safari show recently closed tabs

How to view recently closed tabs in Safari on your iPhone or iPad

Whether you accidentally closed a tab you were viewing or are trying to remember something from an article you just read, you should know that getting back to a closed tab in Safari is pretty simple. With just a couple of taps, you can jump right back to where you were instead of having to dig through your history.

Here's how!

How to view your recently closed tabs in Safari for iPhone

Launch Safari from your Home screen.
Tap the tab button (looks like two stacked squares).

Tap and hold on the new tab button (looks like a '+').
Tap on one of your recently closed tabs if you want to open it again.

Tap and hold new tabs, choose a recently closed tab

How to view your recently closed tabs in Safari for iPad

Open Safari on your Home screen.

Let us know in the comments below!

○ iOS 14 Review ○ What's new in iOS 14 ○ Updating your iPhone ultimate guide ○ iOS Help Guide ○ iOS Discussion

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!

Joseph Keller is the former Editor in Chief of iMore. An Apple user for almost 20 years, he spends his time learning the ins and outs of iOS and macOS, always finding ways of getting the most out of his iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac.

You can now play Game Boy games on your iPhone after Apple's App Store changes

Apple Pencil might one day work with iPhone — but new battery-free patent design might disappoint pen power users

2024 "might be a turning point for Apple" — suppliers look elsewhere as Apple faces "frightening" question with no clear answer

Safari 101 : How to Clear Your Recently Closed Tabs List

When you accidentally close out of an important tab on your iPhone, Safari 's " Recently Closed Tabs " list really comes in handy. However, when it comes time to clear the list, things get a bit complicated. There's no "Delete" or "Erase" button on this page, but don't let that fool you — there are three easy ways to clear your recently closed tabs list.

Keep in mind that these steps will clear your list, so it will be irreversible. You need to make sure no tabs in the pile are important because once you go through with it, you won't be able to open that tab again. At least, not without having to do some history-diving in order to find it again.

And if you're wanting to clear your list of "Recently Closed Tabs" because of privacy issues where you don't want someone else with access to the iPhone to see what you've been reading, then you should consider using "Private" tabs more often, which won't get recorded in your list of "Recently Closed Tabs" anyway. More importantly, they won't appear in your browsing history.

Method 1: Force-Close the Safari App

Safari does not appear to have a limit to the number of closed tabs it will remember. That's pretty darn convenient, but it will forget them all if you force-close the app, which is the easiest way to clear the list.

Simply double-click the Home button, then swipe up on the Safari card to quit the app. On an iPhone X, you'd slowly swipe up from the home bar, hold for a moment, then let go to see all the app cards. Next, tap and hold on any card to bring up the close options, then tap the red minus button or swipe up to exit the app.

Safari 101: How to Clear Your Recently Closed Tabs List

Method 2: Restart Your iPhone

If force-closing apps isn't your forte, maybe restarting is. If you have an iPhone X, hold the Side button plus one of the volume buttons for a few seconds. For all other iPhones, just hold down the Side button.

When you see "Slide to Power Off" appear on the display, swipe that bar to power down your iPhone. Once powered down completely, hold down the Side button for a few seconds until you see the Apple logo. When you're iPhone wakes up, your recently closed tabs list will be cleared.

Alternatively, you could also use the newer "Shut Down" command in iOS 11 to shut down your iPhone before you power it back on manually. Even better, you can just "Restart" your iPhone from the "Assistive Touch" menu so that it turns off and powers back on automatically.

Method 3: Clear Your Search History

Clearing your history not only covers your web-browsing tracks, it also purges your list of recently closed tabs.

To clear your history in Safari, tap the book icon in the bottom menu bar. If you don't see the bar, either tap on the top bar or swipe down on the page to make it appear. Then, tap the clock icon to access your History page.

Next, tap "Clear," then select any of the four time ranges offered. No matter which option you choose, each will erase all your recently closed tabs, regardless of when those tabs were actually closed.

Method 4: Just Wait It Out

While not very methodical, waiting will guarantee you lose all recently closed tabs. After a certain period of time, Safari flushes the list without your consent or knowledge. While the above steps are great for manually erasing your recently closed tabs list, know that your tabs do get erased periodically.

It's very difficult to test how long Safari takes in between deletions, and Apple does not appear to share the data publicly. However, from my experience, Safari will erase my recently closed tabs overnight, so these tabs must only be safe for a handful of hours. I guess it's called recently closed tabs for a reason.

Follow Gadget Hacks on Facebook , Twitter , YouTube , and Flipboard
Follow WonderHowTo on Facebook , Twitter , Pinterest , and Flipboard

Just updated your iPhone? You'll find new emoji, enhanced security, podcast transcripts, Apple Cash virtual numbers, and other useful features. There are even new additions hidden within Safari. Find out what's new and changed on your iPhone with the iOS 17.4 update.

Be the First to Comment

Share your thoughts, how to : customize and use control center on your iphone for quick access to your most-used apps, features, and settings, how to : 10 features coming to apple news on your iphone with ios 17.5 — including some big ones, warning : sensitive info you black out in images can be revealed with a few quick edits on your iphone, how to : apple's integrating game center leaderboards into news+ puzzles with ios 17.5, how to : keep your night vision sharp with the iphone's hidden red screen, how to : clear your frequently used and recent emoji from your iphone's keyboard, how to : dial these secret codes to see if someone is hijacking calls & texts on your iphone, how to : if 'messages' consumes too much iphone or icloud storage, don't delete your conversations just yet, how to : the easiest way to secretly record someone's conversation with your iphone, how to : 100+ secret dialer codes for your iphone, how to : turn gifs into live photos on your iphone, how to : turn any website into a full-screen app on your iphone, how to : 15 hidden imessage features for iphone you probably didn't know about, how to : use your iphone to hear the world around you better, spy on conversations, listen to your heartbeat, and more, how to : your iphone's status bar can actually be customized — here's how, how to : if you keep valuable information in apple notes, you need to read this, how to : download and install ios 17.5 beta on your iphone — and try new features before everyone else, how to : 16 harry potter spells for siri that turn your iphone into a magical elder wand, how to : can't find an app on your iphone's home screen its icon is likely hiding from you, how to : 34 new features and changes for your iphone on ios 17.4.

All Features
All Hot Posts

How to Restore Accidentally Closed Safari Tabs on iPhone

If you’ve accidentally closed Safari tabs on an iPhone, you can easily recover them by using the Recently Closed Tabs list.
Another alternative method is to restore deleted Safari tabs by accessing the History tab.
And, finally the Shake to Undo feature also allows you to recover recently closed Safari tabs on iPhone.

Restore Accidentally Closed Safari Tabs on iPhone

Did you accidentally close all tabs open in Safari on your iPhone? If you did, you’re not alone. Several people, including myself, have encountered this issue at least once. However, it is nothing to worry about as you can easily recover any deleted Safari tab. Read along to learn how to Restore accidentally closed Safari tabs on iPhone.

How To Recover Deleted Safari Tabs on iPhone

Since Safari is the primary web browser for most of us, we have multiple tabs open within the browser. Some of us leave these tabs open as we need to revisit them later. Now, if you accidentally delete or close all of these tabs in Safari, do not panic. Recovering accidentally closed Safari tabs isn’t all that difficult.

Many people accidentally close tabs and you can find several posts regarding this issue on Apple’s Discussion Community page . Therefore, to solve this issue, we’ve put together some of the best troubleshooting methods to help you recover deleted Safari tabs on your iPhone.

1. Restore Accidentally Closed Tabs from Recently Closed Tabs List in Safari

The Safari browser on iPhone has a Recently Closed Tabs list hidden in plain sight within the browser. Not many people are aware of this feature and hence panic when they accidentally close multiple Safari tabs on their iPhones. However, we will help you navigate to the Recently Closed Tabs list and reopen all the tabs you accidentally closed on Safari.

Time needed: 1 minute

Steps to reopen websites from the Recently Closed Tabs list in Safari on iPhone.

Recover Accidentally Closed Tabs from Recently Closed Tabs List in Safari

Once the tab opens, you can continue browsing. If you want to reopen several tabs that you accidentally closed, you will have to repeat this step multiple times.

2. Restore Deleted Safari Tabs From Safari History

Another simple method to recover accidentally closed tabs is to restore them from History. Like most browsers, Safari also stores your browsing history in the History tab. However, note that if you accidentally closed tabs in the Private Browsing Mode, then they cannot be restored.

This is because Apple does not store browsing history for any activity in the Private Browsing Mode on iPhone. If they did, the Private Browsing Mode wouldn’t be that private. But if you’re on Mac, there’s a workaround that allows you to view Private Mode browsing history .

With that said, here’s how to recover deleted Safari tabs from Safari History on your iPhone.

Open the Safari browser on your iPhone.
Tap the Bookmarks icon located below the address bar.
Here, tap the History tab (clock icon).
Next, tap the page you want to reopen.
Alternatively, you can also tap and hold and then select the Open in New Tab or Open in New Tab Group option if you do not want to load the link on the current tab.

3. Shake Your iPhone To Undo Changes and Recover Accidentally Closed Tabs in Safari

Have you ever tried the Shake to Undo feature on your iPhone? Chances are, you have used this feature to correct typing errors. However, the Shake to Undo feature offers a lot more and can help you undo several accidental changes, including the ability to restore recently closed tabs in Safari on iPhone.

Apart from reopening accidentally closed tabs, the Shake to Undo feature also works in other apps and services. Here are a few examples of using your iPhone’s Shake to Undo feature.

Creating, editing, renaming, or deleting files or folders in the Files app.
Creating, editing, or deleting events in the Calendar app.
Editing or deleting images or videos in the Photos app.
Rearranging apps and widgets on the Home Screen.

We understand that this feature might be helpful you right now. Because a few minutes must’ve passed since you accidentally closed these tabs. Regardless, it might come in handy in the near future. Therefore, here’s how to use the Shake to Undo feature to restore accidentally closed tabs in Safari on iPhone.

The moment you accidentally close Safari tabs, quickly shake your iPhone . We suggest using the hammering motion as that is what seems to work for us.
The iPhone will display an Undo Close Tab pop-up. Tap the Undo button.
The closed tab will be restored and you can continue browsing.

Shake Your iPhone To Undo Changes and Recover Accidentally Closed Tabs in Safari

If the Shake to Undo feature is not working on your iPhone, you might have accidentally disabled it. Here’s how to enable the Shake to Undo feature on iPhone.

Open the Settings app and tap the Accessibility option.
Select the Touch option located under the Physical and Motor menu.
On the next screen, enable the Shake to Undo toggle.

Enable the Shake to Undo feature on iPhone

Prevent Accidentally Closing Safari Tabs

Why do you have multiple tabs open in Safari? Mostly, it might be because you visit those sites often and do not want to search for them every single time. However, navigating through hundreds of tabs to revisit a website isn’t very easy. While doing so, you might accidentally close all of the open tabs too.

Therefore, in order to prevent accidentally closing Safari tabs on iPhone, we suggest bookmarking tabs you visit frequently. This will streamline the entire process of navigating websites you visit often and in turn save time. Here’s how to bookmark tabs in Safari on your iPhone.

Head to the website you want to bookmark.
Now, tap and hold on the Bookmark icon below the address bar.

Bookmark Websites to Prevent Accidentally Closing Safari Tabs

On the next screen, you can edit the Name and the Link of the website .
If you want to change the location of the Bookmark, tap the option below Location and select the Bookmark Folder of your choice.

Add Bookmark to the correct folder and save the changes

Conclusion

We hope you were able to restore all the accidentally closed Safari tabs on your iPhone. I can completely relate to your pain of losing all the open tabs. It has happened to me in the past too. If you have any other doubts or are aware of other methods that can help restore accidentally deleted tabs in Safari, please let us know in the comments below.

How to Open a Recently Closed Tab in Safari on Your iOS Device

Accidentally close a browser tab in Safari on iOS and want to open it back up? There's a simple gesture for that, which you may not know about.

Even if you're aware of the gesture, it's worth a reminder that this feature exists in case someone gets ahold of your phone and checks your browser. Even if you've closed out a tab, it's still going to be visible in Safari, unless you were using a private browser window or have cleared your browsing history.

Want to close your Safari tabs all in one go? That's another hidden feature available in Safari. Make sure to check out our accompanying how to for instructions.

Get weekly top MacRumors stories in your inbox.

Top Rated Comments

Lol I had no idea! But iOS is so intuitive, you can even press things out of nowhere on a 3D Touch-less device!

Cool! I didn’t know this :) [doublepost=1515101359][/doublepost] I missed that one! How do I do that?

On a Mac, using Safari you can also either click and hold the + icon at the right of your tabs, or just quickly press ⌘⇧T to open your last-closed tab. In fact, you can keep hitting that combo and it will keep opening other recently-closed tabs.

iOS 18 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Game Boy Emulator for iPhone Now Available in App Store Following Rule Change [Removed]

NES Emulator for iPhone and iPad Now Available on App Store [Removed]

Apple removes game boy emulator igba from app store due to spam and copyright violations, apple's first ai features in ios 18 reportedly won't use cloud servers.

M4 Macs Are Expected to Launch in This Order Starting Later This Year

Best Buy Opens Up Sitewide Sale With Record Low Prices on M3 MacBook Air, iPad, and Much More

Next article.

Our comprehensive guide highlighting every major new addition in iOS 17, plus how-tos that walk you through using the new features.

App Store changes for the EU, new emoji, Podcasts transcripts, and more.

Get the most out your iPhone 15 with our complete guide to all the new features.

A deep dive into new features in macOS Sonoma, big and small.

Revamped models with OLED displays, M3 chip, and redesigned Magic Keyboard accessory.

Updated 10.9-inch model and new 12.9-inch model, M2 chip expected.

Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference will kick off with a keynote on June 10.

Expected to see new AI-focused features and more. Preview coming at WWDC in June with public release in September.

How to Open Recently Closed Tabs in Safari on an iPhone

Have you ever been on the tab page in Safari on your iPhone and accidentally closed one of the open tabs?

You might know how ot get back to that page, but if you aren’t quite sure how you arrived there initially, you might be worried about being able to find the page again.

Our tutorial will show you how to open recently closed tabs in Safari on an iPhone with a few steps.

How to Reopen a Closed Tab on an iPhone

Open Safari.
Select the Tabs icon.
Tap and hold on the + button.
Select the page to reopen.

Our guide continues below with additional information on how to open recently closed tabs in Safari on an iPhone , including pictures of these steps.

Web browsing in the Safari browser on the iPhone has come a long way since it was first introduced, and almost as much content is being viewed on mobile devices as is being viewed on computers.

But the functionality of mobile Web browsers is still not as advanced as what you will find on a laptop or desktop computer, which can make it difficult to browse when you are used to having access to certain features.

One such feature – the ability to re-open recently closed browser tabs – is one that you may have thought was missing on your iPhone.

Fortunately, you can open recently closed tabs in the mobile version of Safari, although it is a bit of a hidden feature.

Our tutorial below will walk you through the steps to follow so that you can start taking advantage of this option.

Opening Recently Closed Web Pages in the Safari iPhone Browser (Guide with Pictures)

The steps in this article were performed on an iPhone 6 Plus, in iOS 9.

This method will work for other iPhone models that are also running iOS 9, as well as iPhone devices running the iOS 8 operating system.

Step 1: Open the Safari browser.

Step 2: Tap the Tabs icon at the bottom-right corner of the screen.

If you do not see the Safari menu, then you may need to scroll up on the Web page until it becomes visible.

Step 3: Tap and hold the + icon at the bottom of the screen.

This will open a new window where you will see the recently closed Web pages. You can then tap any of them to be taken to that page.

Now that you know how to open recently closed tabs in Safari on an iPhone , you won’t need to worry if you accidentally tap the x or swipe away a tab on your device.

Note that you will not be able to open recently closed tabs if you are in a private browsing session. The window for recently closed tabs will open, but there will not be any pages listed.

Do you have a child or employee that is using an iPhone, but you want to block their Web access?

You can use the Restrictions feature on the device to disable the Safari browser .

This feature, along with many other options on the Restrictions menu, provides a helpful way to ensure that unwanted content is not accessible on the device.

How to delete apps on an iPhone 8
How to check an iTunes gift card balance on an iPhone
What is a badge app icon on an iPhone?
How to make your iPhone louder

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

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

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

Read his full bio here.

How to show recently closed tabs in Safari for iOS or macOS

Regardless of platform, internet browsers have handily added features over the years that let people recover any tabs they might’ve closed.

If you’re a Google Chrome user, you might be used to seeing your recently-closed tabs available in a dropdown menu. But with Safari, things are slightly more hidden — especially on iOS.

On Safari for iOS and Mac, you can tap/click and hold on the + icon to show a popover of Recently Closed Tabs , which shows any webpage you’ve opened and exited within a few hours.

Next time you find that you’ve swiped a window away accidentally, lost something important while closing all your tabs, or just experienced a mis-tap and didn’t mean to hit the small X on a tab in Safari for iPad, just remember to tap and hold on the new tab button to quickly bring it back.

We have more helpful tips right here .

Wait. There’s a Bonus….

Custom productivity templates.

We have a set of custom productivity templates that work well with the iPad app, GoodNotes. And if you want to try them out, we’ve put together a free guide that can help you.

We’ll show you…

How to create and save custom page templates in GoodNotes.
How to use those page templates to transform GoodNotes into your own productivity notebook (or any other type of notebook replacement).

Plus, we also have included a couple of our custom productivity templates for you to get started with. These templates are right out of our popular productivity course.

The custom templates and the guide are available for FREE to our email subscriber community. And you can get it right now. By joining the Sweet Setup community you’ll also get access to our other guides, early previews to big new reviews and workflow articles we are working on, weekly roundups of our best content, and more.

Newsletters

Our sponsors
Watch Store
Hot topics:
Apple legal battles
 Apple deals 
Editor’s picks
Buying guides

How to reopen a recently closed tab in Safari on iOS

By Charlie Sorrel • 1:00 pm, January 5, 2018

Top stories

You’ve done it. We’ve all done it. You’ve closed a tab in Safari and instantly realized that it was the wrong one.

It’s not the end of the world. You can open a fresh tab and schlep over to the history panel to hunt down that URL. Or, if you remember something about the title of the page, you can start typing it into Safari’s URL bar and watch for suggestions that match. But there’s a much easier way to access all your recently closed Safari tabs — and it’s just one long-press away.

How to access recently closed tabs in Safari for iOS

This trick works on both the Mac and on iOS devices. All you need to do is long-press (or long-click on the Mac) the + icon , aka the New Tab icon. Do that, and up will pop a panel with a list of the tabs you closed since the last Safari relaunch. If you force-quit Safari for any reason, this list will be wiped (which could be handy if you’ve been up to no good on someone else’s device).

If you want to use this trick on the Mac, you just long-click on the same New Tab icon, the one at the far right of Safari’s tab bar. Then mouse over to pick the tab you’re looking for.

On the iPhone, there’s one extra step. Because the New Tab button is hidden in the default Safari view, you first must hit the Show Tabs button — the one with a square overlapping another square. Once you are in the tab overview, you can long-press the big + button that appears at bottom center.

And that’s it. You can’t do much other than tap on one of the list entries to reopen that tab, but that’s often all you want. And if you’ve accessed this list with a long-press, then that’s exactly what you want to do.

More mobile Safari tricks

Make two taps in the URL bar? Not me. I just want to Paste and Go.

Mobile Safari is packed with neat little tricks like this. For instance, have you ever long-pressed the URL bar? Do that, and you get the option to copy the URL or, if there’s something on your clipboard already, to Paste and Go, which is a great shortcut for searching or landing a URL.

Check out all the things you can do with tabs!

Or try long-pressing on the Bookmark icon to quickly add a new bookmark (or addd the current page to your reading list). Have a look around, because you’ll probably find something you didn’t know about. Like all the handy options available under the Show Tabs icon. You should definitely check out that one.

Daily round-ups or a weekly refresher, straight from Cult of Mac to your inbox.

Cult of Mac Today

Our daily roundup of Apple news, reviews and how-tos. Plus the best Apple tweets, fun polls and inspiring Steve Jobs bons mots. Our readers say: "Love what you do" -- Christi Cardenas. "Absolutely love the content!" -- Harshita Arora. "Genuinely one of the highlights of my inbox" -- Lee Barnett.

The Weekender

The week's best Apple news, reviews and how-tos from Cult of Mac, every Saturday morning. Our readers say: "Thank you guys for always posting cool stuff" -- Vaughn Nevins. "Very informative" -- Kenly Xavier.

Popular This Week

Anker’s new power bank moonlights as wall charger, macs with ai-focused m4 chip launching this year, 5 essential mac settings you should change, how to change the size and color of the mac pointer, humane ai pin review roundup: it’s a disaster, use your iphone to scan and fax documents with this multipurpose scanning app [deals], iphone users around the world warned they are specific target of spyware, how to quickly queue songs on apple music (and clear the queue), big curved dell 4k display serves macbook duo [setups], colin farrell’s gritty detective series sugar becomes an immediate hit.

How To Reopen Recently Closed Tabs In Safari On iOS

by Sameed Khan · November 13, 2016

While the ability to open recently closed tabs is one that’s been around in desktop browsers for a while now, the same is a relatively recent addition for their mobile counterparts, even more so for Mobile Safari.

In fact, it’s quite likely that you had no idea Safari supports the feature on iOS, as it is hidden away behind the essentials. That is precisely why we thought it’d be a good idea to share a little tip exploring the feature and its fairly simple usage. And if you often find yourself accidentally closing tabs during your mobile browsing sessions, you’ll thank us. So without further ado, let’s jump right into learning how to reopen recently-closed tabs in Safari on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.

We’re going to assume you’re already familiar with basic tab management (viewing and closing tabs) in Safari. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Within Safari, tap the tab view icon in the bottom-right corner of the screen to jump into tab view , where you can close currently opened tabs or add new ones.

2. Tap and hold the “+” button at the bottom of the tab view and you’ll be taken to the Recently Closed Tabs screen.

3. Here, you’re shown a list of the last five tabs you closed. Simply tap a page to reopen it in a new tab.

Note: Safari will remember your last five closed tabs as long as it remains within your device’s memory, until you force-quit it from the app switcher, or switch to Private browsing. While Private browsing is active, Safari does not log closed tabs or allow you to restore those from your regular browsing session.

Without any UI cues to help, the feature isn’t all that easy to find. Once you get past that little hurdle, though, it makes quite a bit of sense to hide it behind the “+” button instead of cluttering the interface with yet another icon.

If you liked this article, don’t forget to Like our Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and add us to your Google+ circles for instant social media updates from our website!

Tags: how to iOS iPad iPhone Safari

Sameed Khan

I write, game, design at times, and revel in sarcasm. You can find me on Twitter .

Next story Download: Yalu + Mach_Portal Jailbreak App For iOS 10 – iOS 10.1.1
Previous story How To Convert DEB File To IPA For App Sideloading On iOS

Diablo 4 PC Requirements, Beta & Final Release Date

March 13, 2023

Beginner’s Guide to Two Point Campus

September 29, 2022

10 Best Survival Indie Games of 2022

August 17, 2022

TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge Tips & Tricks for Beginners

July 19, 2022

Hollow Knight: Silksong Release Date

June 16, 2022

How to Restore Recently Closed Safari Tabs on iPhone

What to know.

Reopen closed tabs in Safari to quickly revisit pages you thought you were done with.
To open recently closed tabs, open Safari, tap the Tabs icon, then long-press the plus icon.

If you're an avid user of Safari, you've probably accidentally closed a tab before when you were still in the middle of reading. As a result, you wished you had a way to open closed tabs so you could get it back. Luckily, there are two simple ways to reopen closed tabs in Safari on your iPhone! We'll show you how.

How to Reopen a Closed Tab in Safari on iPhone

Reopening closed tabs from safari's history.

In the steps below, we'll show you how to reopen recently closed Safari tabs. To learn more about cool Safari features, check out our free Tip of the Day newsletter.

Your recently closed tab will open in a new Safari tab, and you can pick up where you left off.

Related: How to Quickly Close All Tabs in Safari on iPhone

Another way to restore closed tabs is to go to the History tab in Safari. The History tab lists the recent and past pages that you've browsed. Here's how to reopen tabs from History.

If you currently have no tabs open, the steps are the same! You'll simply be starting from a blank page instead of a current tab. Safari can hold a fairly long list of recently closed tabs, so even if your child is playing around and deletes all open Safari tabs, you should be able to recover them quickly.

How do I find recently closed tabs on Safari iPhone? When you go to open a new tab, unless you have already changed Safari's settings, you will open to the new tab page. From there, simply scroll down. You'll find a list of all your recently closed tabs at the bottom.
Why did my Safari tabs disappear on iPhone? Sometimes, if the app crashes or accidentally gets deleted you can lose all your open tabs in the Safari app. This can also occur due to a software update. Follow the steps above to go above getting them back.
How do I get my Safari back to normal? In 2022, Apple released an update to Safari that altered where the search address bar and other small changes appeared. You can adjust this by going into Safari Settings.

If you're frustrated with the Safari layout, you may be interested in learning how to get the Safari search bar back to the top and how to stop the status bar from hiding your icons . If you ever find your Safari tabs disappearing, find out how to get them back .

Author Details

Jim Karpen holds a Ph.D. in literature and writing, and has a love of gizmos. His doctoral dissertation focused on the revolutionary consequences of digital technologies and anticipated some of the developments taking place in the industry today. Jim has been writing about the Internet and technology since 1994 and has been using Apple's visionary products for decades.

Master iOS 17 with our latest in-depth guide!

Featured Products

Now you can try Informant 5 for free and experience a productivity boost by managing projects with tasks and notes, syncing your calendar among all your devices, enjoying a user-friendly 30-day calendar view, and so much more. Informant 5 features SmartBar navigation which makes it so much easier to use and master this calendar app. Plus, you can use it almost anywhere thanks to Dark Mode. With a dark background, you can check in on your tasks and schedule anywhere, even the movie theater. Upgrade to the best calendar app and task manager for iOS! Download Informant 5 today and get organized!

Most Popular

How to Know If Someone Blocked You on iMessage

How to Tell If Someone Blocked Your Number on iPhone

Why Is My iPhone Battery Draining So Fast?

10 Simple Tips To Fix iPhone Battery Drain

How to Tell If Your iPhone or iPad Is Charging When Off or On (iOS 16)

How to Tell If a Dead iPhone Is Charging

How to Schedule a Text Message on iPhone

How to Put Two Pictures Side-by-Side on iPhone (iOS 17)

How To Put Two Pictures Together on iPhone

Hide Apps on iPhone So Only You Can Find Them

How to Hide an App on Your iPhone

How to Turn Off Flashlight On iPhone: 3 Easy Ways (2023)

How To Turn Off Flashlight on iPhone (Without Swiping Up!)

Why Is Find My iPhone Not Working? Here’s the Real Fix

The Fastest Way to Type Numbers on iPhone

Step Counter: How To Show Steps on Apple Watch Face

Can iPhones Get Viruses? How to Detect & Remove Malware (iOS 17)

How to Save a Photo as a PDF on Your iPhone for Free

Convert a Picture to a PDF on iPhone, Even Without Apps

Featured articles, why is my iphone battery draining so fast 13 easy fixes.

How to Find Out Who an Unknown Caller Is (2023)

Identify Mystery Numbers: How to Find No Caller ID on iPhone

Apple ID Not Active? Here’s the Fix!

How to Cast Apple TV to Chromecast for Easy Viewing

Fix Photos Not Uploading to iCloud Once & for All (iOS 17)

Apple ID Login: 9 Ways to Fix the Error Connecting to Apple ID Server Message (iOS 16)

There Was an Error Connecting to the Apple ID Server: Fixed

CarPlay Not Working? How to Fix Apple CarPlay Today (iOS 17)

CarPlay Not Working? 4 Ways to Fix Apple CarPlay Today

Check out our sponsors.

Each email reveals new things you can do with your phone (and other devices) with easy-to-follow screenshots.
Enter your email to get your first tip immediately!

How to restore closed Safari tabs on iPhone and iPad

How to restore closed Safari tabs on iPhone or iPad

Have you accidentally closed an important tab in Safari? Don’t worry; we all have been there. And you’d be relieved to know that restoring closed Safari tabs on an iPhone or iPad requires little to no technical competence. There are three simple ways to do it, and I have explained them below.

How to restore accidentally closed Safari tabs on iPhone or iPad

Multitasking challenges, interface confusion, or the use of accidental gestures—whatever caused you to mistakenly close Safari tabs, these solutions will surely help.

1. Shake your iPhone or iPad to undo closed Safari tab

Believe me, the iPhone’s Shake to Undo feature is a lifesaver. For the uninitiated, this is an Accessibility feature that allows you to quickly undo or redo certain actions. For example, you can quickly undo or redo typing and restore recently closed Safari tabs.

Accidentally close Safari tab on your iPhone, shake your iPhone and select Undo to restore closed safari tab

If you are unable to use this feature for some reason, you may need to enable it manually.

Open Settings → Head to Accessibility .
Tap Touch under the Physical and Motor section.

Go to Accessibility, select Touch and toggle on Shake to Undo on your iPhone or iPad

You can use the Shake to Undo feature to restore one Safari tab. But what if you want to reopen multiple closed Safari tabs?

2. Reopen web pages from Recently Closed Tabs on iPhone or iPad

Well, there’s a secret Safari trick that helps you do that. I am sure that even the most experienced Safari users won’t know about the existence of a Recently Closed Tabs list. You can go there and reopen the web pages you closed recently.

Open Safari → Tap the Tabs icon at the bottom right corner.
Tap and hold the + (plus) icon at the bottom left corner.
Doing so will open the list of all the Recently Closed Tabs.

3. Restore closed Safari tabs from History

Another way to retrieve closed tabs in Safari on iPhone is to head to the browsing history and reopen the desired tab. This trick works not only in Safari but on most other iPhone browsers as well.

Open Safari → Tap the Bookmark icon below the address bar.
Go to the Personal History tab (Clock icon 🕘) at the right.

Alternatively, you can tap and hold the page and select one of the options that appear in the pop-up.

Accessing your Safari browsing history can also help if you are dealing with the disappearing Safari tabs issue on your iPhone.

Yes, but only if you allowed Safari to use iCloud in the first place. If you have, then all your Safari Bookmarks , Reading List, Tab Groups , and open browser tabs are automatically backed up.

iPhones can store Safari history for up to a month.

Conclusion:

And that’s it; this is how you restore closed Safari tabs on iPhone. By now, you must have understood that there is no need to fret when you accidentally hit the close (x) button on a Safari tab, as you can reopen it easily.

Whether you prefer to shake your iPhone or use the traditional Recently Closed Tabs menu and browsing history method, Safari has your tab revival covered.

Explore more

How to disable Safari on iPhone? 3 Ways explained!
How to translate web pages in Safari on iPhone and iPad
How to sync Safari bookmarks between Mac and iPhone
How to Prevent Safari from Preloading Top-Hit on iPhone or iPad

🗣️ Our site is supported by our readers like you. When you purchase through our links, we earn a small commission. Read Disclaimer .

How to Restore Recently Closed Tabs and Windows in Safari

Ever close a browser tab by accident or lost a number of tabs after Safari crashed? It happens to the best of us. Thankfully, you can quickly reopen your last closed tab or restore tabs from your last browsing session with the tips below.

Open the Last Closed Tab in Safari on the Mac

Safari lets you undo your action of closing a tab--as long as you act promptly. If you close a tab by mistake and then open a new tab, you won't be able to restore the closed tab with the shortcut below, because the undo feature only works on your last action.

In OS X, after closing a tab, press Command+Z , the standard Mac keyboard shortcut for Undo. Your lost tab will be instantly restored. Alternatively, you can go to the Edit menu and select "Undo Close Tab".

For other tabs you've closed before the last one, head to the History men u for the list of sites you've recently visited.

Reopen Closed Windows in Safari on the Mac

You can also reopen a Safari window with the tabs you had open even days after closing the window or quitting Safari.

If you have more than one Safari window open and close one by mistake, go to the History menu and select "Reopen Last Closed Window."

If you quit Safari and want to restart it with all of the tabs you had open last time, go to the History menu and select Reopen All Windows from Last Session.

Stay in the know with Laptop Mag

Get our in-depth reviews, helpful tips, great deals, and the biggest news stories delivered to your inbox.

You'll be up and running with all of the windows and tabs you were using last time.

Open the Last Closed Tab in Safari on the iPad

On the iPad or iPhone , you can also quickly reopen your last tabs. Safari on iOS lets you quickly open up to five of the last tabs you closed.

Tap and hold down the new tab button (a plus icon) to bring up the list of recently closed tabs.

Tap the site to restore and the site will open in a new tab.

Google is finally deleting your Incognito mode browsing history — well, some of it

Traditional search engines are broken — can AI help?

AMD's Ryzen 8040 series gives it an edge on a huge competitor

iPhone User Guide

iPhone models compatible with iOS 17
R ' class='toc-item' data-ss-analytics-link-url='https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/iphone-xr-iph017302841/ios' data-ajax-endpoint='https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/iphone-xr-iph017302841/ios' data-ss-analytics-event="acs.link_click" href='https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/iphone-xr-iph017302841/ios' id='toc-item-IPH017302841' data-tocid='IPH017302841' > iPhone X R
S ' class='toc-item' data-ss-analytics-link-url='https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/iphone-xs-iphc00446242/ios' data-ajax-endpoint='https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/iphone-xs-iphc00446242/ios' data-ss-analytics-event="acs.link_click" href='https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/iphone-xs-iphc00446242/ios' id='toc-item-IPHC00446242' data-tocid='IPHC00446242' > iPhone X S
S Max' class='toc-item' data-ss-analytics-link-url='https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/iphone-xs-max-iphcd2066870/ios' data-ajax-endpoint='https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/iphone-xs-max-iphcd2066870/ios' data-ss-analytics-event="acs.link_click" href='https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/iphone-xs-max-iphcd2066870/ios' id='toc-item-IPHCD2066870' data-tocid='IPHCD2066870' > iPhone X S Max
iPhone 11 Pro
iPhone 11 Pro Max
iPhone SE (2nd generation)
iPhone 12 mini
iPhone 12 Pro
iPhone 12 Pro Max
iPhone 13 mini
iPhone 13 Pro
iPhone 13 Pro Max
iPhone SE (3rd generation)
iPhone 14 Plus
iPhone 14 Pro
iPhone 14 Pro Max
iPhone 15 Plus
iPhone 15 Pro
iPhone 15 Pro Max
Setup basics
Make your iPhone your own
Take great photos and videos
Keep in touch with friends and family
Share features with your family
Use iPhone for your daily routines
Expert advice from Apple Support
What’s new in iOS 17
Turn on and set up iPhone
Wake and unlock
Set up cellular service
Use Dual SIM
Connect to the internet
Sign in with Apple ID
Subscribe to iCloud+
Find settings
Set up mail, contacts, and calendar accounts
Learn the meaning of the status icons
Charge the battery
Charge with cleaner energy sources
Show the battery percentage
Check battery health and usage
Use Low Power Mode
Read and bookmark the user guide
Learn basic gestures
Learn gestures for iPhone models with Face ID
Adjust the volume
Find your apps in App Library
Switch between open apps
Quit and reopen an app
Multitask with Picture in Picture
Access features from the Lock Screen
View Live Activities in the Dynamic Island
Perform quick actions
Search on iPhone
Get information about your iPhone
View or change cellular data settings
Travel with iPhone
Change sounds and vibrations
Use the Action button on iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max
Create a custom Lock Screen
Change the wallpaper
Adjust the screen brightness and color balance
Keep the iPhone display on longer
Use StandBy
Customize the text size and zoom setting
Change the name of your iPhone
Change the date and time
Change the language and region
Organize your apps in folders
Add, edit, and remove widgets
Move apps and widgets on the Home Screen
Remove apps
Use and customize Control Center
Change or lock the screen orientation
View and respond to notifications
Change notification settings
Set up a Focus
Allow or silence notifications for a Focus
Turn a Focus on or off
Stay focused while driving
Customize sharing options
Type with the onscreen keyboard
Dictate text
Select and edit text
Use predictive text
Use text replacements
Add or change keyboards
Add emoji and stickers
Take a screenshot
Take a screen recording
Draw in documents
Add text, shapes, signatures, and more
Fill out forms and sign documents
Use Live Text to interact with content in a photo or video
Use Visual Look Up to identify objects in your photos and videos
Lift a subject from the photo background
Subscribe to Apple Arcade
Play with friends in Game Center
Connect a game controller
Use App Clips
Update apps
View or cancel subscriptions
Manage purchases, settings, and restrictions
Install and manage fonts
Buy books and audiobooks
Annotate books
Access books on other Apple devices
Listen to audiobooks
Set reading goals
Organize books
Create and edit events in Calendar
Send invitations
Reply to invitations
Change how you view events
Search for events
Change calendar and event settings
Schedule or display events in a different time zone
Keep track of events
Use multiple calendars
Use the Holidays calendar
Share iCloud calendars
Camera basics
Set up your shot
Apply Photographic Styles
Take Live Photos
Take Burst mode shots
Take a selfie
Take panoramic photos
Take macro photos and videos
Take portraits
Take Night mode photos
Take Apple ProRAW photos
Adjust the shutter volume
Adjust HDR camera settings
Record videos
Record spatial videos for Apple Vision Pro
Record ProRes videos
Record videos in Cinematic mode
Change video recording settings
Save camera settings
Customize the Main camera lens
Change advanced camera settings
View, share, and print photos
Use Live Text
Scan a QR code
See the world clock
Set an alarm
Change the next wake up alarm
Use the stopwatch
Use multiple timers
Add and use contact information
Edit contacts
Add your contact info
Use NameDrop on iPhone to share your contact info
Use other contact accounts
Use Contacts from the Phone app
Merge or hide duplicate contacts
Export contacts
Get started with FaceTime
Make FaceTime calls
Receive FaceTime calls
Create a FaceTime link
Take a Live Photo
Turn on Live Captions in a FaceTime call
Use other apps during a call
Make a Group FaceTime call
View participants in a grid
Use SharePlay to watch, listen, and play together
Share your screen in a FaceTime call
Collaborate on a document in FaceTime
Use video conferencing features
Hand off a FaceTime call to another Apple device
Change the FaceTime video settings
Change the FaceTime audio settings
Change your appearance
Leave a call or switch to Messages
Block unwanted callers
Report a call as spam
Connect external devices or servers
Modify files, folders, and downloads
Search for files and folders
Organize files and folders
Set up iCloud Drive
Share files and folders in iCloud Drive
Share your location
Meet up with a friend
Send your location via satellite
Add or remove a friend
Locate a friend
Get notified when friends change their location
Notify a friend when your location changes
Add your iPhone
Add your iPhone Wallet with MagSafe
Get notified if you leave a device behind
Locate a device
Mark a device as lost
Erase a device
Remove a device
Add an AirTag
Share an AirTag or other item in Find My on iPhone
Add a third-party item
Get notified if you leave an item behind
Locate an item
Mark an item as lost
Remove an item
Adjust map settings
Get started with Fitness
Track daily activity and change your move goal
See your activity summary
Sync a third-party workout app
Change fitness notifications
Share your activity
Subscribe to Apple Fitness+
Find Apple Fitness+ workouts and meditations
Start an Apple Fitness+ workout or meditation
Create a Custom Plan in Apple Fitness+
Work out together using SharePlay
Change what’s on the screen during an Apple Fitness+ workout or meditation
Download an Apple Fitness+ workout or meditation
Get started with Freeform
Create a Freeform board
Draw or handwrite
Apply consistent styles
Position items on a board
Search Freeform boards
Share and collaborate
Delete and recover boards
Get started with Health
Fill out your Health Details
Intro to Health data
View your health data
Share your health data
View health data shared by others
Download health records
View health records
Monitor your walking steadiness
Log menstrual cycle information
View menstrual cycle predictions and history
Track your medications
Learn more about your medications
Log your state of mind
Take a mental health assessment
Set up a schedule for a Sleep Focus
Turn off alarms and delete sleep schedules
Add or change sleep schedules
Turn Sleep Focus on or off
Change your wind down period, sleep goal, and more
View your sleep history
Check your headphone levels
Use audiogram data
Register as an organ donor
Back up your Health data
Intro to Home
Upgrade to the new Home architecture
Set up accessories
Control accessories
Control your home using Siri
Use Grid Forecast to plan your energy usage
Set up HomePod
Control your home remotely
Create and use scenes
Use automations
Set up security cameras
Use Face Recognition
Unlock your door with a home key
Configure a router
Invite others to control accessories
Add more homes
Get music, movies, and TV shows
Get ringtones
Manage purchases and settings
Get started with Journal
Write in your journal
Review your past journal entries
Change Journal settings
Magnify nearby objects
Change settings
Detect people around you
Detect doors around you
Receive image descriptions of your surroundings
Read aloud text and labels around you
Set up shortcuts for Detection Mode
Add and remove email accounts
Set up a custom email domain
Check your email
Unsend email with Undo Send
Reply to and forward emails
Save an email draft
Add email attachments
Download email attachments
Annotate email attachments
Set email notifications
Search for email
Organize email in mailboxes
Flag or block emails
Filter emails
Use Hide My Email
Use Mail Privacy Protection
Change email settings
Delete and recover emails
Add a Mail widget to your Home Screen
Print emails
Get travel directions
Select other route options
Find stops along your route
View a route overview or a list of turns
Change settings for spoken directions
Get driving directions
Get directions to your parked car
Set up electric vehicle routing
Report traffic incidents
Get cycling directions
Get walking directions
Get transit directions
Delete recent directions
Get traffic and weather info
Estimate travel time and ETA
Download offline maps
Search for places
Find nearby attractions, restaurants, and services
Get information about places
Mark places
Share places
Rate places
Save favorite places
Explore new places with Guides
Organize places in My Guides
Delete significant locations
Look around places
Take Flyover tours
Find your Maps settings
Measure dimensions
View and save measurements
Measure a person’s height
Use the level
Set up Messages
About iMessage
Send and reply to messages
Unsend and edit messages
Keep track of messages
Forward and share messages
Group conversations
Watch, listen, or play together using SharePlay
Collaborate on projects
Use iMessage apps
Take and edit photos or videos
Share photos, links, and more
Send stickers
Request, send, and receive payments
Send and receive audio messages
Animate messages
Change notifications
Block, filter, and report messages
Delete messages and attachments
Recover deleted messages
View albums, playlists, and more
Show song credits and lyrics
Queue up your music
Listen to broadcast radio
Subscribe to Apple Music
Play music together in the car with iPhone
Listen to lossless music
Listen to Dolby Atmos music
Apple Music Sing
Find new music
Add music and listen offline
Get personalized recommendations
Listen to radio
Search for music
Create playlists
See what your friends are listening to
Use Siri to play music
Change the way music sounds
Get started with News
Use News widgets
See news stories chosen just for you
Read stories
Follow your favorite teams with My Sports
Listen to Apple News Today
Subscribe to Apple News+
Browse and read Apple News+ stories and issues
Download Apple News+ issues
Listen to audio stories
Solve crossword puzzles
Search for news stories
Save stories in News for later
Subscribe to individual news channels
Get started with Notes
Add or remove accounts
Create and format notes
Draw or write
Add photos, videos, and more
Scan text and documents
Work with PDFs
Create Quick Notes
Search notes
Organize in folders
Organize with tags
Use Smart Folders
Export or print notes
Change Notes settings
Make a call
Answer or decline incoming calls
While on a call
Set up voicemail
Check voicemail
Change voicemail greeting and settings
Select ringtones and vibrations
Make calls using Wi-Fi
Set up call forwarding and call waiting
Avoid unwanted calls
View photos and videos
Play videos and slideshows
Delete or hide photos and videos
Edit photos and videos
Trim video length and adjust slow motion
Edit Cinematic mode videos
Edit Live Photos
Edit portraits
Use photo albums
Edit, share, and organize albums
Filter and sort photos and videos in albums
Make stickers from your photos
Duplicate and copy photos and videos
Merge duplicate photos and videos
Search for photos
Identify people and pets
Browse photos by location
Share photos and videos
Share long videos
View photos and videos shared with you
Watch memories
Personalize your memories
Manage memories and featured photos
Use iCloud Photos
Create shared albums
Add and remove people in a shared album
Add and delete photos and videos in a shared album
Set up or join an iCloud Shared Photo Library
Add content to an iCloud Shared Photo Library
Use iCloud Shared Photo Library
Import and export photos and videos
Print photos
Find podcasts
Listen to podcasts
Follow your favorite podcasts
Use the Podcasts widget
Organize your podcast library
Download, save, or share podcasts
Subscribe to podcasts
Listen to subscriber-only content
Change download settings
Make a grocery list
Add items to a list
Edit and manage a list
Search and organize lists
Work with templates
Use Smart Lists
Print reminders
Use the Reminders widget
Change Reminders settings
Browse the web
Search for websites
Customize your Safari settings
Change the layout
Use Safari profiles
Open and close tabs
Organize your tabs
View your Safari tabs from another Apple device
Share Tab Groups
Use Siri to listen to a webpage
Bookmark favorite webpages
Save pages to a Reading List
Find links shared with you
Annotate and save a webpage as a PDF
Automatically fill in forms
Get extensions
Hide ads and distractions
Clear your cache
Browse the web privately
Use passkeys in Safari
Check stocks
Manage multiple watchlists
Read business news
Add earnings reports to your calendar
Use a Stocks widget
Translate text, voice, and conversations
Translate text in apps
Translate with the camera view
Subscribe to Apple TV+, MLS Season Pass, or an Apple TV channel
Add your TV provider
Get shows, movies, and more
Watch sports
Watch Major League Soccer with MLS Season Pass
Control playback
Manage your library
Change the settings
Make a recording
Play it back
Edit or delete a recording
Keep recordings up to date
Organize recordings
Search for or rename a recording
Share a recording
Duplicate a recording
Keep cards and passes in Wallet
Set up Apple Pay
Use Apple Pay for contactless payments
Use Apple Pay in apps and on the web
Track your orders
Use Apple Cash
Use Apple Card
Use Savings
Pay for transit
Access your home, hotel room, and vehicle
Add identity cards
Use COVID-19 vaccination cards
Check your Apple Account balance
Use Express Mode
Organize your Wallet
Remove cards or passes
Check the weather
Check the weather in other locations
View weather maps
Manage weather notifications
Use Weather widgets
Learn the weather icons
Find out what Siri can do
Tell Siri about yourself
Have Siri announce calls and notifications
Add Siri Shortcuts
About Siri Suggestions
Use Siri in your car
Change Siri settings
Contact emergency services
Use Emergency SOS via satellite
Request Roadside Assistance via satellite
Set up and view your Medical ID
Use Check In
Manage Crash Detection
Reset privacy and security settings in an emergency
Set up Family Sharing
Add Family Sharing members
Remove Family Sharing members
Share subscriptions
Share purchases
Share locations with family and locate lost devices
Set up Apple Cash Family and Apple Card Family
Set up parental controls
Set up a child’s device
Get started with Screen Time
Protect your vision health with Screen Distance
Set up Screen Time
Set communication and safety limits and block inappropriate content
Charging cable
Power adapters
MagSafe chargers and battery packs
MagSafe cases and sleeves
Qi-certified wireless chargers
Use AirPods
Use EarPods
Apple Watch
Wirelessly stream videos and photos to Apple TV or a smart TV
Connect to a display with a cable
HomePod and other wireless speakers
Pair Magic Keyboard
Enter characters with diacritical marks
Switch between keyboards
Use shortcuts
Choose an alternative keyboard layout
Change typing assistance options
External storage devices
Bluetooth accessories
Share your internet connection
Allow phone calls on your iPad and Mac
Use iPhone as a webcam
Hand off tasks between devices
Cut, copy, and paste between iPhone and other devices
Stream video or mirror the screen of your iPhone
Start SharePlay instantly
Use AirDrop to send items
Connect iPhone and your computer with a cable
Transfer files between devices
Transfer files with email, messages, or AirDrop
Transfer files or sync content with the Finder or iTunes
Automatically keep files up to date with iCloud
Use an external storage device, a file server, or a cloud storage service
Intro to CarPlay
Connect to CarPlay
Use your vehicle’s built-in controls
Get turn-by-turn directions
Change the map view
Make phone calls
View your calendar
Send and receive text messages
Announce incoming text messages
Play podcasts
Play audiobooks
Listen to news stories
Control your home
Use other apps with CarPlay
Rearrange icons on CarPlay Home
Change settings in CarPlay
Get started with accessibility features
Turn on accessibility features for setup
Change Siri accessibility settings
Open features with Accessibility Shortcut
Change color and brightness
Make text easier to read
Reduce onscreen motion
Customize per-app visual settings
Hear what’s on the screen or typed
Hear audio descriptions
Turn on and practice VoiceOver
Change your VoiceOver settings
Use VoiceOver gestures
Operate iPhone when VoiceOver is on
Control VoiceOver using the rotor
Use the onscreen keyboard
Write with your finger
Use VoiceOver with an Apple external keyboard
Use a braille display
Type braille on the screen
Customize gestures and keyboard shortcuts
Use VoiceOver with a pointer device
Use VoiceOver for images and videos
Use VoiceOver in apps
Use AssistiveTouch
Adjust how iPhone responds to your touch
Use Reachability
Auto-answer calls
Turn off vibration
Change Face ID and attention settings
Use Voice Control
Adjust the side or Home button
Use Apple TV Remote buttons
Adjust pointer settings
Adjust keyboard settings
Adjust AirPods settings
Turn on Apple Watch Mirroring
Control a nearby Apple device
Intro to Switch Control
Set up and turn on Switch Control
Select items, perform actions, and more
Control several devices with one switch
Use hearing devices
Use Live Listen
Use sound recognition
Set up and use RTT and TTY
Flash the LED for alerts
Adjust audio settings
Play background sounds
Display subtitles and captions
Show transcriptions for Intercom messages
Get Live Captions (beta)
Type to speak
Record a Personal Voice
Use Guided Access
Use built-in privacy and security protections
Set a passcode
Set up Face ID
Set up Touch ID
Control access to information on the Lock Screen
Keep your Apple ID secure
Use passkeys to sign in to apps and websites
Sign in with Apple
Share passwords
Automatically fill in strong passwords
Change weak or compromised passwords
View your passwords and related information
Share passkeys and passwords securely with AirDrop
Make your passkeys and passwords available on all your devices
Automatically fill in verification codes
Automatically fill in SMS passcodes
Sign in with fewer CAPTCHA challenges
Use two-factor authentication
Use security keys
Manage information sharing with Safety Check
Control app tracking permissions
Control the location information you share
Control access to information in apps
Control how Apple delivers advertising to you
Control access to hardware features
Create and manage Hide My Email addresses
Protect your web browsing with iCloud Private Relay
Use a private network address
Use Advanced Data Protection
Use Lockdown Mode
Use Stolen Device Protection
Receive warnings about sensitive content
Use Contact Key Verification
Turn iPhone on or off
Force restart iPhone
Back up iPhone
Return iPhone settings to their defaults
Restore all content from a backup
Restore purchased and deleted items
Sell, give away, or trade in your iPhone
Erase iPhone
Install or remove configuration profiles
Important safety information
Important handling information
Find more resources for software and service
FCC compliance statement
ISED Canada compliance statement
Ultra Wideband information
Class 1 Laser information
Apple and the environment
Disposal and recycling information
Unauthorized modification of iOS

Open and close tabs in Safari on iPhone

Note: If you’re using the Single Tab layout, the menus and other items may look different from what’s described in this guide. See Change the layout of Safari .

Open a link in a new tab

Touch and hold the link, then tap Open in New Tab.

View a tab’s history

You can see which webpages you previously visited in this tab.

Tip: To close all tabs in this Tab Group at the same time, touch and hold Done, then tap Close All Tabs.

Open a recently closed tab

Tips & Tricks

Troubleshooting, how to restore & reopen all closed tabs in safari on ipad.

Reopen and restore all closed tabs in Safari on iPhone or iPad

If you’ve accidentally closed tons of Safari tabs on iPad or iPhone and want to restore them, or you lost all of your Safari tabs by trying to create a Safari Tab Group (a surprisingly common occurrence, what a feature bug), you are probably desperately wondering how you can recover and reopen all closed tabs in Safari and restore them all to your iPhone or iPad.

Many people use Safari tabs as an alternative to bookmarks, keeping hundreds of tabs open at a time, but forget to bookmark them. Endless hours of research, resources, etc, open in tabs, can all be gone in a flash if you encounter a hiccup with Safari on iPhone or iPad. Oops. Indeed, Safari is unforgiving on the iPad (or iPhone), and your tabs may be toast.

Worried you lost your Safari tabs on iPad? Not so fast!

There’s good news and bad news.

While there’s no official “Reopen all closed tabs” option or ‘Restore previous session’ in Safari on iPadOS or iOS, you’re not out of options.

The bad news is that if you had tons of open tabs, say 300, 400, or 500 open tabs, they might be lost for good, or at least many of them may be gone.

But the good news is you can try to recover many of them through several different options. And if you have a keyboard hooked up to the iPad in particular, you’ll be able to get quite a few of the lost tabs back.

Restoring Closed Safari Tabs on iPad with Keyboard Shortcut

If you have an external keyboard, Magic Keyboard, Smart Keyboard, or similar keyboard with the iPad, you can use a keyboard shortcut in Safari to restore the last closed Safari tabs.

Hit Command + Shift + T on a keyboard repeatedly, until all tabs have been reopened

I have personally experienced catastrophic tab loss due to the Tab Groups bug, but by using the Command Shift T method I was able to recover about 200 of 500 lost Safari tabs. This is probably the most broadly useful trick, and the closest method to restoring all closed tabs in Safari on iPad.

Unfortunately, this trick is probably not available for iPhone, but you can try connecting a bluetooth keyboard to iPhone and giving it a shot anyway – let us know if it works.

Recovering Closed Tabs in Safari on iPad via New Tab Button

The plus button in Safari on iPad and iPhone is the traditional commonly used method used to recover closed tabs in iOS Safari and iPadOS too.

On iPad: Tap and hold on the + plus button, then select the closed tabs you wish to reopen from the drop-down menu
On iPhone: Tap the two overlapping squares icon to access tabs view, then tap and hold on the + plus button to select closed tabs you want to reopen

The + tab drop down menu that shows with a long press will reveal all tabs that have been closed recently, so repeat this process to reopen and recover closed tabs as needed.

Restoring Lost Tabs in Safari on iPad through History

You can also browse through Safari history to restore closed tabs, though if you have tons of tabs you are trying to restore you’ll be in the history menu for a while.

Tap the sidebar menu button, then tap on “History”
Tap on the history item(s) you want to restore the tab for

This is fairly tedious but it can be very effective if you don’t mind putting the time into restoring from browser history.

Of course if you deleted and cleared the browser history, this won’t be an option.

Restore from a Recent Backup to Recover All Lost Safari Tabs?

If your tabs were super important, perhaps you were doing tons of research and lost them all, and if you had a recent backup made from before you lost the tabs, you can also try to restore the iPad from the backup to recover those lost tabs.

However this usually does not work to recover the tabs if Safari is syncing through iCloud Tabs, so if you’re in that situation you’ll want to use the approaches above rather than the backup recovery approach.

Were you able to restore your lost Safari tabs on iPhone or iPad using these tricks? Which method worked best for you? Do you have another approach to recovering all your closed Safari tabs in iOS and iPadOS? Share with us your experiences in the comments.

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.

How to Reopen Closed Tabs in Chrome on iPhone, iPad, Mac
How to Reopen Closed Tabs in Safari for iPhone
How to Re-Open Recently Closed Tabs in Safari for Mac the Easy Way
How to Re-Open Historical Windows & Tabs in Safari on Mac with a Keystroke

» Comments RSS Feed

[cmd]-[shift]-T doesn’t work on german installed macbook –> opens the [sharing] menu

This article is aimed at iPad users with a keyboard case or external keyboard attached, however, for Mac; Command+Shift+Tab in Safari for Mac (US English) will reopen the last closed tab. You can see what the equivalent would be on Mac (German) by going to the Safari “History” menu and looking for the “Reopen Last Closed Tab” option to see the associated keystroke. Hope that helps!

Name (required)

Mail (will not be published) (required)

Subscribe to OSXDaily

- How to Use Hover Text on Mac to Magnify On-Screen Text
- How to Bulk Image Edit on iPhone & iPad wth Copy & Paste Edits to Photos
- How to Use Apple Watch as Viewfinder & Remote for iPhone Camera
- How to Hide the Sidebar in Microsoft Edge
- The Best Way to Clean a MacBook Air Keyboard: Microfiber Cloth & KeyboardCleanTool
- Opinion: Shiny Keys on MacBook Air & Pro Are Ugly and Shouldn’t Happen
- MacOS Ventura 13.6.6 & Safari 17.4.1 Update Available
- Using M3 MacBook Air in Clamshell Mode May Reduce Performance
- First Beta of iOS 17.5, macOS Sonoma 14.5, iPadOS 17.5 Released for Testing
- iOS 16.7.7 & iPadOS 16.7.7 Released for Older iPhone & iPad Models

iPhone / iPad

- What Does the Bell with Line Through It Mean in Messages? Bell Icon on iPhone, iPad, & Mac Explained
- Fix a Repeating “Trust This Computer” Alert on iPhone & iPad
- Create a Resume with Pages on Mac, iPhone, iPad
- How to Check Disk Health on Mac with smartctl
- 3 Mac Tips for Working with International Teams
- Fix “warning: unable to access /Users/Name/.config/git/attributes Permission Denied” Errors
- How to Fix the Apple Watch Squiggly Charging Cable Screen
- NewsToday2: What it is & How to Disable NewsToday2 on Mac
- Why Did My iPhone Alarm Stop Automatically & Turn Itself Off?

Shop on Amazon to help support this site

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.

Great Tech Gifts for Any Occasion
The Best Gadgets for The Beach or Pool

How to Reopen Closed Safari Tabs and Windows and Access Past History

Quickly get back to where you were

Tom Nelson is an engineer, programmer, network manager, and computer network and systems designer who has written for Other World Computing,and others. Tom is also president of Coyote Moon, Inc., a Macintosh and Windows consulting firm.

What to Know

Undo a closed tab: Go to Edit > Undo Close Tab , press Command + Z , or click and hold the plus sign to the right of the Tabs bar.
Or, select History > Reopen Last Closed Tab , go to History and mouse over Recently Closed , or press Shift + Command + T .
Restore a closed window: Go to History > Reopen Last Closed Window . Or, History > Reopen All Windows From Last Session .

This article explains how to reopen tabs or windows you may have closed by accident in the Safari web browser. You can also use the History list to reopen sites.

How to Undo a Closed Tab in Safari

You can open your lost tab using four methods. The first is to either select Undo Close Tab from the Edit menu, or press Command + Z on your keyboard.

You can restore multiple tabs you've closed by using the command repeatedly.

Another way to reopen a page you've closed is to click and hold the plus sign at the far right of the Tabs bar. Usually, you click this once to open a new tab, but holding opens a menu with a list of ones you've recently closed. Select the one you want to reopen.

The third way is to select Reopen Last Closed Tab under the History menu or press Shift + Command + T on your keyboard.

Finally, you can find a list of tabs you've recently closed under the History menu. Mouse over Recently Closed to see a list of pages you can reopen, and then click the one you want to restore.

Restoring Closed Windows

If you close a Safari window , you can reopen it just as you can reopen a closed tab, but the command is under a different menu. Select Reopen Last Closed Window under the History menu, or press Shift + Command + T on your keyboard.

The Reopen Last Closed Window and Reopen Last Closed Tab commands share the same spot in the History menu and keyboard shortcut. Which you see depends on which you closed most recently.

Reopen Safari Windows From Last Session

Besides being able to reopen closed Safari windows and tabs, you can also open all Safari windows that were open the last time you quit Safari.

Safari, like all the Apple apps, can make use of OS X’s Resume feature , which was introduced with OS X Lion. Resume saves the state of all the open windows of an app, in this case, any Safari window you have open. The idea is that the next time you launch Safari, you can resume right where you left off.

From the History menu, select Reopen All Windows From Last Session .

Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day

The Best Mac Shortcuts in 2024
The Best Windows Keyboard Shortcuts in 2024
How to Restore Tabs in Chrome
How to Use Sticky Notes for Mac
How to Undo and Redo on a Mac
How to Use Group Tabs in Chrome
Using Finder Tabs in OS X
The 20 Best Firefox Extensions of 2024
How to Bookmark All Tabs in Chrome on Android
Keyboard Shortcuts for Safari on macOS
8 Tips for Using Safari With macOS
How to Check Computer History
Control Safari Windows With Keyboard Shortcuts
How to Pin Sites in Safari and Mac OS
Customize Safari Toolbar, Favorites, Tab, and Status Bars
The 30 Best Gmail Keyboard Shortcuts for 2024

How-To Geek

How to reopen closed tabs and windows in safari on a mac.

Safari lets you reopen closed tabs on a Mac, just as it does on iPhone. Here's how.

Quick Links

Restoring the last closed tab in safari, restoring the last closed tab using your keyboard.

Did you just close a Safari tab or window? No problem---you can get it back. Like all modern web browsers, Apple's Safari for Mac can reopen a closed tab or window---as long as you weren't browsing privately.

Tabbed browsing is perhaps the best thing to come to the internet since Keyboard Cat, and if you're anything like us you probably have more tabs open than you can ever remember looking at. That unfortunately sometimes leads to what we like to call "The Purge"---a cleanup of tabs that invariably has an unfortunate side effect---closing the one tab that you absolutely wanted to keep open.

Thankfully, someone at Apple thought about that and there's a handy dandy menu bar option that will return that recently closed tab to its former glory. There's even a keyboard shortcut, too!

There is, of course, one caveat to consider here. If you're browsing away in private browsing mode, and then close a tab, you're out of luck. No amount of spamming the right buttons or key combinations is going to bring it back. Sorry! Everything is discarded as soon as you close a private browsing tab. That ensures your private browsing stays private.

With that out of the way, here's how to get your lost tab back.

If you just closed a tab and realized that you shouldn't have, getting it back is a case of two mouse clicks.

To get started, click the "History" option in the menu bar at the top of the screen in Safari.

Next, click "Reopen Last Closed Tab."

Wonder as the tab springs back into view.

If you're in a super hurry, you don't even need to go clicking around. Instead, simply press Shift ⇧ + Command (or Cmd) ⌘ + T and your tab will be restored to its former glory.

You can reopen closed tabs in Safari on an iPhone or iPad , too.

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

How To Restore Closed Tabs Safari

Software & Applications
Browsers & Extensions

Introduction

Accidentally closing a tab in your web browser can be a frustrating experience, especially if you were in the midst of important research or entertainment. However, with the right knowledge, you can easily restore closed tabs in Safari, the default web browser for Apple devices. Whether you accidentally closed a tab or simply need to revisit a previously viewed page, Safari offers several methods to help you quickly recover closed tabs and resume your browsing experience seamlessly.

In this article, we will explore three simple and effective methods to restore closed tabs in Safari. You will learn how to utilize the History menu, the Reopen Last Closed Tab feature, and the Recently Closed Tabs menu to regain access to your closed tabs. By mastering these techniques, you can navigate Safari with confidence, knowing that you have the tools to retrieve any accidentally closed tabs and continue your online activities without interruption.

Let's delve into the step-by-step instructions for each method, empowering you to make the most of Safari's features and effortlessly manage your browsing sessions. Whether you are a casual user or a seasoned web explorer, understanding these methods will enhance your browsing experience and alleviate the frustration of losing important tabs. So, let's embark on this journey to discover the simple yet powerful ways to restore closed tabs in Safari.

Method 1: Using the History Menu

One of the most straightforward methods to restore closed tabs in Safari is by utilizing the History menu. This feature allows you to access a comprehensive list of your browsing history, making it easy to locate and reopen recently closed tabs. Whether you closed a tab a few minutes ago or earlier in the day, the History menu provides a convenient way to revisit your browsing sessions.

To begin, navigate to the top menu bar in Safari and click on the "History" option. A dropdown menu will appear, presenting a list of recently visited websites as well as the option to view your entire browsing history. By selecting "Reopen Last Closed Window" from the History menu, you can restore the most recently closed window, which may contain multiple tabs.

If you are looking to reopen a specific closed tab rather than an entire window, you can click on the "History" option and then select "Recently Closed" to reveal a list of tabs that were closed during your current browsing session. From this list, you can choose the specific tab you wish to reopen, allowing you to seamlessly continue your browsing experience without losing valuable content.

Additionally, the History menu provides the option to access your entire browsing history, enabling you to search for and reopen tabs from previous days or weeks. This feature is particularly useful when you need to retrieve a tab that was closed earlier in your browsing history, offering a comprehensive solution for managing and restoring closed tabs in Safari.

By leveraging the History menu in Safari, you can easily recover closed tabs and maintain a smooth browsing experience. Whether you need to revisit a recently closed tab or explore your complete browsing history, this method empowers you to effortlessly manage your tabs and make the most of Safari's intuitive features. With the ability to access and restore closed tabs at your fingertips, you can navigate the web with confidence, knowing that Safari provides the tools you need to seamlessly recover from accidental tab closures.

Method 2: Using the Reopen Last Closed Tab Feature

When it comes to swiftly restoring a recently closed tab in Safari, the "Reopen Last Closed Tab" feature emerges as a remarkably efficient and convenient option. This method is particularly beneficial when you accidentally close a tab and wish to promptly retrieve it without navigating through extensive browsing history. With just a few simple steps, you can seamlessly recover the last closed tab and continue your browsing experience uninterrupted.

To initiate the process, you can simply right-click on any open tab within Safari. Upon doing so, a contextual menu will appear, presenting various options for managing tabs. Among these options, you will find "Reopen Last Closed Tab," which serves as a direct and expedient means of restoring the most recently closed tab. By selecting this option, Safari will promptly reopen the tab that was last closed, allowing you to effortlessly resume your interaction with the content it contained.

Alternatively, if you prefer using keyboard shortcuts to navigate Safari's features, you can press "Command + Z" on your keyboard immediately after closing a tab. This action triggers the "Reopen Last Closed Tab" feature, swiftly restoring the tab that was most recently closed. This keyboard shortcut offers a quick and intuitive method for recovering closed tabs, empowering you to efficiently manage your browsing sessions without unnecessary delays.

The "Reopen Last Closed Tab" feature in Safari exemplifies the browser's commitment to user-friendly functionality, providing a seamless solution for restoring closed tabs with minimal effort. Whether you prefer using the contextual menu or keyboard shortcuts, this feature ensures that you can swiftly retrieve the last closed tab and continue your online activities without disruption.

By mastering the "Reopen Last Closed Tab" feature, you can navigate Safari with confidence, knowing that you have the tools to effortlessly recover from accidental tab closures. This method exemplifies the browser's commitment to user-friendly functionality, offering a straightforward and effective means of managing your browsing sessions and ensuring a smooth and uninterrupted browsing experience.

Method 3: Using the Recently Closed Tabs Menu

Another efficient method to restore closed tabs in Safari involves utilizing the Recently Closed Tabs menu. This feature offers a convenient way to access and reopen tabs that were closed during your current browsing session, providing a streamlined approach to managing your tab history.

To begin, you can navigate to the top menu bar in Safari and click on the "History" option. From the dropdown menu, select "Recently Closed Tabs" to reveal a list of tabs that were closed during your current browsing session. This menu presents a comprehensive overview of the tabs that were recently closed, allowing you to select and reopen specific tabs based on your browsing needs.

Upon accessing the Recently Closed Tabs menu, you will have the opportunity to review the titles and URLs of the closed tabs, enabling you to identify the specific tab you wish to restore. By simply clicking on the desired tab from the list, Safari will promptly reopen it, seamlessly reintegrating the tab into your browsing session without any loss of content or context.

This method is particularly advantageous when you need to retrieve multiple closed tabs or revisit specific pages that were recently closed. Whether you accidentally closed a tab or simply wish to revisit a previously viewed page, the Recently Closed Tabs menu offers a user-friendly and efficient solution for managing and restoring closed tabs in Safari.

By leveraging the Recently Closed Tabs menu, you can effortlessly maintain control over your browsing sessions, ensuring that you have the means to recover closed tabs with ease. This feature exemplifies Safari's commitment to providing intuitive tools for users to manage their browsing history and seamlessly navigate their online activities.

Incorporating the Recently Closed Tabs menu into your browsing routine empowers you to navigate Safari with confidence, knowing that you can efficiently recover from accidental tab closures and seamlessly resume your interaction with valuable online content. This method enhances the overall browsing experience, allowing you to make the most of Safari's features and effortlessly manage your tab history.

In conclusion, mastering the art of restoring closed tabs in Safari is a valuable skill that empowers users to navigate the web with confidence and efficiency. By exploring the three methods outlined in this article, you have gained valuable insights into the diverse options available for recovering closed tabs and seamlessly managing your browsing history.

The History menu serves as a comprehensive repository of your browsing sessions, offering a convenient way to access and reopen recently closed tabs. Whether you need to revisit a specific tab or explore your complete browsing history, the History menu provides a user-friendly solution for managing and restoring closed tabs in Safari.

The "Reopen Last Closed Tab" feature exemplifies Safari's commitment to user-friendly functionality, offering a swift and intuitive method for recovering the most recently closed tab. Whether you prefer using the contextual menu or keyboard shortcuts, this feature ensures that you can promptly retrieve the last closed tab and continue your online activities without disruption.

Furthermore, the Recently Closed Tabs menu presents a streamlined approach to managing your tab history, allowing you to efficiently access and reopen tabs that were closed during your current browsing session. This feature enhances your ability to recover closed tabs with ease, ensuring that you can seamlessly resume your interaction with valuable online content.

By incorporating these methods into your browsing routine, you can navigate Safari with confidence, knowing that you have the tools to effortlessly recover from accidental tab closures and seamlessly manage your tab history. Whether you are a casual user or a seasoned web explorer, understanding these methods enhances your browsing experience and alleviates the frustration of losing important tabs.

In essence, the ability to restore closed tabs in Safari is a testament to the browser's commitment to providing intuitive tools for users to manage their browsing history and seamlessly navigate their online activities. With these methods at your disposal, you can make the most of Safari's features and effortlessly manage your tab history, ensuring a smooth and uninterrupted browsing experience.

Why Does Safari Keep Opening Closed Tabs

How To Reopen Closed Tabs In Safari

How To Delete Recently Closed Tabs In Safari

How To Restore Tabs Safari IPhone

How To Restore Tabs On Safari IPhone

How To Reopen Tabs On Safari

Why Did My Safari Tabs Disappear

Why Do My Tabs In Safari Disappear

How to Find the Best Midjourney Alternative in 2024: A Guide to AI Anime Generators

How to Know When it’s the Right Time to Buy Bitcoin

Unleashing Young Geniuses: How Lingokids Makes Learning a Blast!

How to Sell Counter-Strike 2 Skins Instantly? A Comprehensive Guide

10 Proven Ways For Online Gamers To Avoid Cyber Attacks And Scams

$10 Best AI Math Solvers for Instant Homework Solutions$

Privacy Overview
Strictly Necessary Cookies

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.

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

How to disable 'recently closed tabs' please?

Please can someone tell me how to disable 'recently closed tabs' in Safari. Thanks

iPad 2, iOS 8

Posted on Sep 19, 2014 4:24 PM

Posted on Jun 4, 2017 1:04 AM

It is a shame that when the geeks think of a new idea they are not forced to put in a switch to turn it off. This "feature" messes me up over and over again and each time it does so I curse the geek that dreamt it up.

Loading page content

Page content loaded

Jun 4, 2017 1:04 AM in response to PrivatePlease

Mar 23, 2017 1:39 AM in response to PrivatePlease

Hi, you cannot! However, this is what you can do: When you've finished visiting a private web page, don't close it, but input a new, random search. When that page opens, you can close it. The recently closed tabs list will show only that page. If you've already got a list of such pages in the "recently closed tabs", open each in turn, put in a random search and when that page opens, close it. This way, the recently closed tabs list only shows the random stuff you've put in. Remember to delete the history lists as well. seedeater56 🙂

Mar 20, 2017 11:59 PM in response to PrivatePlease

I couldn't find a way to delete them but I found a solution. If you open a random webpage then "close it" then repeat this process eventually you will have removed any recently closed you don't want.

Sep 19, 2014 6:54 PM in response to PrivatePlease

Don't hold your finger on the plus sign. Other then that you can't.

Home > News Tips

(5 Ways Included) How to Restore Closed Tabs in Safari?

Updated on Monday, April 8, 2024

Approved by

5 Effective Ways to Restore Recently Closed Tabs in Safari

If you use a Mac as your workstation, then circumstances where Safari tabs are accidentally closed or Mac power failure suspends your incomplete webpages occur as commonly as a meal.

Yet don't be upset, you have 5 ways to restore closed tabs in Safari on your iPhone and Mac without issue. Just read this article from iBoysoft and try the way that you like.

Table of Contents:

1. How to restore recently closed tabs in Safari on Mac
2. How to restore closed tabs in Safari on iPhone
3. FAQ about how to restore closed tabs in Safari

How to restore recently closed tabs in Safari on Mac

If you think that Safari gets the better of Chrome in the Safari vs Chrome battle and take it as your default browser, it's not an odd thing that you close all Safari windows with one mouse click. Take it easy, you can learn 3 methods to reopen the Safari tabs on your computer running macOS here.

Method 1: Use the keyboard shortcuts or menu shortcuts

Just like you undo an email on Mac , you can also undo the tab shut actions with certain keyboard shortcuts or the Safari menu shortcuts on the context menu.

You can relaunch Safari on your computer and then press the Command + Z keys to bring back the last closed tab. If you have shut several tabs in one click, you should hold down the keyboard shortcuts repeatedly to restore all the tabs one by one.

Alternatively, you are able to select the Reopen Last Closed Tab option to bring the closed Safari tab back. Let me show you how to do:

Launch Safari on your Mac via Spotlight Search shortcuts .
Head to the History menu on the top toolbar of your Mac desktop.
Select Reopen Last Closed Tab on the dropdown menu of the History. You can also hit the responding Shift + Command + T keyboards to complete the restoration.
Then all the tabs you have closed on Safari will show up automatically.

Use the keyboard shortcuts or menu shortcuts

Method 2: Utilize the add icon on Safari

Safari's new tab icon allows you to create a new tab with a left click and restore the closed tab with a right click. You will have the list of all closed tabs and windows that you have closed as long as you right-click this icon.

Relaunch the Safari browser on your device.
Head to the upper right corner of the Safari main interface.

Choose the tab that you plan to restore and it will come back.

Method 3: Check the Recently Closed option

You are also allowed to recover your closed tab on Safari by checking the Recently Closed menu. Different from the Restore Last Closed Tab option, this way won't show you all the closed tabs and you can choose specific tabs to recover.

Launch the Safari browser on your Mac.
Locate the History tab on the top menu bar.

Click the website that you visited and then it will appear on the Safari main window.

If you have known how to restore recently closed tabs in Safari on your Mac with the guideline, why not share it with more people?

How to restore closed tabs in Safari on iPhone

The way to reopen a recently closed Safari tab on your iPhone is pretty much the same as on your Mac. You can click the + icon or search for your Closed Tabs in the Safari history to reopen the closed tabs, though they are not as easily accessible as the Mac.

Method 1: Utilize the add icon on Safari

Run the Safari browser on your iPhone, and tap the Show All Tabs icon at the bottom right corner of the iPhone screen.
Tap and hold your finger on the + (New Tab) icon for a couple of seconds.

Method 2: Search for the Closed Tabs in the Safari history

If you fail to restore the Safari tabs, you may need to browse the history and then reopen them manually. Safari saves every website you visit in the browsing history until you browse them in Private mode.

You can easily view your history list or search for particular websites to reopen your closed Safari tabs here:

Open Safari and tap the Book icon.
Tap the Clock icon to view your browsing history.
Search your closed Safari tab or scroll through your history in chronological order.

Search for the Closed Tabs in the Safari history

Missing all Safari tabs with one accidental click or Mac power failure really drives people crazy. Fortunately, this article tells you how to restore closed tabs in Safari on your iPhone and Mac with specific instructions. Meeting this trouble, too? Read this post right now!

For more information about the Safari browser, please read the related articles:

Safari Not Working on Mac/MacBook, How to Fix?
How to Fix Safari Downloads not Working on Mac?
How to Convert Chrome Extension to Safari on Mac?
How to Fix Safari Won't Open Issue?
9 Ways to Speed Up Safari on Mac

If you find this article helpful and useful, please share it to help more people!

FAQ about how to restore closed tabs in Safari

If you click the red X to close Safari, the Reopen All Windows from Last Session option becomes greyed out from the dropdown menu. You can press the Command + Q keyboards to quit the Safari app and then the Reopen All Windows from Last Session option functions normally.

You can utilize the add icon on Safari to recover the closed tab. Follow the steps: Relaunch the Safari browser on your device > Head to the upper right corner of the Safari main interface > Locate the + icon and then right-click it > Choose the tab that you plan to restore and it will come back.

Vain Rowe is a new technical editor at iBoysoft. She spares no effort to learn tech knowledge during the training and after training. She has shared dozens of articles across iBoysoft website and other websites, providing solutions and information about file restoration, disk cleanup, work efficiency, and data security.

Jessica Shee is a senior tech editor at iBoysoft. Throughout her 4 years of experience, Jessica has written many informative and instructional articles in data recovery, data security, and disk management to help a lot of readers secure their important documents and take the best advantage of their devices.

No. 308, 3/F, Unit 1, Building 6, No. 1700, Tianfu Avenue North, High-tech Zone

How to Hide Recently Closed Safari Tabs in iOS 17 on iPhone and iPad

In iOS 17, Safari shows all of your recently closed tabs right on the start page. Hence, you can easily keep track of all the sites that you have visited previously and go to any one of them with ease. While this is a very helpful feature, some of you may want to hide recently closed Safari tabs on your iPhone. Especially the privacy-minded users. If you are one of them, here is how you can hide/show recently closed tabs in Apple Safari on iOS 17 and iPadOS 17.

Hide Recently Closed Safari Tabs in iOS 17/iPadOS 17 on iPhone and iPad

To ensure Safari works and behaves in line with your preference, iOS offers a dedicated section where you can edit several notable features at will. Guess what, we will use this very edit menu to conceal the recently closed Safari tabs.

Step 1. First off, open Apple Safari app on your iPhone and iPad.

Step 2. Now, tap on the tabs icon at the bottom right corner of the screen.

Step 3. Next, tap on the “+” button at the bottom left corner of the screen.

Step 4. Next up, tap on the Edit button at the top of the screen.

S ide Note:

It’s worth noting that if there is no tab open in Safari, just tap on the Edit button at the top of the screen.

Step 5. Up next, you need to turn off the toggle for Recently Closed Tabs .

Hide Recently Closed Safari Tabs in iOS 16 on iPhone and iPad

Step 6. Finally, tap on the X button at the top right corner of the screen to finish.

That’s done! From now onwards, recently closed tabs will no longer appear on the start page in Safari. So, you should no longer bother about the privacy of your web browsing or lose your sleep about their safeguard.

Show Recently Closed Safari Tabs on the Start Page in iOS 17 or iPadOS 17

If you ever happen to change your mind and want to show the previously visited tabs on the start page in Safari, you can do that without any pain.

Step 1. Open Safari on your device and then hit the Edit button at the top center.

If there is any tab open, hit the “tabs” icon at the bottom-right corner of the screen and then hit the “+” button at the bottom-left corner of the screen. After that, tap on the Edit button.

Step 2. Now, turn on the toggle for Recently Closed Tabs and then hit the “X” button .

Signing off…

There you go! So, that’s how you can prevent anyone from checking your recently closed tabs in Apple Safari. Do you have any questions to ask? Send ’em via the comments below.

2 Ways to Show Notifications Count on iPhone Lock Screen in iOS 16
How to Lock Notes in iOS 16 on iPhone and iPad

Rashmi Mishra

Founder/CEO: Rashmi Mishra is a new-age entrepreneur and a die-hard tech lover. Though Rashmi has a special liking for iPhone, MacBook, and Apple Watch, she loves to take the hottest Android smartphones and Windows laptops for a spin. When she is not reading stories that are breaking the Internet, you will find her either crafting designs or fixing lives for good!

How to Ping Apple Watch from iPhone in iOS 17

Can’t Ping Your Apple Watch from iPhone in iOS 17 & watchOS 10? 9 Fixes!

How to Remove Objects from Photos on iPhone and iPad for Free

How to Automatically Archive Useless Apps on Windows 11

Solar eclipse maps show 2024 totality path, peak times and how much of the eclipse people could see across the U.S.

By Aliza Chasan

Updated on: April 9, 2024 / 5:00 AM EDT / CBS News

A total solar eclipse crossed North America Monday with parts of 15 U.S. states within the path of totality. Maps show where and when astronomy fans could see the big event as skies darkened in the middle of the day Monday, April 8.

The total eclipse first appeared along Mexico's Pacific Coast at around 11:07 a.m. PDT, then traveled across a swath of the U.S., from Texas to Maine, and into Canada.

About 31.6 million people live in the path of totality , the area where the moon fully blocked out the sun , according to NASA. The path ranged between 108 and 122 miles wide. An additional 150 million people live within 200 miles of the path of totality.

Solar eclipse path of totality map for 2024

United states map showing the path of the 2024 solar eclipse and specific regions of what the eclipse duration will be.

The total solar eclipse started over the Pacific Ocean, and the first location in continental North America that experienced totality was Mexico's Pacific Coast, around 11:07 a.m. PDT, according to NASA. From there, the path continued into Texas, crossing more than a dozen states before the eclipse enters Canada in southern Ontario. The eclipse exited continental North America at around 5:16 p.m. NDT from Newfoundland, Canada.

The path of totality included portions of the following states:

Pennsylvania
New Hampshire

Small parts of Tennessee and Michigan also experienced the total solar eclipse.

Several major cities across the U.S. were included in the eclipse's path of totality, while many others saw a partial eclipse. These were some of the best major cities for eclipse viewing — though the weather was a factor :

San Antonio, Texas (partially under the path)
Austin, Texas
Waco, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Little Rock, Arkansas
Indianapolis, Indiana
Dayton, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Buffalo, New York
Rochester, New York
Syracuse, New York
Burlington, Vermont

Map of when the solar eclipse reached totality across its path

The eclipse began in the U.S. as a partial eclipse beginning at 12:06 p.m. CDT near Eagle Pass, Texas, before progressing to totality by about 1:27 p.m. CDT and then moving along its path to the northeast over the following few hours.

NASA shared times for several cities in the path of totality across the U.S. People could have also checked their ZIP code on NASA's map to see when the eclipse was to reach them if they were on, or near, the path of totality — or if they saw a partial eclipse instead.

How much of the eclipse did people see if they live outside the totality path?

While the April 8 eclipse covered a wide swath of the U.S., outside the path of totality observers may have spotted a partial eclipse, where the moon covers some, but not all, of the sun, according to NASA. The closer they were to the path of totality, the larger the portion of the sun that was hidden.

NASA allowed viewers to input a ZIP code and see how much of the sun was to be covered in their locations.

Could there be cloud cover be during the solar eclipse?

Some areas along the path of totality had a higher likelihood of cloud cover that could interfere with viewing the eclipse. Here is a map showing the historical trends in cloud cover this time of year.

You could have checked the latest forecast for your location with our partners at The Weather Channel .

United States map showing the percent of cloud cover in various regions of the eclipse path on April 8. The lakeshore region will be primarily affected.

Where did the solar eclipse reach totality for the longest?

Eclipse viewers near Torreón, Mexico, got to experience totality for the longest. Totality there lasted 4 minutes, 28 seconds, according to NASA.

Most places along the centerline of the path of totality saw a totality duration of between 3.5 and 4 minutes, according to NASA. Some places in the U.S. came close to the maximum; Kerrville, Texas, had a totality duration of 4 minutes, 24 seconds.

What is the path of totality for the 2044 solar eclipse?

The next total solar eclipse that will be visible from the contiguous U.S. will be on Aug. 23, 2044.

Astronomy fans in the U.S. will have far fewer opportunities to see the 2044 eclipse they had on April 8. NASA has not yet made maps available for the 2044 eclipse but, according to The Planetary Society , the path of totality will only touch three states.

The 2024 eclipse will start in Greenland, pass over Canada and end as the sun sets in Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota, according to the Planetary Society.

Map showing the path of the 2044 total solar eclipse from Greenland, Canada and parts of the United States.

Aliza Chasan is a digital producer at 60 Minutes and CBSNews.com. She has previously written for outlets including PIX11 News, The New York Daily News, Inside Edition and DNAinfo. Aliza covers trending news, often focusing on crime and politics.

More from CBS News

Object that crashed through Florida home's roof was from space station

NASA seeks to reign in costs of Mars Sample Return mission

Governors decry UAW push to unionize car factories in Southern states

Transcript: Ret. Gen. Frank McKenzie on "Face the Nation," April 14, 2024

IMAGES

How to show recently closed tabs in Safari for iOS or macOS
How To View Recently Closed Tabs (iOS Safari) • macReports
How to Reopen Closed Tabs in Safari for iPhone
How to Reopen Recently Closed Tabs in Safari iPhone/iPad
How To Open Recently Closed Tabs In Chrome Firefox Edge And Safari
How to view recently closed tabs in Safari on your iPhone or iPad

COMMENTS

How to view recently closed tabs in Safari on your iPhone or iPad
How to view your recently closed tabs in Safari for iPhone. Launch Safari from your Home screen. Tap the tab button (looks like two stacked squares). Tap and hold on the new tab button (looks like a '+'). Tap on one of your recently closed tabs if you want to open it again.
How to Reopen Closed or Lost Tabs in Safari on Your ...
A list of recently closed tabs appears, click an item to open it in a new tab. Alternatively, go to History > Reopen Last Closed Tab or press Cmd + Shift + T to automatically reopen your las closed tab. Reopen your recently closed tabs from the menu bar on a Mac. Step 2. Check Your Other Safari Windows in iPadOS.
Safari 101: How to Clear Your Recently Closed Tabs List
Method 1: Force-Close the Safari App. Safari does not appear to have a limit to the number of closed tabs it will remember. That's pretty darn convenient, but it will forget them all if you force-close the app, which is the easiest way to clear the list. Simply double-click the Home button, then swipe up on the Safari card to quit the app.
How to Restore Accidentally Closed Safari Tabs on iPhone
Steps to reopen websites from the Recently Closed Tabs list in Safari on iPhone. Open the Safari browser on your iPhone. Tap the Tabs icon at the bottom right corner. Now, tap and hold on the ...
How to Open a Recently Closed Tab in Safari on Your iOS Device
All you have to do is open up the tab view in Safari and long press on the "+" icon to get a look at all of the tabs that you've recently closed. Even if you're aware of the gesture, it's worth a ...
How to Open Recently Closed Tabs in Safari on an iPhone
How to Reopen a Closed Tab on an iPhone. Open Safari. Select the Tabs icon.; Tap and hold on the + button.; Select the page to reopen. Our guide continues below with additional information on how to open recently closed tabs in Safari on an iPhone, including pictures of these steps.. Web browsing in the Safari browser on the iPhone has come a long way since it was first introduced, and almost ...
How to Open a Recently Closed Tab in Safari for iOS
In Safari, tap the Tabs button at the bottom right of your screen. In the Tabs view, tapping the Plus button opens a new page. Instead of tapping it, tap and hold it for a few seconds to open a list of recently closed tabs. Tap any selection from the Recently Closed Tabs list. And enjoy not having to search for that page again.
How to show recently closed tabs in Safari for iOS or macOS
On Safari for iOS and Mac, you can tap/click and hold on the + icon to show a popover of Recently Closed Tabs, which shows any webpage you've opened and exited within a few hours. ... or just experienced a mis-tap and didn't mean to hit the small X on a tab in Safari for iPad, just remember to tap and hold on the new tab button to quickly ...
How to reopen a recently closed tab in Safari on iOS
All you need to do is long-press (or long-click on the Mac) the + icon, aka the New Tab icon. Do that, and up will pop a panel with a list of the tabs you closed since the last Safari relaunch. If ...
How To Reopen Recently Closed Tabs In Safari On iOS
3. Here, you're shown a list of the last five tabs you closed.Simply tap a page to reopen it in a new tab. Note: Safari will remember your last five closed tabs as long as it remains within your device's memory, until you force-quit it from the app switcher, or switch to Private browsing.While Private browsing is active, Safari does not log closed tabs or allow you to restore those from ...
How to Restore Recently Closed Safari Tabs on iPhone
Open the Safari app. Tap on the tabs icon in the lower-right corner of the screen. Long-press (don't just tap) the + icon. This will show a list of your recently closed tabs that you can scroll through to find the page you're looking for. Tap a page on the list to reopen that page in a new tab. Your recently closed tab will open in a new Safari ...
How to restore closed Safari tabs on iPhone and iPad
Open Safari → Tap the Tabs icon at the bottom right corner. Tap and hold the + (plus) icon at the bottom left corner. Doing so will open the list of all the Recently Closed Tabs. Then tap the web page you want to reopen. 3. Restore closed Safari tabs from History.
How to Restore Recently Closed Tabs and Windows in Safari
Open the Last Closed Tab in Safari on the iPad. On the iPad or iPhone, you can also quickly reopen your last tabs. Safari on iOS lets you quickly open up to five of the last tabs you closed. Tap ...
Open and close tabs in Safari on iPhone
Tip: To close all tabs in this Tab Group at the same time, touch and hold Done, then tap Close All Tabs. Open a recently closed tab Tap , touch and hold , then choose from the list of recently closed tabs.
How to Restore & Reopen All Closed Tabs in Safari on iPad
The plus button in Safari on iPad and iPhone is the traditional commonly used method used to recover closed tabs in iOS Safari and iPadOS too. On iPad: Tap and hold on the + plus button, then select the closed tabs you wish to reopen from the drop-down menu. On iPhone: Tap the two overlapping squares icon to access tabs view, then tap and hold ...
How to Open Recently Closed Tabs in Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Safari
To open a specific recently closed tab, go to History > Recently Closed and select a site from the submenu or press Shift + Command + T. Safari's New Tab button on the tab bar has a hidden ...
How to Reopen Closed Safari Tabs and Windows and Access Past ...
Undo a closed tab: Go to Edit > Undo Close Tab, press Command + Z, or click and hold the plus sign to the right of the Tabs bar. Or, select History > Reopen Last Closed Tab, go to History and mouse over Recently Closed, or press Shift + Command + T. Restore a closed window: Go to History > Reopen Last Closed Window.
How to Reopen Closed Tabs and Windows in Safari on a Mac
If you just closed a tab and realized that you shouldn't have, getting it back is a case of two mouse clicks. To get started, click the "History" option in the menu bar at the top of the screen in Safari. Next, click "Reopen Last Closed Tab." Wonder as the tab springs back into view.
How To Restore Closed Tabs Safari
Method 1: Using the History Menu. One of the most straightforward methods to restore closed tabs in Safari is by utilizing the History menu. This feature allows you to access a comprehensive list of your browsing history, making it easy to locate and reopen recently closed tabs. Whether you closed a tab a few minutes ago or earlier in the day ...
How to Open Recently Closed Tabs in Safari, Chrome, and ...
Chrome for iPhone and iPad. The method for reopening closed tabs in Chrome is the same for iPhone and iPad. Open Chrome and tap the menu icon (three vertical dots) in the upper-right corner of the ...
How to disable 'recently closed tabs' ple…
Hi, you cannot! However, this is what you can do: When you've finished visiting a private web page, don't close it, but input a new, random search. When that page opens, you can close it. The recently closed tabs list will show only that page. If you've already got a list of such pages in the "recently closed tabs", open each in turn, put in a ...
5 Effective Ways to Restore Recently Closed Tabs in Safari
Launch Safari on your Mac via Spotlight Search shortcuts.; Head to the History menu on the top toolbar of your Mac desktop.; Select Reopen Last Closed Tab on the dropdown menu of the History. You can also hit the responding Shift + Command + T keyboards to complete the restoration.; Then all the tabs you have closed on Safari will show up automatically.
Hide Recently Closed Safari Tabs in iOS 17 on iPhone and iPad
Guess what, we will use this very edit menu to conceal the recently closed Safari tabs. Step 1. First off, open Apple Safari app on your iPhone and iPad. Step 2. Now, tap on the tabs icon at the bottom right corner of the screen. Step 3. Next, tap on the "+" button at the bottom left corner of the screen. Step 4.
Solar eclipse maps show 2024 totality path, peak times and how much of
Total solar eclipse cuts path across U.S. 03:57 A total solar eclipse crossed North America Monday with parts of 15 U.S. states within the path of totality. Maps show where and when astronomy fans ...

How to view recently closed tabs in Safari on your iPhone or iPad

How to view your recently closed tabs in Safari for iPhone

How to view your recently closed tabs in Safari for iPad

Master your iPhone in minutes

Most Popular

Safari 101 : How to Clear Your Recently Closed Tabs List

Method 1: Force-Close the Safari App

Method 2: Restart Your iPhone

Method 3: Clear Your Search History

Method 4: Just Wait It Out

Be the First to Comment

How to Restore Accidentally Closed Safari Tabs on iPhone

How To Recover Deleted Safari Tabs on iPhone

1. Restore Accidentally Closed Tabs from Recently Closed Tabs List in Safari

2. Restore Deleted Safari Tabs From Safari History

3. Shake Your iPhone To Undo Changes and Recover Accidentally Closed Tabs in Safari

Prevent Accidentally Closing Safari Tabs

Conclusion

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

How to Open a Recently Closed Tab in Safari on Your iOS Device

Top Rated Comments

Popular Stories

iOS 18 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Game Boy Emulator for iPhone Now Available in App Store Following Rule Change [Removed]

NES Emulator for iPhone and iPad Now Available on App Store [Removed]

M4 Macs Are Expected to Launch in This Order Starting Later This Year

Best Buy Opens Up Sitewide Sale With Record Low Prices on M3 MacBook Air, iPad, and Much More

Other Stories

How to Open Recently Closed Tabs in Safari on an iPhone

How to Reopen a Closed Tab on an iPhone

Opening Recently Closed Web Pages in the Safari iPhone Browser (Guide with Pictures)

Step 1: Open the Safari browser.

Step 2: Tap the Tabs icon at the bottom-right corner of the screen.

Step 3: Tap and hold the + icon at the bottom of the screen.

Share this:

Related posts:

How to show recently closed tabs in Safari for iOS or macOS

Wait. There’s a Bonus….

Newsletters

How to reopen a recently closed tab in Safari on iOS

How to access recently closed tabs in Safari for iOS

More mobile Safari tricks

Cult of Mac Today

The Weekender

Popular This Week

How To Reopen Recently Closed Tabs In Safari On iOS

How to Restore Recently Closed Safari Tabs on iPhone

How to Reopen a Closed Tab in Safari on iPhone

Author Details

Featured Products

Most Popular

How to Tell If Someone Blocked Your Number on iPhone

10 Simple Tips To Fix iPhone Battery Drain

How to Tell If a Dead iPhone Is Charging

How to Schedule a Text Message on iPhone

How To Put Two Pictures Together on iPhone

How to Hide an App on Your iPhone

How To Turn Off Flashlight on iPhone (Without Swiping Up!)

Why Is Find My iPhone Not Working? Here’s the Real Fix

The Fastest Way to Type Numbers on iPhone

Step Counter: How To Show Steps on Apple Watch Face

Can iPhones Get Viruses? How to Detect & Remove Malware (iOS 17)

Convert a Picture to a PDF on iPhone, Even Without Apps

Identify Mystery Numbers: How to Find No Caller ID on iPhone

Apple ID Not Active? Here’s the Fix!

How to Cast Apple TV to Chromecast for Easy Viewing

Fix Photos Not Uploading to iCloud Once & for All (iOS 17)

There Was an Error Connecting to the Apple ID Server: Fixed

CarPlay Not Working? 4 Ways to Fix Apple CarPlay Today

How to restore closed Safari tabs on iPhone and iPad

How to restore accidentally closed Safari tabs on iPhone or iPad

1. Shake your iPhone or iPad to undo closed Safari tab

2. Reopen web pages from Recently Closed Tabs on iPhone or iPad

3. Restore closed Safari tabs from History

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

How to Restore Recently Closed Tabs and Windows in Safari

Open the Last Closed Tab in Safari on the Mac

Reopen Closed Windows in Safari on the Mac

Stay in the know with Laptop Mag

Open the Last Closed Tab in Safari on the iPad