choose "Close other tabs."  
  • Hold down the Option key and click the X button on the tab you want to keep open.
  • Use the Command+Option+W keyboard shortcut.

All of the actions above will close all of the tabs except the active one or the tab you select. If you want to close all tabs, including the active one, click Command+Shift+W . This will close the current Safari window, while keeping Safari open (handy if you have multiple Safari browser windows open).

  • How To Display Two Safari Tabs Simultaneously on the iPad
  • How to Pin a Tab in Safari
  • How to Block Cookies in Safari

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How to Close All Tabs in Safari on the iPhone or iPad

Long-press the Tab icon or delete your Safari cache

safari close current tab

  • University of Texas at Arlington

What To Know

  • To close tabs normally: Press and hold the two-stacked-square Tab button . The menu will open. Press Close all # Tabs .
  • To close unresponsive tabs: Go to Settings > Safari > Clear History and Website Data > Confirm.

This article explains how to close all of your tabs in the Safari browser for iPhone and iPad. These instructions work for iOS 12, iOS 11, and iOS 10.

How to Close All Tabs in the Safari Browser

Use the Tab menu to close all open tabs simultaneously. Tap and hold the Tab button, which looks like two stacked squares. When you tap it, the button opens a new window, but when you keep your finger pressed on it, the Tabs menu appears.

The Tabs menu includes an option to close all open tabs, except for the page you're currently viewing.

Use this method to open a private tab to launch a private browsing session.

How to Close All Tabs Without Opening the Safari Browser

When you cannot open Safari to close all the open tabs on your iPhone or iPad, clear the Safari cache of website data. This approach is the sledgehammer way to close tabs and should only be done when you cannot close tabs through the web browser. Clearing this data erases all the cookies stored on your device, which means you will need to log back in to websites that ordinarily keep you logged in between visits. 

From in the iPhone or iPad Settings app , browse to the Safari section and select Clear History and Website Data . Confirm your selection in the pop-up screen.

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21 shortcuts for Safari you need to know

Become a Safari Svengali by employing some of these keyboard shortcuts.

safari close current tab

If you use Apple's own browser on your Mac, then I've got some shortcuts to share with you. With just a handful of these keyboard shortcuts, you can become a superior Safari surfer.

Tab and window management

1. open link in new tab.

Some links are coded to open in the current tab while others open in a new tab. To take control of this behavior, press Command when you click a link to stay on your current page while opening the link in a new tab in the background. Likewise, use Command-Shift-click to open link in new tab and switch to it.

2. Jump to next or previous tab

Use Command-Shift-right arrow to jump one tab to the right and use Command-Shift-left arrow to jump one tab to the left. Alternatively, you can use Control-Tab to move to the right and Control-Shift-Tab to move to the left

3. Jump to specific tab

To jump to a specific tab of the many you have open, press Command and any number key between 1 and 9 . Command-1 jumps you to your first (left-most) tab. Command-5 , for example, jumps you to the fifth tab from the left.

4. Bring back closed tab

You probably use Command-T to open a new tab, but did you know that Command-Z opens your previously closed tab. Undo that last tab closure! Unlike Chrome and Firefox that remember your last 10 closed tabs, Safari brings back only your last closed tab with this shortcut. For other closed tabs, you'll need to find them in Safari's History.

5. Drag tabs

Safari is quite flexible when it comes to moving your tabs around. You can click and drag a tab to move it to another spot among your row open tabs in the current window. You can also drag a tab out of the current window and start a new window or drag it from one window to another window.

6. M for minimize

Hit Command-M to minimize your current window.

7. Close current tab or window

This shortcut saves you from needing to click the little X to close a tab. Instead, use Command-W to close your current tab. To close your current Safari window, use Command-Shift-W .

8. Close all tabs but current tab

After an explosion of tabs, you can close all tabs but the current tab (and any pinned tabs) by hitting Command-Option-W .

9. Enter Reading Mode

Hit Command-Shift-R to enable Safari's reading mode to get a clean, clutter-free version of the page you are viewing.

10. Add to Reading List

Hit Command-Shift-D to add the current page to your Reading List so you can return to it later.

11. Open the Sidebar

Hit Command-Shift-L to open Safari's Sidebar to see your Bookmarks, Reading List, Shared links. Hit the keyboard shortcut again to close the Sidebar.

12. Go fullscreen

Hit Command-Control-F to move in and out of fullscreen mode.

13. Private, keep out

Hit Command-Shift-N to open a Private Browsing window.

14. Mute noisy tab

Like Chrome, Safari displays a speaker icon on any tab that is playing audio. Unlike with Chrome, with Safari you can click on the speaker icon to mute the tab. You can also click the blue speaker icon in the URL bar to mute all tabs.

Page navigation

15. forward and back.

You can go back a page on your current tab by hitting Command-left arrow . To move forward a page, use Command-right arrow .

16. Page up and down

When you are viewing a page (and not filling out a form, using Google Docs or otherwise engaging your cursor in Safari), hit the spacebar to page down on a page and Shift-spacebar to page up.

17. Top or bottom

Hit Command-up arrow to return to the top of the web page you are viewing and Command-down arrow to go to the very bottom of the page.

18. Stop a page from loading

If a page is taking too long to load, hit the Escape key to stop it from loading. To reload the page, hit Command-R .

19. Zoom controls

If you have trouble reading a small font on a page, hit Command-Shift-[equals sign] to zoom in. To zoom out, use Command-Shift-[minus sign] to zoom out. To return to the default zoom level, hit Command-Shift-0 (zero).

20. URL bar

Hit Command-L to take control of URL bar.

21. Find bar

Use Command-F to open the Find bar to search for text on the current page. When searching for text with the Find bar, hit Return to go to the next instance of your search term on the page and use Shift-Return to go to the previous instance.

Many of the shortcuts are the same, but I've got Chrome shortcuts and Firefox shortcuts if either is your preferred browser.

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How to Configure iOS to Auto-Close Safari Browser Tabs

ios7 safari icon

The number of active browser tabs in Safari can quickly get out of hand on iPhone because of the way the browser displays tabs in a vertical array when viewed in the popular portrait orientation. Hyperlinks that open websites in a new tab only exacerbate the situation.

how to close ios safari tabs based on when you last viewed them

Fortunately, iOS 13 can close Safari's browser tabs on your behalf, based on when you last viewed them. Launch the Settings app and select Safari -> Close Tabs , and you'll find options to make the browser automatically close tabs that have not been viewed After One Day , After One Week , or After One Month .

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How to close all your Safari tabs on iPhone or iPad at once

  • Set a time frame (one day, one week, or one month) for Safari to automatically close tabs that are older, preventing tab clutter.
  • Organize Safari tabs on iPhone with Tab Groups. Create tab groups to categorize and easily find open web pages based on topics or interests.
  • Close Safari tabs open on your Mac from your iPhone.

Safari on your iPhone tends to be a bit overzealous at opening new tabs, resulting in a web browser that's more crowded than a Taylor Swift concert. Thankfully, iOS and iPadOS make it possible to close all but one tab at once -- it's one of our favorite tricks for iPhone.

If robot vacuums can automatically clean your house, why shouldn't your phone automatically clean up tabs for you? The iPhone can automatically close tabs that are older than a week or a month, keeping your Safari tab count from creeping to embarrassing numbers. You only have to arrange your settings once, then Safari will do the cleanup for you, set it and forget it.

Best iPhone: Is the new iPhone 15 worth it?

Safari has a few other hidden organization features, like tab groups and even the ability to close your MacBook's open tabs from your iPhone. We're sharing our favorite tricks for keeping your Safari tabs under control, starting with how to close all tabs on your iPhone or iPad.

How to close all tabs on iPhone or iPad Safari

If you're like us, and you end up with multiple Safari tabs open, closing them all down individually can take a very long time. We had 246 open at one point.

If you have tabs you want to keep open, you'll still need to close all of your tabs individually, pin them, or you can save a bookmark and reopen them afterward. Another option is to move those favorite tabs to a new Tab Group, as this process only deletes the tabs in the group. If you want to clear out the Safari clutter, you can close all but one tab with just a few taps. Here's how:

  • Open the Safari app on your iPhone.
  • Tap the icon with two squares in the lower right corner to view all your open tabs.
  • Optional: If you have any tabs that you want to keep open, press and hold on that tab and select Move to Tab Group , as this process only does one tab group at a time.
  • Long press on the thumbnail for an open tab . Pro tip: Use a tab you would like to keep open, as this will be the only tab remaining at the end of the process.
  • Tap on Close Other Tabs.

Alternatively, you can long-press the tab button in the bottom-right corner of Safari and then select Close All Tabs to quickly close everything that's open, including the tab you're currently viewing.

How to automatically close old Safari tabs on your iPhone

Whenever you open a link from another app, odds are it opens in Safari and creates yet another new tab, making it fairly easy for your tab count to grow without you even realizing it. But you don't have to go through and close all your tabs on a regular basis. Instead, you can have your iPhone automatically close old tabs after one day, one week, or one month.

This is a great option if you have a tendency to rack up open tabs quickly. If you turn on this feature, remember to use the bookmark tool or reading list to easily recall any important websites to revisit later, which tends to be easier than searching through your Safari history.

  • Open the Settings app.
  • Scroll down and select Safari.
  • Under Tabs, find the Close Tabs option and tap on it -- it should be set to 'manually' by default.
  • On the next screen, tap the time frame that you would like Safari to close old tabs after -- either one day, one week, or one month.

How to organize Safari tabs on iPhone with Tab Groups

Maybe you like having 217 tabs open at once (I won't judge, I've been there) but you want to be able to find what you need a bit more easily. Safari allows you to use tab groups to organize your open web pages. For example, you could have a tab group for online shopping and another for housing your favorite news websites that you want to leave open to easily read every morning. Tab Groups allow you to organize your web browsing and are especially helpful if you have lots of tabs open at once.

  • Open the Safari app on iPhone.
  • Tap on the tab icon in the lower right corner -- it's the one with the two squares.
  • Tap the menu icon at the bottom center.
  • Select New Empty Tab Group or use the New Tab Group with # Tabs to create a group with the tabs already opened.
  • Name the new tab group and tap Save.

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How to close open safari tabs on your mac from your iphone.

If you have a MacBook or iPad signed onto the same Apple ID as your iPhone, when you open the Safari app, and you tap on the two squares in the bottom right corner, you will see a list of the pages open on your MacBook below those open on your iPhone. It isn't possible to close them all down at once from your iPhone, but you can close them out one by one from your iPhone, so they are no longer open on your Mac.

  • Make sure that you have Safari enabled under the iCloud settings first . Head to the Settings App.
  • Tap your name , then iCloud .
  • In Apps using iCloud , make sure the Safari toggle is green .
  • Open Safari on your iPhone.
  • Tap the tabs icon.
  • Tap the plus to open a new tab.
  • Scroll down on the new tab until you see "From [Your MacBook's Name]."
  • There are two ways to close out these tabs -- you can tap and hold the entry to close, then select close. Or, you can click "Show All" then swipe left and tap close.

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

How to open a private browsing tab in safari on iphone.

Private Browsing Mode on Safari allows you to visit websites without Safari remembering what pages you've visited, your search history or your Autofill information when you close the tab.

To open a Private Browsing Tab in Safari on your iPhone, follow these steps:

  • Press and hold the squares in the bottom right corner.
  • Select 'New Private Tab.'

You can also tap the squares once, tap 'Private' in the left corner to highlight it, and tap the '+' in the middle to open a new Private Browsing Tab.

More Safari organization tricks

Did you know that you could create different browsing profiles to keep your work and personal browsing separate? It's a new feature on iOS 17, but it's not the only Safari trick that can help keep your browser organized. You can also bookmark multiple tabs at once, or even alphabetize that long list of open Safari tabs. You can even swipe left on the address bar to quickly open a new tab. Find the step-by-step details for these tricks in our guide to Safari tips and tricks .

How to close all your Safari tabs on iPhone or iPad at once

How to have Safari automatically close old tabs

Learn how to set Safari to automatically close open tabs after a day, week, or month on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac so that your web browser is not unnecessarily burdened with old, useless tabs.

Safari with several open tabs on iPhone

Several open tabs can slow down Safari and eat up precious system resources. The issue is exacerbated if you set Safari to open all links in new tabs , leaving you with a bunch of tabs that you probably don’t even know are open.

In order to prevent that from happening, many people manually close their open tabs, but the problem is you have to remember to do that in the first place. Thankfully, Safari has the ability to automatically close all open tabs after a specific period of time , and this tutorial shows you how to do that.

On iPhone and iPad

1) Open the Settings app.

2) Choose Safari from the main list.

3) Tap Close Tabs underneath the Tabs heading.

4) Choose how you want Safari to automatically close tabs:

  • Manually: Safari won’t automatically close tabs.
  • After One Day: All open tabs will be cleared after 24 hours.
  • After One Week: All open tabs will be cleared after a week.
  • After One Month: All open tabs will be cleared after a month.

Close Safari tabs automatically on iPhone

1) Open Safari on macOS Sonoma or later.

2) From the top menu bar, click Safari > Settings .

3) Go to the Tabs section.

4) Click the drop-down menu next to ‘ Automatically close tabs ‘ and choose After one day , After one week , or After one month .

Automatically close tabs in Safari on Mac

Whenever I visit my parents and use their iPad, I’m totally flabbergasted by the sheer amount of open tabs they have in Safari without them even realizing it. Try as I might, my Mom just couldn’t be bothered to grasp the concept of tabbed browsing. Me being nit-picky, I couldn’t stand the sight of dozens upon dozens of open tabs, so what I’d do is close them manually in order to make Safari more responsive and easier to navigate. With this handy setting, I’ll just set her device to auto-close all open tabs each and every day—it’s one less thing to worry about!

Useful Safari tips:

  • How to use Safari tab groups on iPhone, iPad, and Mac
  • How to pin tabs in Safari on iPhone, iPad, and Mac
  • How to save all open Safari tabs as bookmarks on iPhone and iPad

How-To Geek

How to automatically close safari tabs on iphone and ipad.

Do you often find yourself with dozens of forgotten open Safari tabs on your iPhone or iPad? It's easy to configure Safari to close them automatically over time. Here's how.

If you frequently find yourself with dozens of forgotten open Safari tabs on your iPhone or iPad, then it can be annoying to sort through them or manually close them later . Luckily, Safari can automatically close tabs after a certain period of time. Here's how to set it up.

First, open Settings. Scroll down until you see "Safari" and tap it.

Tap Safari Settings on iPhone

In Safari settings, swipe down until you see the "Tabs" section, then tap "Close Tabs."

Tap Close Tabs in Safari Settings on iPhone

One the "Close Tabs" screen, you have the option to set the lifespan of an open Safari browser tab. When set, Safari will close tabs that have not been viewed within the period of time you set, and the options are "Manually," "After One Day," "After One Week," or "After One Month." This setting applies to Private tabs as well.

Pick the option that suits you best and tap on it.

Select Tab Lifespan Option in Safari Settings on iPhone

After that, leave Settings. It's handy to know that even after Safari automatically closes your older tabs, you can still find them in the hidden "Open Recently Closed Tabs" menu  in Safari for iPhone and iPad. You can access it by holding down the "+" (plus) button on the tab management screen in Safari.

As a potential downside, Safari (as of iOS and iPadOS 13) will also group recently closed Private Browsing tabs in the same "Recently Closed Tabs" area if they are closed automatically. If you want to fully conceal recent browsing activity, it may be best to manually close Private tabs yourself.

Related: How to Reopen Closed Tabs on an iPhone or iPad

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How to Close All Safari Tabs Except the Existing One on Mac

Jignesh

Multiple tabs on your Mac create an impression that you are a workaholic. When your boss comes for his/her morning trip in the office, s/he will surely pat your back for working on so many tabs simultaneously. But soon you realize that all those opened tabs have slowed down your Mac as you begin to face some glitches or unresponsiveness of your Mac. You wish you could close all Safari tabs except for the one you are working on.

Instead of exploring your Safari browser, check this guide to shut all unnecessary tabs at once. It is possible in three different ways; you can use your mouse or shortcut keys to close all Safari tabs leaving the one you are working on. Let’s move on…

How to Close All Safari Tabs Except Current One on Mac

Before you close all Safari tabs on your Mac, make sure you are not logged in anywhere i.e. Gmail, Facebook etc. Now you are all set to get rid of all Safari tabs barring the active tab.

#1. Using Right-click

Not everyone can remember shortcuts to close all Safari tabs saving the current tab. If you belong to this brigade, you can use the right-click method to close all Safari tabs.

Step #1. From the multiple tabs, select the one you want to keep open.

Step #2. Now, right-click on the tab with your mouse or trackpad. If you don’t want to right-click, hold the Control key and click the tab.

Step #3. A drop-down menu appears there with some options: Pin Tab , Close Tab , Close Other Tabs , and Move Tab To New Window . You need to click on Close Other Tabs from that menu.

Close Other Tabs Except Current One in Safari on Mac

All the other tabs, except for the active one, will be closed on your Safari browser.

#2. Using Option Key + X

This is a second trick to close all Safari tabs except for the one. You are not supposed to use any keyboard shortcut; you have to use the mouse and keyboard.

Step #1. Click on the Safari tab you want to keep open.

Step #2. Hold the Option ( ⌥ ) key on your keyboard and click the close (X) icon seen on the left side of your Safari tab.

Close Other Tabs Except Existing Tab in Safari on Mac

This will shut down all the tabs other than the one you are using on Safari.

Close Tabs in Safari on Mac

#3. Keyboard Shortcut

Step #1. Select the tab you want to keep open in Safari browser.

Step #2. Now press Option(⌥)+ Command(⌘)+W. This will close all the other tabs on your Safari. It goes without saying that it will not shut the tab you are working on.

That’s all friends!

Summing up…

Closing Safari tabs all at once and leaving the one, which is active, is a way of saving your time. For users, who are in the habit of working on too many tabs, this method is a perfect solution to stop your laptop from consuming battery.

You may also like to refer:

  • How to Use Quick Website Search in Safari
  • How to Take Screenshot on Mac
  • Add the Weather Forecast to your Mac Menu Bar

Do you think this trick is helpful to you? Feel free to share your thoughts and feedback with us in the comment section.

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How To Make Safari Automatically Close Tabs After One Day, Week Or Month

safari close current tab

A very cool feature in Safari for iPhone and iPad makes user’s life easier by automatically closing all tabs after a specific amount of time. This new iOS 13 and iPadOS 13 feature is great for those who open tons of tabs in Safari browser only to end up with hundreds of them opened at the same time.

In iOS 13 or later iPhone and iPad users can now specify the time after which Safari can close all opened tabs automatically. This saves user’s time and can be helpful in improving privacy since others will not be able to see your opened tabs in case you share your iOS device with them.

Make Safari Close Tabs Automatically

You can specify the time after which Safari will close all opened tabs on its own by following the simple steps below.

1. Open Settings and go to Safari’s settings page.

2. Once you are on the Safari Settings page look for ‘Close Tabs’ option and tap on it.

3. There you will find the following options:

  • After One Day
  • After One Week
  • After One Month

4. Choose the option most suitable for you by tapping on it and exit the Settings app.

Stop Safari from closing tabs automatically

You can prevent Safari from closing tabs automatically by going to Settings > Safari > Close Tabs and choosing the ‘Manually’ option.

So this is how you can make Safari close redundant tabs automatically, and save time and effort in the process. If you have any questions, then feel free to use the comments section below.

  • iOS 13 features
  • iPhone tips
  • Safari tips

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Adalinka

Safari closes all tabs

Safari suddenly started to close all my tabs. I have on "Open all last closed tabs"in the settings. After it closes all windows, then it opens blank, new window. Also when i click on link the page opens in new window. So I am ending up with a lot of windows.When i close one window, everything is closing. How to stop safari from this strange behavior? My iOS is Catalina ver. 10.15.7.

iMac 27″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Oct 26, 2021 5:29 PM

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chuckbl

Oct 27, 2021 12:36 PM in response to Adalinka

Hello Adalinka,

Thanks for reaching out through the Apple Support Communities about those unexpected behaviors from Safari.

It looks like you've had the chance to review the related article above.

Do those behaviors still persist after following the steps from this article? If Safari on Mac doesn't open a webpage or isn’t working as expected

If so, you’ll want to reach out to Apple Support so they can look into these behaviors further: Contact Apple Support

Nov 4, 2021 3:25 AM in response to chuckbl

Same. Nothing helped. Even deleted Safari stored files in Library/ Safari and Containers. Tabs are saved only if I open it in custom tab group.

And try to google this issue. You will find a lot of people having this.

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9 Best Ways to Fix Safari Closing Tabs on Its Own

Although there is no shortage of capable web browsers on the Mac ecosystem, most still prefer the built-in Safari to surf the web. Even with continuous updates and improvements, the usual niggles with Safari remain more or less the same. Sometimes, Safari doesn’t find a server on Mac , fails to play videos , and even closes the tab without your consent. The latter can be quite irritating, and here is why Safari keeps closing tabs on Mac.

N_Best_Ways_to_Fix_Safari_Closing_Tabs_on_Its_Own

Safari closing tabs on its own can irritate you during work hours. It even breaks your research, too. Multiple factors can affect your Safari experience. It can be due to a lack of memory, buggy iCloud syncing, outdated extensions, corrupt cache, etc. Let’s go through the steps to stop Safari from automatically closing tabs.

1. Disable Auto-Close Tabs

Safari offers an option to auto-close tabs after a certain period of activity. If you have enabled the option, Safari closes the tabs after a fixed time. You need to revert your decision from Safari Settings. Go through the steps below.

Step 1: Launch Safari on Mac. Click Safari at the top.

Step 2: Open Settings.

Safari keeps closing tabs 1

Step 3: Move to the Tabs menu. Expand the ‘Automatically close tabs’ menu and select Manually.

Safari keeps closing tabs 2

Restart Safari, and it shouldn’t auto-close tabs.

2. High RAM Usage in Safari

When you have dozens of tabs open in Safari, it may lead to high RAM usage on your Mac. If you have a Mac with 8GB of RAM and multiple apps open in the background, the system may kill several tabs to free up memory. You can confirm the same from the Activity Monitor menu and close unnecessary apps.

Step 1: Open the applications menu and launch Activity Monitor.

Step 2: Move to the Memory tab. Check the memory breakdown at the bottom.

Step 3: Select an app or server and hit the x mark at the top.

Safari keeps closing tabs 3

3. Disable iCloud Syncing in Safari

If the iCloud sync is broken, Safari may close tabs independently. Safari relies on iCloud to sync your tabs across all the devices. Here’s how you can disable iCloud syncing for Safari on Mac.

Step 1: Click the Apple icon in the Mac menu bar. Open System Settings.

Safari keeps closing tabs 4

Step 2: Select your account and open iCloud.

Safari keeps closing tabs 5

Step 3: Select Show all under ‘Apps Using iCloud.’

Safari keeps closing tabs 1 1

Step 4: Disable the toggle beside Safari.

Safari keeps closing tabs 2 1

4. Disable Private Relay on Mac

Private Relay is a part of iCloud+ that reroutes Safari traffic via Apple’s servers to shield your browsing details from advertisers. When the third-party server isn’t working as expected, it may break your Safari experience and auto-close tabs.

Step 1: Go to Apple’s system settings on Mac (check the steps above).

Step 2: Select your profile and open iCloud.

Safari keeps closing tabs 5 1

Step 3: Open Private Relay and disable the option from the following menu.

Safari keeps closing tabs 6

5. Bad Ads and Trackers

Some of the sketchy websites may have bad ads and trackers in them. They may interfere with your browsing setup, leading Safari to close the tabs independently. You need to avoid such websites.

Safari also has a dedicated privacy report that lets you check such a tracker in the past week. You can glance over the data and avoid the mentioned websites.  

6. Disable Safari Extensions

One of the installed extensions may be hampering your Safari experience. You need to disable unknown extensions and try again.

Step 1: Go to Safari settings on Mac (check the steps above).

Step 2: Move to the Extensions tab.

Step 3: Select an extension from the sidebar and hit Uninstall.

Safari keeps closing tabs 8

7. Clear Website Data

Does Safari still close tabs on its own? You need to clear the Safari cache and try again. Here’s how.

Step 1: Go to Safari settings on Mac (refer to the steps above).

Step 2: Move to the Privacy tab and click ‘Manage Website Data’.

Safari keeps closing tabs 9

Step 3: Remove all website cache and try again.

Safari keeps closing tabs 10

8. Update macOS

Apple updates Safari with macOS builds on your Mac. Here’s how you can update macOS to the latest version and try again.

Step 1: Go to Mac System Settings (check the steps above).

Step 2: Select General and click ‘Software Update’.

Safari keeps closing tabs 11

Download and install the latest macOS update on your Mac.

9. Ditch Safari on Mac

Do you still face issues with Safari on Mac? It’s time to ditch Safari and go with Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Brave, or Firefox.

Go Back to Your Ideal Browsing Experience

Safari closing tabs on its own is never an ideal setup. The tricks above should take care of the problem. Which trick worked for you? Share it in the comments below.

Last updated on 04 September, 2023

The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.

safari close current tab

DID YOU KNOW

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Parth Shah is an evergreen freelance writer covering how-tos, app guides, comparisons, listicles, and troubleshooting guides on Android, iOS, Windows, Mac, and smart TV platforms. He has over five years of experience and has covered 1,500+ articles on GuidingTech and Android Police. In his free time, you will see him binge-watching Netflix shows, reading books, and traveling.

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Facebook’s news tab will shut down in April in Australia and the United States.

Meta on collision course with Australian government after announcing end to journalism funding deals

Publishers informed on Friday Meta would not enter new deals when current contracts expire and Facebook news tab would shut down in April

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Facebook and Instagram’s parent company, Meta , has set itself on a collision course with the Albanese government after announcing it will stop paying Australian publishers for news, and plans to shut down its news tab in Australia and the United States.

Meta informed publishers on Friday that it would not enter new deals when the current contracts expire this year.

The news tab – a dedicated tab for news in the bookmarks section of Facebook – will also shut down in April, after a similar shut down in the UK, Germany and France last year.

Meta confirmed the plans in a blog post at the same time publishers were informed.

“While we’ll be deprecating Facebook News in these countries, this announcement does not impact the terms under our existing Facebook News agreements with publishers in Australia, France and Germany,” the company said.

“These deals have already expired in the US and the UK. Additionally, to ensure that we continue to invest in products and services that drive user engagement, we will not enter into new commercial deals for traditional news content in these countries and will not offer new Facebook products specifically for news publishers in the future.”

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, told reporters on Friday the decision was “not the Australian way”.

“We know that it’s absolutely critical that media is able to function properly and be properly funded. Journalism is important and the idea that research and work done by others can be taken free is simply untenable,” he said.

The communications minister, Michelle Rowland, and assistant treasurer, Stephen Jones, called news media companies on Friday following the announcement, advising them the government would be taking all of the steps available under the news media bargaining code.

“We’re not talking about some plucky little startup, we’re talking about one of the world’s largest and most profitable companies,” Jones said. “It has a responsibility to ensure that it pays for the content that … has been used on its platform, and frankly, that it’s making millions and millions of dollars out of it and so the government is adamant it will be backing the code we’ll be taking all of the actions that are available to us under the code.”

The ministers said the government is seeking advice from Treasury and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission on next steps, which would be resolved quickly, Jones said.

“Nobody should be under any doubts about the government’s resolve to ensure that we have a viable media industry in this country,” Jones said.

Meta said the decision was “part of an ongoing effort to better align our investments to our products and services people value the most”, and that people using Facebook News in Australia and the US had dropped by 80% in the past year.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

“We know that people don’t come to Facebook for news and political content – they come to connect with people and discover new opportunities, passions and interests. As we previously shared in 2023, news makes up less than 3% of what people around the world see in their Facebook feed, and is a small part of the Facebook experience for the vast majority of people.”

Facebook, along with Google, signed dozens of deals with publishers in 2021 worth an estimated $200m seeking to avoid being “designated” under the Australian government’s news media bargaining code, which would have forced the digital platforms to negotiate with news publishers for the use of news content on the platforms.

The federal government opted against designating both companies in light of the deals signed.

Before the legislation passed, Facebook removed all news content in Australia, along with hundreds of pages from NGOs and government, in response to the proposed legislation. It has since done this in Canada.

The shadow treasurer, Angus Taylor, and shadow communications minister, David Coleman, said Meta’s refusal was highly disappointing, and the move in Canada should have prompted the government to act sooner.

“This is a world leading competition policy, and the government needs to use it. The warning signs were there and the government ignored them,” Taylor said.

“Labor has been all talk and no action.”

The end of the deals does not mean news links will not be accessible on Facebook, just that the tab is being shut down. Media companies will still be able to post content on their pages.

Rod Sims, who was chair of the ACCC when the news media bargaining code was developed, said Meta was selfish in its decision.

“The platforms often talk about wanting a free internet, but what they mean by that is they get all the benefits from people using their platform but don’t share any of that with people who provide the content on the platform,” he told Guardian Australia.

Sims said he was concerned Meta appeared less interested in having trusted news on its platform.

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“I think that’s a worrying trend, where social media companies obviously want people’s attention so they can advertise to them, but they’re not concerned about the type of content people are looking at on their website, which means they’re not taking responsibility in a way I think they should and that of course is damaging our society.”

Sims said it was up to the ministers to determine whether the powers to force Meta to negotiate should be used, but said it was likely Meta would use the current ban on news links in Canada as a threat of what it could do in response.

The Greens spokesperson for media and communications, senator Sarah Hanson-Young, called for Meta to be designated under the code, which would attract fines of 10% of the company’s Australian revenue if it fails to negotiate with media companies.

“A big tech company like Meta can not be allowed to bully users, journalists and democratically elected governments by deciding which laws of the land they will choose to comply with,” she said.

The lobby group for free-to-air TV, Free TV Australia, backed this call, and said Facebook, Instagram and Reels should be designated.

News Corp Australia’s CEO, Michael Miller, said Meta “is attempting to mislead Australians” by saying its decision is about the closure of the news tab when the vast majority of news on Facebook and Meta is consumed outside of that product.

“Meta is using its immense market power to refuse to negotiate, and the government is right to explore every option for how the Media Bargaining Code’s powers can be used,” he said.

Nine’s CEO, Mike Sneesby, said the decision doesn’t recognise the value of Nine’s journalism to Meta’s platforms.

“Regardless of the Meta announcement today, the value created on their platform from the use of Nine’s IP is both unquestionable and growing and we strongly believe Meta should negotiate in good faith around the fair compensation for that value exchange,” he said.

The ABC’s managing director, David Anderson, said in an email to staff on Friday that under the agreements with Meta and Google the ABC had been able to add 60 journalists to its regional workforce, and expand to 10 new locations in regional Australia. He noted the announcement would be concerning for staff in those locations.

“The loss of this revenue would create a financial challenge for the ABC that would need to be resolved on a whole of ABC basis, and we will continue to work with the government,” he said.

He said the ABC had time to assess the situation before any decisions are made.

“The ABC remains absolutely committed to journalism in regional, rural, and remote Australia.”

Seven West’s CEO, James Warburton, also called for Meta to be designated under the code.

Meta has said that the change will not affect its third-party factchecker network.

While the focus of the code has been on Meta and Google, Jones said the government had reached out to TikTok several weeks ago and it was also expected to bargain with news companies over content payments.

“There would not be an 18-year-old who did not have a TikTok app on their phone today and you talk to … kids, most of them consume most of their news on an app like that,” he said.

TikTok declined to comment.

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  1. Open and close tabs in Safari on iPhone

    Open and close tabs in Safari on iPhone. In the Safari app , use tabs to help you navigate between ... See Change the layout of Safari. Open a link in a new tab. Touch and hold the link, then tap Open in New Tab. To stay on the current webpage when you open new links in a separate tab, go to Settings > Safari > Open Links, then tap In ...

  2. Close tabs in Safari on Mac

    In the Safari app on your Mac, do any of the following: Close a tab: Place the pointer over the tab in the tab bar, then click the Close button on the left side of the tab. Close all other tabs: Control-click the tab you want to keep open, then choose Close Other Tabs. Close all tabs to the right: Control-click a tab, then choose Close Tabs to ...

  3. How to Close All Safari Tabs at Once on iPhone and iPad

    Long-press the "Done" button — place and hold your finger there for a moment until a pop-up appears. In the pop-up, select "Close All Tabs." The exact name of the pop-up action will vary, depending on the number of tabs you have open. Safari will ask you to confirm closing all the tabs with another pop-up message. Select "Close All Tabs" again.

  4. How to Close All Your Open iPhone Browser Tabs at Once

    How to close all Safari tabs on iPhone. To close all your tabs in Safari, open up the browser; on the bottom bar in the right corner, you should see an icon that looks like two squares.

  5. How to Close Browser Tabs With a Keyboard Shortcut (in ...

    To close an open tab in Safari, press Command+W on your keyboard. To close your Safari window, press Command+Shift+W instead. And, if you end up closing an important tab, there's a way to restore closed Safari tabs in your browser. With the availability of a keyboard shortcut to close an open browser tab, your browsing speed will be off the charts.

  6. Keyboard shortcuts and gestures in Safari on Mac

    Open a page in a new tab, and make that tab the active tab. Shift-Command-click a link. Shift-Command-click a bookmark. Shift-Command-Return after typing in the Smart Search field. Go to the next tab. Control-Tab or Shift-Command-] Go to the previous tab. Control-Shift-Tab or Shift-Command -[Select one of your first nine tabs. Command-1 to ...

  7. How to Quickly Close Open Tabs in Safari

    Hold down the Option key and click the X button on the tab you want to keep open. Use the Command+Option+W keyboard shortcut. All of the actions above will close all of the tabs except the active ...

  8. How to Close All Your Safari Tabs on an iPhone at Once

    Open the Settings app on your iPhone. Then tap Safari. You will have to scroll down a bit to find this option. Next, select Clear History and Website Data. You will find this near the bottom section of the Safari settings page. Finally, tap Clear History and Data. The next time you open Safari, all of your tabs will be closed.

  9. How to Close All Tabs in Safari on the iPhone or iPad

    To close tabs normally: Press and hold the two-stacked-square Tab button. The menu will open. Press Close all # Tabs. To close unresponsive tabs: Go to Settings > Safari > Clear History and Website Data > Confirm. This article explains how to close all of your tabs in the Safari browser for iPhone and iPad. These instructions work for iOS 12 ...

  10. The Complete Guide to Mastering Tabs in Safari

    Open a website in a new window: Command+Option+Click on a link. Open a website in a new window and make it active: Command+Option+Shift+Click on a link. Select one of the first nine tabs: Command+1 through Command+9. Close all tabs but one: Option+click the close (X) button on the tab you want to keep open.

  11. 21 shortcuts for Safari you need to know

    8. Close all tabs but current tab. After an explosion of tabs, you can close all tabs but the current tab (and any pinned tabs) by hitting Command-Option-W. 9. Enter Reading Mode. Hit Command ...

  12. Close tab shortcut in Safari?

    As the title reads I'm looking for the shortcut to close the current tab in safari. Is there any? MacBook Pro with Retina display, macOS Sierra (10.12.3) Posted on Feb 13, 2017 3:55 PM. Me too (8) Reply.

  13. iOS 15 Safari gestures

    iPhone with the tab bar at the bottom? I don't think so. You can swipe up on the tab bar to show the tab view then swipe left (or hit the close button top right in the tab view) on the tab that you want to close. The new tab manager also make tab in 2 columns. not sure can we switch it back to the old day.

  14. How to close current tab in a browser window?

    Sorry for necroposting this, but I recently implemented a locally hosted site that had needed the ability to close the current browser tab and found some interesting workarounds that are not well documented anywhere I could find. Note: These workarounds were done with a locally hosted site in mind, and (with the exception of Edge) ...

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  16. How to close all your Safari tabs on iPhone or iPad at once

    Set a time frame (one day, one week, or one month) for Safari to automatically close tabs that are older, preventing tab clutter. Organize Safari tabs on iPhone with Tab Groups.

  17. How to have Safari automatically close old tabs

    On Mac. 1) Open Safari on macOS Sonoma or later. 2) From the top menu bar, click Safari > Settings. 3) Go to the Tabs section. 4) Click the drop-down menu next to ' Automatically close tabs ' and choose After one day, After one week, or After one month.

  18. How to Automatically Close Safari Tabs on iPhone and iPad

    Luckily, Safari can automatically close tabs after a certain period of time. Here's how to set it up. First, open Settings. Scroll down until you see "Safari" and tap it. In Safari settings, swipe down until you see the "Tabs" section, then tap "Close Tabs." One the "Close Tabs" screen, you have the option to set the lifespan of an open Safari ...

  19. How to Close All Safari Tabs Except the Existing One on Mac

    If you belong to this brigade, you can use the right-click method to close all Safari tabs. Step #1. From the multiple tabs, select the one you want to keep open. Step #2. Now, right-click on the tab with your mouse or trackpad. If you don't want to right-click, hold the Control key and click the tab. Step #3.

  20. How To Make Safari Automatically Close Tabs After One Day ...

    1. Open Settings and go to Safari's settings page. 2. Once you are on the Safari Settings page look for 'Close Tabs' option and tap on it. 3. There you will find the following options: 4. Choose the option most suitable for you by tapping on it and exit the Settings app.

  21. Hi, how can I close a Safari Tab by Termi…

    You don't need Terminal…. In Applescript Editor create a new script & paste this in…. tell application "Safari". close current tab of front window. end tell. When you run it please avoid having important tabs open in the frontmost window os Safari! If you want to be more brutal…. tell application "Safari".

  22. Safari closes all tabs

    Safari closes all tabs. Safari suddenly started to close all my tabs. I have on "Open all last closed tabs"in the settings. After it closes all windows, then it opens blank, new window. Also when i click on link the page opens in new window. So I am ending up with a lot of windows.When i close one window, everything is closing.

  23. 9 Best Ways to Fix Safari Closing Tabs on Its Own

    Go through the steps below. Step 1: Launch Safari on Mac. Click Safari at the top. Step 2: Open Settings. Step 3: Move to the Tabs menu. Expand the 'Automatically close tabs' menu and select ...

  24. AppleScript

    Here's the script: tell application "Safari" set indexActive to index of current tab of window 1 repeat until (get index of last tab of window 1) = indexActive close last tab of window 1 end repeat end tell. safari. applescript.

  25. How to close all, or only some, tabs in Safari using AppleScript?

    7. I have a script that closes all of the tabs but does not need a repeat loop. set closeTab to "Stack Overflow" as string tell application "Safari" close (every tab of window 1 whose name is not equal to closeTab) end tell. See if that works for you. Note: change "Stack Overflow" to whatever the title name is of the tab you want to stay open.

  26. Meta on collision course with Australian government after announcing

    Publishers informed on Friday Meta would not enter new deals when current contracts expire and Facebook news tab would shut down in April Facebook and Instagram's parent company, Meta, has set ...