safari browser history mac

Sign up for our daily newsletter

• Privacy Policy
• Advertise with Us

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.

Our latest tutorials delivered straight to your inbox

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.

• Everything to Know About iPhone 16
• The Rundown: The iPhone 16 Launch Event

How to Manage Your Browsing History in Safari

Revisit websites or remove them from your Safari search history

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

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

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

How to Manage Safari History on macOS

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

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

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

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

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

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

Select Clear History to delete the list of sites.

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

How to Use Private Browsing in Safari

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

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

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

How to Manage History in Safari on iOS Devices

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

Tap the  Safari app to open it.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

How to Use Private Browsing in Safari on iOS Devices

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

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

Tap Private .

Tap the plus sign to open a private browsing window.

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

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

Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day

• How to Manage Browsing History on Safari for iPad
• How to Search for Text in Safari With iPhone Find on Page
• How to Manage History and Browsing Data on iPhone
• How to Change the Default Search Engine in Safari for iOS
• How to Reset Safari to Default Settings
• How to Reopen Closed Safari Tabs and Windows and Access Past History
• How to Clear Search History on iPhone
• How to Install, Manage, and Delete Safari Extensions
• How to Manage the Top Sites Feature in Safari
• Customize Safari Toolbar, Favorites, Tab, and Status Bars
• What Is Safari?
• How to Add, Edit, and Delete Bookmarks in iPhone's Safari
• How to Change Your Homepage in Safari
• 8 Useful Safari Extensions to Try in 2024
• How to Disable JavaScript in Safari for iPhone
• How to Block Ads in Safari on the iPhone

Tips & Tricks

Troubleshooting, how to access & search safari history on mac.

Just about all modern web browsers default to maintaining a history log of your web browsing activity, and Safari for Mac is no different. This article will focus on how to access your Safari history on the Mac, and also how to search Safari browsing history for specific words, terms, and matches.

Accessing and searching through Safari browser history can be helpful for tracking down websites or articles that were previously visited on a particular topic but that you’ve since forgotten, retrieving previously visited websites, looking for a particular match, amongst many other valid uses for individual users, parents, public computers, information security, systems administrators, and much more.

Searching Safari web browsing history on a Mac is easy, here’s how it works:

How to Search Safari History on Mac

• Open the Safari web browser on the Mac if you have not done so already
• Pull down the “History” menu and choose “Show All History”

• You’ll now be presented with all stored Safari History of web browsing activity, with each browsing history session separated by date
• Click into the search box seen in the upper right corner of the History screen

• Type in any word, term, or phrase to search the Safari History for, any matches will be shown on screen

In the example here, we searched for the term “Chromebook” and Safari returned all matches for that term.

Safari History Search will find matches as far back as possible, searching through all Safari history for the current Mac user. Anything matching will be returned as a search result.

Searching browser history can be helpful for many reasons, whether you’re trying to recall something you were looking at some time ago, or you want to find a website or article about a particular topic you know you have visited before. Of course searching through web browser history can also be useful for forensic purposes and data auditing too, for those involved in fields where that can be necessary or relevant.

Safari will store browser history for as long as you have been using Safari, unless it has been cleared specifically. There are multiple options for clearing Safari history, and if you want to completely clear all history in Safari on the Mac that is possible. You can also prevent browser history from being stored in the first place by choosing to use Private Browsing mode in Safari for Mac , which doesn’t store local browsing session data or cookies.

Do keep in mind if you (or the target Mac) run multiple different versions of Safari, like Safari alongside Safari Tech Preview, then you’d need to check history in both Safari browsers, and likewise you’d want to clear history in both of them too if you were wanting to clear our history for whatever reason.

The capability to find and look through past browsing data is not unique to the Mac, you can also search Safari browsing history on the iPhone and iPad too, and virtually every other modern web browser also has the same capability, except for most TOR browsers and privacy centric apps like Firefox Focus.

Enjoy this tip? Subscribe to our newsletter!

Get more of our great Apple tips, tricks, and important news delivered to your inbox with the OSXDaily newsletter. 

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

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 Clear Google Maps Search History on iPhone & iPad

» Comments RSS Feed

My safari on my MacBook Pro is getting buggy and a lot of things aren’t working, like I can’t click on an email address to start an email from the mail program, I click and nothing happens. Now I am trying to find a web page from a few days ago, so I try to go to ‘show all history’ but nothing happens. I can’t get my history to show in the browser!! It does have recent history, it’s just that I can’t access my whole history like I should be able to. What gives?

I used to use history a lot when I created a search in Safari. After going to a website that lead to further exploration it would sometimes take clicking the back arrow several times to get back to the original search and it was quicker to go to history and just click on the original search. Since one of the recent updates I have been unable to find the original searches any more. I don’t know if I am just not seeing it or if it isn’t there. Anyone else have this problem?

I have asked this before but I’m asking it again. It is possible to make a guide on how to go to root and _delete_ the option “new private window” from the File dropdown menu? How to edit the nib file etc…

You can Enable Parental Controls on Mac and that can be used to disable Safari Private Mode.

Or this below, which I found on the web and would not recommend to anyone:

If logging isn’t practical or you want to be more proactive and prevent Private Browsing from being accessible in the first place, it is possible (though not a short process) to disable Private Browsing if you are willing to mess with Safari’s internal files.

Note that macOS 10.12+ will not allow you to modify, overwrite, or delete Safari. You can make the following modifications to a copy of Safari and put that version in the Dock, but the original Safari will still need to exist in the Applications folder.

Install the necessary files

Install Xcode (available in the App Store) Download a zip file of Nib-Decompiler from GitHub (or clone the repository if you know how to do that) Open the NibDecompiler.xcodeproj Xcode project in Xcode Compile the project. This will produce a file named NibDecompiler.action. You can now close the project. Copy NibDecompiler.action into ~/Library/Automator* From your download, copy NibDecompiler.workflow into ~/Library/Services* Remove the “New Private Window” option from the menu bar

Note that this involves editing the Safari internal files. You will need to redo these steps every time you update Safari.

Go to Safari in the Finder and right-click “Show Package Contents” This will open the app as if it were a folder. Go to Contents, then Resources, then Base.lproj folder. Find MainMenu.nib. Copy it outside of the package somewhere (like the Desktop). Right-click on the file and choose “NibDecompiler”. The file will be made editable. Open the file in Xcode (should be double-clickable) In the window with the Safari menu, choose “Safari” to expand it. Click on the “New Private Window” menu item. Hit the delete key to see it disappear. Save the file. Back in the Base.lproj folder of the Safari app, make a copy MainMenu.nib just in case something goes wrong and you need to restore it. Copy your edited MainMenu.nib to Base.lproj, overwriting the existing one. Open Safari to make sure that it still opens (if it doesn’t, restore your original MainMenu.nib file). (Optional) If everything works, you may delete the backup MainMenu.nib if you so choose. By removing the “New Private Window” menu item from the menu bar, they will not be able to enter private browsing. Additionally, keyboard shortcuts are tied to menu items, so that’s disabled too.

* ~ means your user home directory. Library is a hidden folder that isn’t visible when you navigate to the home directory. You can get to this folder in the Finder by going to the “Go” menu and choosing “Connect to Folder…”, then typing in ~/Library. You will then see the folders you need to copy files to.

Instructions copied from this MacRumors forum thread ( https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/how-to-disable-private-browsing-in-safari.175238/page-3#post-23387488 )

You can see things you wish you didn’t see by doing this on someone elses computer!

You can find cold things in their refrigerators, too, genius.

Leave a Reply

Name (required)

Mail (will not be published) (required)

Subscribe to OSXDaily

• - Which Apple Watch Models Support WatchOS 11? Here’s the List
• - iPadOS 18 is Compatible with These iPads
• - iOS 18 is Compatible with These iPhone Models
• - MacOS Sequoia is Compatible with These Macs
• - Listen to Apple Podcasts on the Web
• - Public Beta 6 of MacOS Sequoia, iOS 18, iPadOS 18, Available Now
• - Beta 3 of iOS 18.1, MacOS Sequoia 15.1, & iPadOS 18.1 Released with Apple Intelligence
• - MacOS Sequoia 15 Beta 8 Available to Download
• - iOS 18 Beta 8 Available to Download

iPhone / iPad

• - iPhone 16 Expected to Debut at September 9 Apple Event
• - iOS 18 Beta 7 Available Now, Could Be Final Beta?
• - Updated Version of iOS 17.6.1 & iPad 17.6.1 Released
• - How to Run Llama LLM on Mac, Locally
• - MacOS Sequoia 15 Beta 7 Available for Testing
• - Launch All Apps & Documents Related to a Project with Stapler for Mac
• - How to Recover an Unsaved PowerPoint on Mac
• - How to Uninstall VMWare Fusion on Mac
• - chronod on Mac – High CPU Use & Network Access Requests Explained
• - Why Are iPhone Videos Low Quality & Blurry When Sent to Android Users?
• - Fix brew Error “The arm64 architecture is required for this software” on Apple Silicon Mac

About OSXDaily | Contact Us | Privacy Policy | Sitemap

This website is unrelated to Apple Inc

All trademarks and copyrights on this website are property of their respective owners.

© 2024 OS X Daily. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction without explicit permission is prohibited.

How-To Geek

How to clear safari's browsing history and cookies on macos.

Your changes have been saved

Email is sent

Email has already been sent

Please verify your email address.

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

Why I'm Switching from Google to Proton

This is how i take classes online for free, microsoft office vs. google docs, sheets, slides: which is best, quick links, how to delete your browsing history in safari, how to automatically delete your browsing history on safari, how to clear your cookies on safari, key takeaways.

To clear your history on Safari, click the "History" button at the top, then select "Clear History." You can also set Safari to clear your browsing history automatically by going to Preferences > General, then set "Remove History Items" to the time frame you want.

You may not have anything to hide when we surf the Internet, but you still may want to clear your history every now and then. Here's how you can clear your browsing history in Safari on MacOS.

On Safari, all you do is click the "History" button at the top of the screen then select "Clear History" at the bottom of the list.

Once you do this, you will be given a choice: you can select "the last hour," "today," "today and yesterday," and "all history" from a drop-down menu. Once you've decided, click the "Clear History" button and the history will be clear per your preference.

If you simply want to clear part of your history, you can click "Show History" ("Command + Y").

Click on the site or use the "Command" key to select several sites, then press the "Delete" key. You can also click "Clear History" in the upper right corner to remove everything all at once.

You can also right-click a history entry to delete it.

Related: How to Clear History, Cache, and Cookies in Safari on iPhone or iPad

You can also set Safari to automatically clear your history every so often. When you open up the Safari preference ("Command + ,"), click the "General" tab, and select the "Remove History items" option.

You can decide when or if your history is automatically deleted after one day, one week, two weeks, one month, one year, or you can keep your history indefinitely by selecting the manual option.

To clear cookies in Safari, while you're in Safari's preferences, click on the "Privacy" tab and click "Manage Website Data."

On this page, you will see all the cookies stored on your Mac. You can right-click a specific cookie and select "Delete" to remove it, or you can hold the "Command" button and select several at once.

If you want to remove all of your cookies, click "Remove All" at the bottom of the window.

You will be asked to confirm you want to "remove all data stored by websites on your computer."

Keep in mind that, if you do this, any websites you might have personalized will be removed, and you will be logged out of all websites (though it should be easy to log back in if you've saved your username and password).

Related: How to Block Third-Party Cookies in Every Web Browser

Clearing your history and cookies isn't necessarily sneaky. It's good to be privacy-conscious because there are often times when someone will ask to use your computer for a minute. You may not be looking at anything untoward or scandalous, but then again, you don't necessarily want just anyone knowing what you've been looking at or reading.

• Web Browsers

• a. Send us an email
• b. Anonymous form
• Buyer's Guide
• Upcoming Products
• Tips / Contact Us
• Podcast Instagram Facebook Twitter Mastodon YouTube Notifications RSS Newsletter

How to Clear Safari Browsing History and Cache

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

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

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

How to Clear Safari's Cache on Mac

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

• Launch Safari browser on your Mac.

How to Clear Safari's Cache on iPhone and iPad

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

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

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

Get weekly top MacRumors stories in your inbox.

Popular Stories

Apple Event Live Blog: iPhone 16, Apple Watch 10, and New AirPods!

Apple Announces iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max with Larger Displays, New Camera Control, and More

New iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro Colors Revealed Ahead of Apple Event

How Much Will the iPhone 16 Cost?

Apple Updates AirPods Max With USB-C Port and New Colors

macOS Sequoia Release Likely to Be the Earliest in Years

Apple Announces Thinner Apple Watch Series 10 With Bigger Screen Than Ultra

Next article.

iOS 18 brings major changes to the Messages app, with Apple adding several fun features.

The Photos app redesign has been one of the most controversial changes that Apple made in iOS 18.

iOS 18 is an update designed for the iPhone, but it adds several new features to the AirPods

The Phone app doesn't often get updated, but with iOS 18 and Apple Intelligence, it's getting a major overhaul.

Action button expands to all models, new Camera Control button, camera improvements, and more.

Larger displays, new Camera Control button, camera improvements, and more.

Updates to Mail, Photos, Messages, and more, with Apple Intelligence features throughout.

iPhone Mirroring, Safari improvements, new Passwords app, and Apple Intelligence features throughout.

Other Stories

3 days ago by Joe Rossignol

4 days ago by Joe Rossignol

5 days ago by Tim Hardwick

How to View and Clear Your Safari History on Mac

Written By Chloe Turner

Last updated: February 11, 2022

Technical Writing Specialist who creates different types of articles, from reviews to how-to types of articles for Mac.

We all spend a vast proportion of our time surfing, that’s why your Mac swarms with a list of sites you have browsed in the past. Safari uses iCloud to maintain the same browsing history across your Macs and iOS devices. You only need to have Safari toggled on in iCloud preferences. Macs preserve your browsing history for up to a year, while iOS devices keep it for a month.

You’ve to manage your browsing history to determine what goes to your Apple data download. However, erasing it will not give you a clean slate due to iCloud backups. So in this article, we will show you how to view history on Safari , and ways to delete them. Let’s get started.

Contents: Part 1. Understanding Search Browser History & Why You Need to Turn It off Part 2. How to View and Clear Safari History on Mac Manually Part 3. How to Clear Other Browser History Manually Part 4. Other Choices to Clear Browser History Part 5. Conclusion

Part 1. Understanding Search Browser History & Why You Need to Turn It off

Unpacking Search Browser History

Your browser memorizes every website you visit. To prevent this, enable Incognito Mode or Private Browsing. Otherwise, your browser stores all these pages systematically and they’re inextricably linked to your account. Sites you visit can pop up in autofill Google search forms if you track them. They stick out in violet in your search results.

Browsers also save information about the time when you surfed any page. Browsing history doubles as a website retrieval tool to home on any page from corpus items through the search bar.

Why would you mull over a nuked browsing history?

Sometimes, you wipe out this data for privacy, regulatory compliance, business secrecy, anxiety or simply spruce up your Mac. So, no website you opened will appear in your browser search results titled “ already visited ”.

When you want to sell or give away your Mac, failure to erase browser history could expose troves of your online data to prying eyes. Equally, clearing your history will throw a snooping eye off the scent if someone attempts to look up your surfing history.

Wipe Out Browser History in a Click with a Dedicated Removal Tool

Automate your way of handling histories with a versatile browser removal tool for clockwork accuracy. Privacy tool adds an extra layer of security in safeguarding your privacy with the total annihilation of surfed pages.

We recommend you use the module Privacy of iMyMac PowerMyMac to automatically wipe away history details, cookies, and other pieces of data regurgitated by browsers. This software works like stink to clear out various types of Apple data download records.

It also allows you to determine the cookies you wish to retain like the frequently-visited-sites. It boasts powerful algorithms that scan faster and delete in a single click. Try it out to wipe out your online footprint.

Part 2. How to View and Clear Safari History on Mac Manually

How to View Safari History on Mac

• Search the web browsing history in Safari on your Mac. You can search your browsing history to quickly find webpages you visited before.
• In the Safari app on your Mac, choose History > Show All History.
• Type in the Search field at the top-right corner of the window.

How to Clear Safari History on Mac

• Launch Safari from the dock.
• Click on history in the menu bar at the upper parts of your screen. You can pore over your recent browsing history by drifting the mouse over the latest date in this list of entries.
• Choose Show All History at the upper drop-down menu. This throws up the entire browser history exhibited by date. Use the keyboard shortcut ⌘Command+Y to launch the history in Safari.
• Click ▶ on the left of any date to extend the browser archives for that date in a complete list. You can wipe out the history by clicking on Clear history on the upper-right of the page.

Part 3. How to Clear Other Browser History Manually

Google chrome.

• Launch Chrome.
• Click on History from the menu bar on the crest of the screen. This spew up a collection of Recently Closed websites and an assortment of Recently Visited
• Click on Show Full History at the foot of the drop-down menu. This reveals a list of your Chrome browsing history.
• Scroll down to see your browser history. The pages appear incrementally and you can keep looking through to go back months earlier. You can discard your history by clicking on Clear browsing data at the top left of the window.
• Launch the Firefox browser.
• Click on the History tab at the top of the menu bar.
• Select “ Clear Recent History ”.
• Decide the time range you want wiping out (“Everything” will erase all history).
• Hover over the Details arrow, click it.
• Select “ Browsing and Download History ”.
• Un-check the other options.
• Select “ Clear now ” to wrap up.

Part 4. Other Choices to Clear Browser History

Icloud apple’s data.

You don’t have to panic about iCloud backups associated with browsing history. Turn on Safari iCloud syncing and clear out your history across your able devices. Follow the steps under Safari with iCloud sync enabled.

Sign Out your Accounts

Browsing without having social media, iTunes or Google account logged in prevents search engines from tying up pages visited you. However, these pages still exist in your browser history. But these pages will no longer appear as “already visited”. Alternatively, use the Incognito Mode or Private Browsing to dissociate listed pages with your accounts.

Third-Party Tool

Erasing browser history ensures your history doesn’t fall into the wrong hands. Browser Cleanup Tool "Privacy" of PowerMyMac blazes the trail as dedicated software to securely and quickly wipe out browser history from Macs, from the first day. It provides a safe pair of hands to clean up browsers in a split-second. Download it for free so you won’t soil your hands with digital dirt.

Furthermore, Mac stores info on your internet activity with caches, logs, outdated files, and downloads. Privacy (Browser Cleanup) from iMyMac PowerMyMac offers a new broom to brush away all bits of your browser history.

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

Wipe away your browsing history in Apple's Safari web browser in seconds.

How to find your web-browsing history

How to clear your web browsing history.

Viewing and wiping your web browsing history on the best iPhones and iPads in Apple's Safari web browser has been an easy task for years.

When you browse the web, a record is always kept of where you've been online, which can be stored on your device for days, weeks, or even months. Most of us don't need to look back on our web browsing, so being able to wipe it on our Apple devices is a straightforward affair.

However, you may be someone who regularly wipes your browsing history so you can make a clean start when you next use Safari. There may be other moments when you're wiping your browsing history so you can hide a surprise birthday present from a friend.

In any case, viewing and wiping your web browsing history on iPhone and iPad is simple, and can be done in minutes. Here's how to do it.

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.

Master your iPhone in minutes

iMore offers spot-on advice and guidance from our team of experts, with decades of Apple device experience to lean on. Learn more with iMore!

• 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 as an Apple Intelligence feature in iOS 18 someday. 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.

TIME names the 100 most influential people in AI, but Tim Cook is nowhere to be seen

How to watch the iPhone 16 Glowtime reveal event - tune in for iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Plus and iPhone 16 Pro Max

Every iPhone 16 event announcement just leaked, including Apple Watch X, Apple Watch SE, and budget AirPods

Most Popular

• 2 On eve of iPhone 16 launch, UGREEN announces new line of charging devices
• 3 Google Photos gets an Apple Intelligence-inspired update to help you find your favorite snaps
• 4 TIME names the 100 most influential people in AI, but Tim Cook is nowhere to be seen
• 5 The Powerbeats Pro 2 are real and they're coming next year

How to clear Safari cache, history, and cookies on Mac

Updated on:

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

Consequences of clearing Safari History and Website Data

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

How to clear Safari history on Mac

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

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

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

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

How to delete specific webpage from Safari history on Mac

• From the top menu bar, click on History .

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

How to clear Safari cache and cookies on Mac

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

• Launch the Safari browser .

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

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

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

How to clear cache of all Safari profiles on Mac

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

How to block all cookies for Safari on Mac

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• How to create Safari profiles on iPhone, iPad and Mac
• How to flush your DNS cache on Mac
• How to fix Safari crashing on Mac

Want to read more like this?

Join 15,000+ Apple enthusiast to get the latest news and tips from iGeeksBlog+.

We won’t spam, and you will always be able to unsubscribe.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Similar posts you might also like

How to use Safari iCloud tabs on iPhone, iPad and Mac

Safari tabs disappeared on iPhone or iPad? How to get them back!

App Store missing on iPhone or iPad? How to get it back

Editorial Guide

Review Policy

© 2024 iGeeks Media Private LTD. All rights reserved.

Privacy Policy

• PRO Courses Guides New Tech Help Pro Expert Videos About wikiHow Pro Upgrade Sign In
• EDIT Edit this Article
• EXPLORE Tech Help Pro About Us Random Article Quizzes Request a New Article Community Dashboard This Or That Game Happiness Hub Popular Categories Arts and Entertainment Artwork Books Movies Computers and Electronics Computers Phone Skills Technology Hacks Health Men's Health Mental Health Women's Health Relationships Dating Love Relationship Issues Hobbies and Crafts Crafts Drawing Games Education & Communication Communication Skills Personal Development Studying Personal Care and Style Fashion Hair Care Personal Hygiene Youth Personal Care School Stuff Dating All Categories Arts and Entertainment Finance and Business Home and Garden Relationship Quizzes Cars & Other Vehicles Food and Entertaining Personal Care and Style Sports and Fitness Computers and Electronics Health Pets and Animals Travel Education & Communication Hobbies and Crafts Philosophy and Religion Work World Family Life Holidays and Traditions Relationships Youth
• Browse Articles
• Learn Something New
• Quizzes Hot
• Happiness Hub
• This Or That Game
• Train Your Brain
• Explore More
• Support wikiHow
• About wikiHow
• Log in / Sign up
• Computers and Electronics
• Internet Browsers
• Safari Browser

2 Simple Ways to Clear History in Safari

Last Updated: January 4, 2024

This article was co-authored by Luigi Oppido . Luigi Oppido is the Owner and Operator of Pleasure Point Computers in Santa Cruz, California. Luigi has over 25 years of experience in general computer repair, data recovery, virus removal, and upgrades. He is also the host of the Computer Man Show! broadcasted on KSQD covering central California for over two years. This article has been viewed 128,916 times.

You can delete all of your web browsing history or specific entries on both the OS X and the iOS versions of Safari. This can come in handy if you're on a public computer, or need to remove a certain website from your browsing history. No matter what system you're using, it will only take a few moments.

OS X (All History)

• If you're using an older version of Safari, click the "History" menu instead and select "Clear History".

• Note that this will delete history across all devices connected to your iCloud account.

OS X (Single Entries)

iOS (All History)

• If you want to delete a single entry, click here .

iOS (Single Entries)

Expert Q&A

You Might Also Like

• ↑ http://osxdaily.com/2014/11/28/clear-recent-web-history-safari-mac-os-x/
• ↑ http://osxdaily.com/2014/11/21/delete-specific-history-safari-ios/

About This Article

• Send fan mail to authors

Is this article up to date?

Featured Articles

Trending Articles

Watch Articles

• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• Do Not Sell or Share My Info
• Not Selling Info

wikiHow Tech Help Pro:

Level up your tech skills and stay ahead of the curve

Clear your browsing history

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

Open Safari for me

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

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

History of webpages you visited

The back and forward list for open webpages

Top Sites that aren’t marked as permanent

Frequently visited site list

Cookies and website data saved while visiting webpages

Recent searches

Icons for open webpages

Snapshots saved for open webpages

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

Websites added for Quick Website Search

Websites that asked to use your location

Websites that asked to send you notifications

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

Responses to requests to let websites use WebGL

You can make a difference in the Apple Support Community!

When you  sign up with your Apple ID , you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by  upvoting helpful replies and User Tips .

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

Where/How is Browser History Stored for Safari 12?

Yesterday Apple support asked me to clear all my browsing history. Now I want to see if I have a backup of Safari history but cannot find a place it is stored.

MacBook Pro 13", macOS 10.14

Posted on Mar 19, 2019 12:13 PM

Similar questions

• Deleted safari browser history I have managed to loose my browsing history and want to know if I can recover it 892 3
• how to restore deleted safari history how to restore safari history that has been deleted 1422 1
• Safari History won't delete Safari History won't delete 1236 7

Loading page content

Page content loaded

Mar 19, 2019 12:44 PM in response to Absolutely_4_Mac

If history is cleared, it is gone. Clear your browsing history in Safari on Mac - Apple Support

   Safari 12 macOS 10.13

Check Safari > History folder.

    Quit Safari.

    Close all windows and quit all other applications.

    Hold "option" key down and click "Go" menu in the Finder menu bar.

    Library will appear between “Home” and “Computer” entries in the dropdown.

    Scroll down the list and click open Safari folder.

    Scroll down a bit  and you should see History files listed.

Mar 19, 2019 12:34 PM in response to Absolutely_4_Mac

Go to Finder and select your user/home folder. With that Finder window as the front window, either select Finder/View/Show View options or go command - J.  When the View options opens, check ’Show Library Folder’. That should make your user library folder visible in your user/home folder.  Select Library. Then go to Safari. All the files that begin with History is where the information is stored.

How to View Safari Private Browsing History on Mac

In case you’re not aware, Apple’s Safari browser, like other popular browsers, offers a Private Browsing mode . Simply put, when you use this feature while using Safari, the browser won’t log or save any of your activity. Other browsers call this Incognito Mode. The downside is that all your saved preferences for websites you frequently visited are disabled. Still, it won’t hurt to browse websites using the feature from time to time for some private browsing experience. But is there really no way to browse your Private Browsing history? Well, there is, and that’s what I’m going to show you in this guide on how to view Private Browsing history in Safari on your Mac.

How Does Private Browsing Work in Safari

When you opt to browse websites in Safari using Private Browsing, it opens up a new private window in your browser. As previously mentioned, when privately browsing in Safari, your activity will not be logged or saved. Although it’s not a foolproof way of browsing privately, the feature still offers some level of privacy. As such, Private Browsing in Safari won’t record your search engine history, webpages you’ve visited, browsing activity, and most especially passwords you used on different websites.

It should be noted that this feature doesn’t really prevent the websites you visited from knowing who you are and your browsing activity on the website.

How to Browse Privately in Safari on Your Mac

Before I discuss the procedure on how to view your Private Browsing history on Mac, let me walk you through the steps on how to browse privately. You can either do it one time or opt to always browse privately.

To browse privately in Safari one time:

• Open the Safari app on your Mac.

To always browse privately in Safari:

• Click General.

What is the Mac Terminal Archive?

Now that you know how to use Private Browsing in Safari on your Mac, it’s time for you to know that your Mac actually logs that browsing history. This can be found in your Mac’s Terminal archive. You’ll be surprised to know that this Terminal archive contains information about all of the websites you visited. That’s even when you use the Private Browsing feature. So, you can view Private Browsing history via the Terminal archive.

How to View Private Browsing History in Safari on Mac

Time needed:  1 minute

You will notice that the website names have been translated into their corresponding IP addresses. You won’t see the exact name of the websites. That’s because your Mac has consulted a DNS directory to translate the website names into IP addresses.

We think you might also be interested in how to clear browser cache on Mac for Chrome, Firefox and Safari .

Final Words: Is It Really Safe to Browse Privately in Safari?

According to Apple, when you browse privately in Safari :

• The browser won’t save the web pages you visit and your Autofill information.
• Safari won’t store webpages you open in iCloud.
• Safari won’t include your recent searches in the results list when you use the Smart Search field.
• Safari won’t include items you downloaded in the download list.
• Changes to your cookies and website won’t be saved.

Knowing all that, Private Browsing in Safari would seem safe. But then, when you browse privately, are you really browsing anonymously, or does the feature just hide your information from anyone who could access your Mac? However, if somebody gets physical access to your Mac and knows their way around, they can still see the websites you visited, since the information is stored in the DNS cache of your Mac.

Even worse is when you are using a public network. The network administrator can still see the websites you are visiting using your Mac. The bottom line is that advertisers can still track you even if you browse privately on your Mac, and then serve targeted ads. If you don’t mind that at all, then there’s no harm in always browsing privately in Safari on your Mac.

One thought on “ How to View Safari Private Browsing History on Mac ”

When it comes to private browsing, Utopia P2P ecosystem’s web proxy function is the gold standard. Its advanced encryption and anonymity features are unmatched by other solutions like VPNs and incognito modes.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

• Arnold Zafra

• Home New Posts Forum List Trending New Threads New Media Spy
• WikiPost Latest summaries Watched WikiPosts
• Support FAQ and Rules Contact Us

Safari History to transfer to other Safari installation

• Thread starter Arak
• Start date Today at 2:01 PM
• Sort by reaction score

macrumors member

• Today at 2:01 PM

Safari 15.6.1 got migrated (along with whole MacOS in use) to new SSD using Migration Assistant. Unfortunately the browsing history got lost on migration. No idea if this is the known behavior as for Catalina. Anybody tried to transfer browsing history to other installation? Two Catalina system SSD's with Safari installed can be in operation however not at the same time as one single Mac is available for this task.  

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

Search your web browsing history in Safari on Mac

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

Open Safari for me

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

Safari uses iCloud to keep your browsing history the same on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Mac computers that have iCloud set up for Safari . Your Mac can keep your browsing history for as long as a year, while some iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch models keep browsing history for a month. To change how often your Mac removes items from your history, see Change General settings .