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

Easily wipe your browsing history in Apple's Safari web browser in seconds.

iPhone 13 mini in hand

How to find your web-browsing history

How to clear your web browsing history.

Clearing your browsing history on iPhone and iPad in Safari has been a straightforward affair for years now.

Sometimes, you may want a fresh start with your web browsing — perhaps to get rid of some history that may bring up a memory you'd rather forget as you type in a website URL in the address bar.

Apple makes this feature very easy to access on both the iPhone and iPad by offering two ways to clear your history. So with this in mind, here's how you can do just that and make a fresh start in Safari .

Viewing your web history in iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 is very easy to do — and it's all done from Safari.

  • In Safari, tap the Bookmarks button in the toolbar that's below the address bar.
  • Tap the History icon in the upper right corner. Here, you can view your entire web history.

To search for bookmarks, tap the Bookmarks button in the toolbar at the bottom of the app, then select the Bookmark icon.

  • Use the History search bar to find previously viewed pages.

To find History, tap the History menu. Then use the search to find previously viewed information.

If the time calls to wipe most or all of your web browsing history in Safari, here's how to do it on both iPhone and iPad.

To note, the below steps will be the same if you attempt to wipe your web browsing history on an iPhone 15 Pro Max , and an iPad Mini 6 for example.

  • In Safari, tap the Bookmarks button.
  • Select the History icon in the upper right corner.
  • Tap Clear and select how much history you'd like to clear: the last hour, the last day, 48 hours' worth, or all recorded history.

Safari iOS 17 Clear web history

One more thing… A feature no one talks about

Privacy on the web matters more than ever in these modern times. Websites store the pages you click on, especially when you sign into a page that can contain personal information about you.

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!

It's great to have a feature like this in Safari — but it would be good to have this automated. To tell Apple's web browser to automatically clear history after 24 hours would be very useful, as you wouldn't leave a trail behind.

Regardless, it's still a good feature, and one you should use every week.

Daryl Baxter

Daryl is iMore's Features Editor, overseeing long-form and in-depth articles and op-eds. Daryl loves using his experience as both a journalist and Apple fan to tell stories about Apple's products and its community, from the apps we use everyday to the products that have been long forgotten in the Cupertino archives.

Previously Software & Downloads Writer at TechRadar, and Deputy Editor at StealthOptional, he's also written a book, ' The Making of Tomb Raider ', which tells the story of the beginnings of Lara Croft and the series' early development. He's also written for many other publications including WIRED, MacFormat, Bloody Disgusting, VGC, GamesRadar, Nintendo Life, VRV Blog, The Loop Magazine, SUPER JUMP, Gizmodo, Film Stories, TopTenReviews, Miketendo64 and Daily Star.

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

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

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

How to View History in Safari on an iPhone

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

search my safari history

You have now accessed your recent history on Safari.

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

search my safari history

You’ve now accessed your Safari browsing history.

How to View History in Safari on an iPad

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

search my safari history

You have now viewed the recent history on your iPad.

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

search my safari history

How to View History in Safari on a Mac

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

search my safari history

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

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

Can You View History From Private Browsing?

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

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

How to Clear History in Safari

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

search my safari history

Your browsing data will now be removed from your device.

Retracing Your Steps

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

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

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How to search your browsing history on an iPhone, in Safari or Google Chrome

  • It's easy to search the history on your iPhone's web browser to return to a specific webpage you've visited previously. 
  • You can search the history on your iPhone in the Safari or Google Chrome browsers with these steps. 
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The search history on your iPhone's web browser can be helpful in taking you back to a site you want to see again, but scrolling through the whole list can be time consuming and annoying. 

Luckily, there's a search tool to help you get back to websites you may have visited a while ago — without going through the trouble of trying to remember the date you visited it. 

This feature is available on both the Safari and Google Chrome browsers. Here's how to use it to search your web history on an iPhone . 

Check out the products mentioned in this article:

Iphone 11 (from $699.99 at best buy), how to search the history on your iphone in safari .

1. Open the Safari app.

2. Tap the book icon at the bottom of your screen. It is the second icon from the right. This will bring up your search history.

3. Pull down on this History menu to reveal a bar at the top labeled "Search History" with a magnifying glass to the left of it.

4. Tap the search bar you just revealed to bring up the keypad, and type your search query. The query doesn't have to be exact to bring up results.

5. The result you are looking for should appear. Tap it to return to the website you visited.

How to search history on your iPhone in Google Chrome

1. Open the Google Chrome app.

2. Tap the three dots in the bottom right hand corner of the screen. This will bring up an options menu.

3. Tap "History," which is the second to last option on the list of items in blue. The icon looks like a clock with an arrow around the outside pointing counterclockwise.

4. On the new History page, tap the search bar at the top to bring up your keyboard.

5. Type your search query into the search bar. 

6. Tap the name of the site you were looking for. This will bring you back to the page.

search my safari history

Related coverage from How To Do Everything: Tech :

How to close all of the open tabs on your iphone's safari browser at once, how to stop pop-ups from appearing on your iphone's safari browser, how to add bookmarks and favorites on an iphone's safari browser for quick access to your preferred webpages, how to clear the safari search history on your iphone in three different ways.

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How to clear browsing history on Safari on iPhone or Mac

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You can clear your Safari browsing history on both iOS and Mac

search my safari history

As tracking goes, Safari keeping your browsing history is less about privacy-busting security and more about just being useful. It's your history that means Safari remembers where to go to when you choose forward and back within a site, for instance.

It's also how Safari is able to offer you a list of sites that you regularly go to, on account of how handy it is to be able to back to them with a click. History also does keep things you may not expect, though, such as a list of items you've downloaded.

If you don't want that, though, or you're just fed up of Safari going to site addresses you haven't looked at in years, you can wipe the whole browsing history.

On a Mac, you can also wipe, for instance, just the last hour's browsing history. So if you share Safari and it's someone's special birthday coming up, you can avoid them inadvertently finding out you plan to surprise them with dance lessons.

Go to History, Clear History, and then choose how far back you want your browsing cleared

How to clear search history on Safari on Mac

  • In Safari, choose the History menu
  • Select Clear History from the very bottom of the menu
  • In the dialog box that appears, choose from clearing the last hour , today , today and yesterday , or all history
  • Click on Clear History

Alternatively, within Safari you can press Command-Y and the current page will be replaced by a history list. There's a Clear History... button toward the top right.

Clicking on that gives you exactly the same dialog about choosing how far back you want to clear your browsing history. But this page does also give you one extra option — the ability to delete one specific item.

How to clear one item from Safari search history on Mac

  • In Safari, press Command-Y
  • From the long list, click once on a history item to select it
  • Right-click to bring up a menu, then choose Delete

Alternatively, if you select one, two, or more items in the history list, you can then press the Delete key to remove them all.

You can remove your takeaway habits from Safari, we're not judging you.

That kind of precision removal is only possible on your Mac, not on iOS . However, whether it's precision or wholesale clearing of your history, though, there is a way to replicate it on iOS.

If you have set iCloud to share your Safari history, then just doing this on your Mac also removes the history from your iPhone, and iPad.

Otherwise, you're stuck with going to your iOS device. And then with clearing the entire history.

How to clear search history on iPhone

  • Go to Settings on your iOS device
  • Tap on Safari
  • Scroll down to Clear History and Website Data
  • Tap that, then tap Clear History and Data to confirm

One important thing to note is that you can't selectively remove, say, today's browsing history on the iPhone or iPad . It's all or nothing, with iOS.

Clearing your Safari history is all or nothing on iOS

What you leave behind

Clearing your history like this does remove the list of sites and pages you've visited. It does mean you can't go back to that site you read last Tuesday, not without remembering what it was and going there yourself.

What it doesn't remove, though, is the information that gets used by something like AutoFill. If you have your address, for instance, and you're used to online forms being filled out with it, you've still got that feature.

You've also still got anything you downloaded. It's purely that Safari won't keep the list of downloads.

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OS X Daily

Tips & Tricks

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

You can access and search Safari browser history on Mac

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

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

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

How to Search Safari History on Mac

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

Show All Browser History in Safari on Mac

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

Access Safari History Search on Mac

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

Search Safari History on Mac

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Related articles:

  • How to Recover Deleted Safari History on Mac
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» Comments RSS Feed

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Install the necessary files

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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How To Check Safari History on iPhone and Mac [2024]

Amalia Souris

Recently a man in the EU discovered that his Safari browsing history was included in his Apple data download. After I discussed the issue with him and compared my data download, it turns out he received a lot more information than I did.

After this experience, I decided to research and learn different ways to manage your Safari browser history on your Mac and iPhone. But before we dive into this, what exactly is the Safari Browsing History and why is it so important?

How To Check Safari Search History on iPhone?

1.  Open Safari .

2.  In the Menu bar, look at the lower right corner of the screen and tap the History icon.

Tap the History icon

A Pop-up window showing the list of all the websites you have visited in Safari will appear. Also, If you want to, you can search the history for particular websites, and do this:

History Pop-Up

3. Enter a phrase into the search bar at the top of the screen.

search my safari history

This filters just the websites with that particular keyword or phrase. It is also important to know how to clear your Safari Browsing History.

To do this, follow these simple steps below.

How To Check Safari Search History on Mac?

There are a number of ways you can manage your browser history for Safari on both your macOS and iOS. Here are different techniques and how you can do it. First, let´s consider how to view your browsing history.

Time needed:  1 minute

View Your Safari Browsing History on Mac

Open Safari

Follow the simple steps below to view your browsing history on your iPhone as well.

Delete Your Safari Browsing History on your Mac

To clear your browser history on Mac, follow these straightforward steps:

1.  Open Safari.

2. Open the  History Bar  at the top of the screen.

3.  Click the Show All History tab in the Menu bar or press Command (⌘) + Y in Safari, which will take you to the history view.

Show All History

4.  Select Clear History .

Select Clear History

A pop-up menu will come up and it will allow you to choose how far back you want to clear the existing history. This option lets you choose if you want to clear your history from the last hour, day, week, two weeks, a month, or even for all time.

Clear History

5.  Choose your preferred option and click Clear History .

Clear History Option

Great! You have successfully cleared your Safari browsing history on Mac. Now, Let´s see how we can do this for iPhone as well.

Delete Your Safari Browsing History on iPhone

Clearing your browsing history on your iPhone is also easy. Follow these simple steps too:

1.  Open the Settings app on your iPhone.

Open Settings App

2.  Scroll through the options and click on Safari .

Scroll and Click Safari

3.  Again, scroll and find the Clear History and Website Data option.

Clear History and Website Data

4. Tap Clear History and Data .

Clear History and Data

Yes! You have successfully cleared all Browsing History on Mac and iPhone.

Following these next easy steps to remove all the records of the web pages or sites you have visited over the selected period.

Click History Tab

You can also prevent Safari from tracking your browsing history. Let us quickly dive into this too.

Prevent Safari From Tracking Your Browsing History on Mac

Suppose you prevent Safari from tracking the history of the websites you visited. In that case, it means that Safari cannot save any record of the searches you perform or the websites you visit. How can you do this?

2.  Navigate to click Safari in the Menu Ba r .

3.  Select Preferences from the Menu Ba r .

Click Preferences

4.  Next, Click on the Privacy tab.

Select Privacy Tab

5. You´ll see a box that is next to Prevent cross-site tracking, Check the box.

Check Cross-Site Tracking Box

Let me also walk you through how to do this on your iPhone.

Prevent Safari From Tracking Your Browsing History on iPhone

1.  Open the Settings  app.

Open Settings

2.  Scroll down to the bottom and tap Safari .

Click Safari under Settings

3.  On this page as well, scroll down to the Privacy and Security section .

4.  Toggle on the switch that is next to the Prevent Cross-Site Tracking .

Toggle Prevent Crossing-site

You have successfully prevented Safari from tracking your browsing history both on your Mac and iPhone!

If you prefer additional protection for your browsing activity and for your iPhone and Mac overall, we recommend a dedicated antivirus like Intego Internet Security that can block malicious websites from accessing your data.

That is not all. Sometimes, you might not want your Safari Browser to save your browsing history, website data, or even cookies. Using the private browsing mode is the solution to this.

Keep Your Browsing History Private on Mac

To keep your browsing history private on Mac, you need to use the private browsing mode. Follow these very easy and straightforward steps to do this:

2. Look at the top of your screen, select File , and click New Private Window .

Click File, Select New private Window

A new window will be opened and this will disallow Safari from saving your Browsing or search history.

Private Window

This would also restrict Safari from sending auto-fill information to any website you visit while using the window. You can also do the same on your iPhone.

Keep Your Browsing History Private on iPhone

2.  Tap the Page tab in the bottom right corner of the Safari screen.

Click Page Tab

3. Switch the page option to Private .

Select Private option

4. Finally, Click the ‘+’ sign at the bottom left corner to open a new private browser.

Keeping your browsing history private is very important, but in some situations, you may have visited a website by mistake or you don´t want another person to see that you visited the website. In this situation, the best thing you should do is delete the individual website from your Browsing history. Let me quickly show you how to do this:

Delete Individual Websites From Your Browsing History for Mac

To delete individual items or websites from your Safari Browsing history, follow these very easy steps:

1.  Open your Safari Browser .

2.  Click on the History tab in the Menu bar

3.  Select the Show All History tab

Click Show All History

4.  Find the website you want to remove and Right-click   on it.

Choose Website and Right Click

5.  Select the Delete from History option.

Select Delete

Let me quickly walk you through how to do this on iPhone as well.

Delete Individual Websites From Your Browsing History for iPhone

1.  Open the Safari app.

2.  Click the history tab at the bottom right corner of the screen of the browser.

3.  Look for the website you want to delete from your history and swipe left on it.

Swipe left the website and delete

4.  Finally, Tap the Delete  option.

Yeah! You have successfully deleted individual websites from your browsing history. But if you use Safari on multiple devices of yours such as iPhone, Mac, and maybe your iPad, iCloud sync can help you to keep all your history synchronized across all the devices you own. This means that you can start browsing on your iPhone and continue later on your Mac. Let me quickly show you how to set this up.

Manage Your Safari Browsing History Across Multiple Devices Using iCloud Sync

To use the iCloud sync feature, you must have iCloud enabled on all the devices you own and they all need to be signed in to the iCloud with the same Apple ID.

If you have Safari iCloud syncing turned on and you clear your history, it will also be cleared from all of your other Apple devices with iCloud sync enabled. How can you enable and disable iCloud sync for your Safari browsing history on your Mac and iPhone?

Manage Your Safari Browsing History Across Multiple Devices Using iCloud Sync on Mac

2. Select Safari > Preferences > iCloud Option

4. Check the checkbox next to Safari to make sure that it syncs across all your devices

To sync your browsing history across certain devices, do this:

5. Click on the Manage Devices Button and select the devices you want to sync with.

6. Click Done  

Manage Your Safari Browsing History Across Multiple Devices Using iCloud Sync on iPhone

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.

2.  Click on your name at the top of the settings screen.

Click Your iCloud name

3.  Tap the iCloud option.

Select iCloud

4.  Under Apps Using iCloud , select Safari.

5.  Finally, toggle on the switch next to Safari.

Toggle on the switch next to Safari.

Great! You have successfully enabled iCloud sync for Safari browsing history and it will be updated on all your devices using the same Apple ID when you visit new websites or close an existing Safari tab.

Suppose you’ve carefully followed the methods and steps I’ve provided in this step-by-step guide. In that case, you will have a great edge over efficiently managing your Safari browsing history on one or even multiple devices.

Which of these methods worked for you?  Feel free to share your thoughts here in the comment section. Also, if you are having problems with iCloud syncing on your devices, check out our guide for effective solutions.

One thought on “ How To Check Safari History on iPhone and Mac [2024] ”

I like to use imymac——Browser Cleaner to clean up browser traces, historical records, etc.Browser Cleanup lets you clean up junk files, cookies, and history, eliminate deceleration reasons, clear privacy traces to protect your confidential data and more. It is performed on Mac OS and Mac OS X.

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search my safari history

How to View Safari History on iPhone

The Safari Web browser on your iPhone keeps a record of the websites you visit.

This can be a useful tool, especially if you’ve already read something and want to go back to it.

Our tutorial below will show you how to view Safari history on iPhone by completing just a few steps.

You can also visit ashevilleatc.com for additional iPhone tutorial topics.

How to See Safari History on iPhone 11

  • Launch Safari.
  • At the bottom of the screen, tap the book icon.
  • To examine your history, tap the clock symbol.

Our explanation continues below with further information on seeing your iPhone’s Safari history, as well as screenshots of these procedures.

When you use your computer or smartphone’s Web browser without using a private browsing session, the browser saves your browsing history.

When iPhone users are concerned about their phone’s browsing history, they frequently want to delete it. That history, though, can be valuable.

It can assist you with locating an intriguing article that you read earlier but can’t remember the address for, or it can assist you in determining which store had the greatest pricing on a product that you were looking at from a range of various retailers.

When you use the Safari Web browser on your iPhone, it saves a history of all the pages you visit.

Possessing this history makes it much easier to return to a previously visited page, as you can access that history and simply tap on the page that you want to visit.

Our article below will show you how to quickly discover and use your Safari iPhone history.

Related: Find out what that delivered message means that shows up under some of your iPhone texts.

How to Locate Safari History on Your iPhone (Guide with Pictures)

The procedures in this post were carried out using an iPhone 11 running iOS 13.6.1. The same methods will work on most other iOS versions and iPhone models.

If you’ve updated to iOS 15, your address bar may now be at the bottom of the screen. If this is the case, your screen may differ from the examples in the guide below. Yet, the buttons for accessing the history remain in the same locations.

Step 1: Launch the Safari browser.

open Safari

Step 2: Tap the icon that looks like an open book at the bottom of the screen.

tap the book icon

Step 3: Click the clock-shaped tab at the top of the screen.

how to view Safari history on iPhone

Now that you know how to discover your Safari history iPhone data, you may utilize it to find information that you previously saw and either wanted to double-check or share with someone else.

You should now be able to see your browsing history. You can navigate to the page by tapping on an item in the list. Individual Web pages in this history can be deleted by swiping to the left and hitting the Delete button.

Your browser’s search history will be mixed in with the pages you’ve visited. This implies that the terms you entered in the search field at the top or bottom of the screen will be visible as well. Depending on your selected search engine, your search phrases will appear beside domains such as “google.com” or “bing.com.”

Continue reading our tutorial below for more information on locating and using history data in your iPhone’s Safari browser.

Further Details about Checking Safari History on iPhone

It is important to note that Safari does not save your history for pages visited while using Private Browsing. Toggling between ordinary and private browsing is as simple as touching the Tabs icon (two overlapping squares) at the bottom of the screen and selecting the Private option.

Safari also does not save browsing history for other iPhone browsers, such as Google Chrome or Firefox. Instead, you’d have to open those browsers to see their history.

Also, deleting the browsing history for Safari will only affect the browsing history for the Safari app. Other browsers’ history menus will remain accessible on your iOS device unless you opt to delete the existing data for those browsers as well.

Go to Settings > Safari > Clear History and Website Data to remove your Safari history. This will also clear your cookies and log you out of any accounts you are presently signed into.

When you remove Safari’s browser history, you won’t be able to view Safari history for any browsing sessions that occurred before the deletion. Safari will only display your Online surfing history when that information has been removed.

If you haven’t erased Safari history previously, your browser history can be quite large. Normally, the device’s full history will be available for 30 days.

How to Lookup Safari History on an iPhone

Searching through your iPhone Safari history is another intriguing thing you can do with it.

When you open Safari, press the book symbol at the bottom of the screen, then select the History tab at the top of the screen, you’ll notice a “Search History” area.

When you tap inside that field and type a search query, you’ll see a list of pages from your history that contain those search terms.

This is especially useful if you recall a single word or term but don’t remember where you saw it or the name of the website where you saw it.

If you have another browser installed on your iPhone, such as Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox, those browsers will also retain history, which you may search through in the same way.

Commonly Asked Questions About iPhone History in Safari

How can i view my iphone’s safari history.

By opening Safari and clicking the book symbol at the bottom of the screen, you may access the history of all Web pages you’ve visited in the iPhone Safari Web browser.

Then, at the top of the window, select the tab with the clock on it. This is your browsing history, arranged chronologically. You may either search through it or scroll down to see everything. Touching on a location in your past will take you there.

How can I view my whole Safari history?

When you pick the book symbol, and then the History tab in the Safari browser on your iPhone , the full Safari history that is available is displayed.

To view your whole history in the Safari app on a MacBook Pro or a MacBook Air, go to the History tab and then click on Show All History.

How long does the iPhone Safari history last?

The Web sites you visit in your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch’s Safari browser are saved for one month.

Safari history on a Mac is retained for one year.

How can you check your iPhone’s history?

On your iPhone, you can view your history at any moment by launching Safari, selecting the open book button, and then pressing on the History symbol to see a list of Web pages that you have viewed.

Pages viewed in Private tabs, as well as pages viewed in other Web browsers such as Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox, are not included in this history.

To view the history in Chrome, open the browser, hit the three dots in the bottom-right corner, and then tap the History button.

To view the history in Firefox, launch the Firefox iPhone app, tap the three lines in the bottom-right corner, and then select the History option.

It is important to note that the history displayed in the Safari browser on your iPhone is distinct from the history displayed in other phone browsers such as Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox.

Also, clearing the history in Safari does not remove the history in the other browsers, and vice versa.

Video on Safari History iPhone

Matt Jacobs Support Your Tech

Matt Jacobs has been working as an IT consultant for small businesses since receiving his Master’s degree in 2003. While he still does some consulting work, his primary focus now is on creating technology support content for SupportYourTech.com.

His work can be found on many websites and focuses on topics such as Microsoft Office, Apple devices, Android devices, Photoshop, and more.

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Safari History iPhone: How to See It [2023 Guide]

To view your browsing history in Safari on your iPhone, start by launching the Safari app. Once open, locate the Bookmarks button, symbolized by an icon resembling a book, positioned at the lower part of your screen. Upon tapping this icon, a menu will present itself. Look for the History button, represented by a clock icon, situated at the top part of the menu. By selecting this clock icon, you will gain access to your Safari browsing history, which displays a comprehensive list of all web pages you’ve visited.

Our guide continues below with additional information on seeing Safari history iPhone information, including pictures of these steps.

You can also check out our video about viewing the iPhone Safari history for more on this topic.

If you see a clock at the top of your screen and don’t know what it’s for, then our clock icon on iPhone guide can answer that question.

How to Find Your iPhone’s Safari History (Guide with Pictures)

The steps in this article were performed on an iPhone 11 in iOS 13.6.1. These same steps will work on most other versions of iOS and most other iPhone models.

If you have updated to iOS 15 then your address bar may be at the bottom of the screen now. If so, your screen may look different than the one in the guide below. However, the buttons you must tap to find the history are still in the same spots.

Step 1: Open the Safari Web browser.

open the Safari browser

Step 2: Touch the icon at the bottom of the screen that looks like an open book.

touch the book icon

Step 3: Select the tab at the top of the screen with a clock on it.

how to view history in Safari on an iPhone

Now that you know how to find your Safari history iPhone data, you will be able to use it to locate information that you had previously seen and either wanted to check or wanted to share with someone else.

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This tutorial on how to delete cookies on iPhone will show you how to manage your cookies and other data in some popular iPhone browsers.

You should now see your browsing history. You can tap on an item in that list to visit the page. You can delete individual Web pages from this history by swiping to the left on them and tapping the Delete button.

Your search history in the browser will be comingled with the pages that you have visited. This means that the terms you typed into the search bar at the top or bottom of the screen will also be visible. Depending on your default search engine you will see your search terms listed alongside domains like “google.com” or “bing.com.

Continue reading our tutorial below for additional discussion on finding and using the Safari history iPhone information in your iPhone’s default Web browser.

If you need to see a history of the files you have downloaded, then our my downloads history tutorial can help you to find that information on your laptop or desktop.

More Information on How to Check Safari History on iPhone

Note that Safari does not store your history for pages that you have visited while using Private Browsing. You can toggle between regular and private browsing by touching the Tabs icon (it looks like two overlapping squares) at the bottom of the screen and selecting the Private option.

Safari also does not store browsing history for other browsers on your iPhone , such as Google Chrome or Firefox. You would need to open those browsers to view their histories instead.

Additionally, if you have deleted browsing history for Safari, it will only affect the browsing history for the Safari app. You will still be able to access the history menu for other browsers on your iOS device until you choose to remove the existing data for those browsers, too.

You can delete your Safari history by going to Settings > Safari > Clear History and Website Data . This will also delete cookies and log you out of any accounts to which you are currently logged in.

Once you have deleted browser history in Safari, you won’t be able to view Safari history for any browsing sessions that occurred prior to the deletion. Safari will only show your Web browsing history that has occurred after that information was deleted.

Your Safari browser history can be pretty extensive if you haven’t deleted Safari history before. Typically the full history that is available on the device will go back 30 days.

Related: Learn about the sent as text message notification that you might see from time to time on your iPhone and find out why it happens.

How to Search Safari History iPhone Data

One of the other interesting things that you can do with your iPhone Safari history is to search through it.

If you open Safari, then tap the book icon at the bottom of the screen and choose the History tab at the top of the screen, you will see a “Search History” field.

If you tap inside that field and type a search term, you will see the pages from your history that include those search terms.

Related: How to Change the Default Safari Search Engine in iOS on an iPhone

This is especially handy if you can remember a single word or term that you are looking for but don’t remember where you saw it or the name of the page where you saw it.

If you have another browser on your iPhone, such as Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox , those browsers will also store history that you can search through in a similar manner.

How to Clear Browsing History in the Safari Mobile App

There are two different ways to clear browser history for the Safari iPhone app .

The first option requires you to go to Settings > Safari > tap Clear History and Website Data > then tap Clear History and Data to confirm.

The second option lets you have a little more control over your previously visited sites, and you can choose some parameters for what of your recent history you remove.

You can do this by opening Safari , tapping the Bookmark icon, selecting the History tab, then selecting the Clear option at the bottom-right of the screen.

how to see Safari history iPhone data

Here you can choose to delete history from All time, Today and yesterday, Today, or The last hour.

Related: How to Change the iPhone Search Engine to Google in Safari

How to View iPhone Safari History Infographic

how to view Safari history iPhone infographic

Frequently Asked Questions About iPhone History in Safari

How do i see safari history on my iphone.

You can find the history of all of the Web pages that you have visited in the iPhone Safari Web browser by opening Safari, then tapping the book icon at the bottom of the screen.

You can then select the tab at the top of the window with the clock on it. This is your browsing history, sorted by date. You can search through it, or you can scroll down to see everything. Tapping on an entry in your history will take you to that location.

How can I see my full Safari history?

In the Safari browser on your iPhone the full Safari history that is available is what is shown when you select the book icon and then the History tab.

To see your full history in the Safari app on a MacBook Pro or a MacBook Air you would need to select the History tab, then click on See All History .

How long does iPhone Safari keep history?

the Web pages that you visit in the Safari browser on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch are kept for one month.

The Safari history on a Mac is kept for one year.

How do you check history on iPhone?

You can check your history on your iPhone at any time by opening Safari, choosing the open book button, then tapping on the History icon to see the list of Web pages that you have visited.

Note that pages viewed in Private tabs are not included in this history, nor are pages that you visit in other Web browsers like Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox.

If you want to see the history in Chrome then you would need to open that browser, tap the three dots at the bottom-right, then tap the History button.

If you want to see the history in Firefox then you would need to open the Firefox iPhone app, touch the three lines at the bottom-right, then choose the History option.

Note that the history you see in the Safari browser on your iPhone is separate from the history that you might see in other browsers on the phone, like Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox.

Additionally, if you clear the history in Safari it won’t clear the history for those other browsers, and vice versa.

How to Check Your Safari History on an iPhone

Video About How to View Browsing History on an iPhone

Summary – How to View History on Safari on iPhone 11

  • Open Safari .
  • Touch the book icon at the bottom of the screen.
  • Tap the clock icon to view your history.

Related: How to Enable Javascript on an iPhone

The Safari Web browser on your iPhone keeps a log of the web pages that you have visited.

This Safari browsing history can be a beneficial feature, especially if you have previously read some information and want to return to it.

When you use the Web browser on your computer or smartphone, and you aren’t using a private browsing session, the browser stores your browsing history.

Often when people are concerned about the browsing history on their phone, they are interested in deleting it. However, that browsing data history can be useful.

It can help you find an interesting article that you read earlier and can’t remember the address, or it can help you see which store had the best price on a product that you were checking out from various retailers.

When you are using the Safari Web browser on your iPhone 11, the browser will store a history of all the pages that you visit.

Having this history makes it much easier for you to return to a page that you have visited previously, as you can open that history and tap on the page that you would like to visit.

Our guide above has shown you how to quickly locate your Safari iPhone history so that you can use it.

Continue Reading

  • How to Turn Off iPhone 11
  • Guide to Changing Search Engines in Firefox

Matthew Burleigh Solve Your Tech

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.

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How to Clear Safari Profile Web History on iPhone

In iOS 17 , Apple has increased the options available for clearing Safari's web history and website data. You can even clear Safari's cache for a specific Safari profile. Keep reading to learn how it works.

iOS 17 General Safari Feature

If a site you regularly frequent has elements that have stopped working, or if a site has stopped loading completely, there may be a conflict between an older version of it that Safari has cached and a newer one. Or perhaps you simply want to protect your privacy by wiping the slate clean and removing all the data associated with websites you've visited.

With ‌iOS 17‌, Apple doesn't just let you clear Safari's history and website data for a specific timeframe. You can also clear the cache for a specific Safari Profile. (Profiles are is designed to help separate your browsing sessions into things like Work, School, or Personal: For more on how to use Profiles, click this link .)

How to Clear Safari Cache

Here's how to clear Safari history and website data on iPhones running ‌iOS 17‌, and iPads running iPadOS 17 .

  • Open the Settings app.
  • Scroll down and tap Safari .
  • Tap Clear History and Website Data in blue.
  • Choose a timeframe in which to clear your history: Last hour , Today , Today and yesterday , or All history .
  • Choose a specific profile to clear from the list, or check All Profiles .
  • To close all open tabs within your timeframe and profile(s), toggle on the switch next to Close All Tabs .
  • Tap Clear History , then confirm when prompted.

settings

That's all you need to do. The next time you open the associated profile(s), you should notice that all web history for the chosen timeframe will be gone.

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How to clear Safari browsing history on iPhone and iPad

Clear Safari browsing history on iPhone and iPad in a few simple steps

iPhone screen showing the Safari app icon in the center

You'll definitely want to know how to clear Safari browsing history on iPhone and iPad . Know how to delete browsing history is part of basic user operation on all your devices, and is especially if you share devices with others. 

Luckily, deleting browsing history on Safari is easy and can be done in just a few taps, and is the same on iOS and iPadOS, so whether you're using an iPhone 15 Pro or an iPad Air , these steps will apply.

Remember, though, that deleting your browsing history only stops your activity being visible on that device. Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) will still be able to see the webpages you have visited. If you want to stop that, for ultimate privacy, you'll need to use one of the best VPN services .

The following screenshots were taken on an iPhone running iOS 17 . If you aren't running the latest version of your device's OS, we can show you how to update an iPhone or how to update an iPad .

  • In Safari, tap the book icon
  • Go to the history tab (clock)
  • Select how far back to clear

Read on to see full illustrated instructions.

1. In Safari, tap the book icon

A screenshot showing how to delete browsing history on Safari for iPhone and iPad.

Firstly, open Safari and tap the book icon in the bottom bar.

2. Select the history tab (clock icon) and tap Clear

A screenshot showing how to delete browsing history on Safari for iPhone and iPad.

Now select the history tab (clock icon) and tap Clear at the bottom.

3. Select how far back to clear and tap Delete

A screenshot showing how to delete browsing history on Safari for iPhone and iPad.

Now choose how far back you'd like to delete : last hour, today, today and yesterday, or all time.

If you like, you can toggle on Close All Tabs , which will close every open tab that isn't in a tab group (we can show you how to use tab groups if you aren't sure).

Finally, when you're happy, hit Delete .

A screenshot showing empty browsing history on Safari for iPhone

As you can see in the screenshot above, if you now go back to the history tab, your history will have been deleted.

For more iPhone tutorials, check out our guides on how to transfer data from iPhone to iPhone , how to clear RAM on iPhone , how to delete multiple contacts on iPhone and how to rearrange the iOS 17 Messages '+' menu .

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Peter Wolinski

Peter is Reviews Editor at Tom's Guide. As a writer, he covers topics including tech, photography, gaming, hardware, motoring and food & drink. Outside of work, he's an avid photographer, specialising in architectural and portrait photography. When he's not snapping away on his beloved Fujifilm camera, he can usually be found telling everyone about his greyhounds, riding his motorcycle, squeezing as many FPS as possible out of PC games, and perfecting his espresso shots. 

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search my safari history

Safari User Guide

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

search my safari history

Clear your browsing history in Safari on Mac

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

Open Safari for me

Choose how far back you want your browsing history cleared.

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

History of webpages you visited

The back and forward list for open webpages

Frequently visited site list

Recent searches

Icons for webpages

Snapshots saved for open webpages

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

Websites added for Quick Website Search

Websites that asked to use your location

Websites that asked to send you notifications

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Search History: How to View or Delete It

See your search history and delete what you want hidden

search my safari history

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In This Article

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Your website history is stored in most web browsers, letting you go back to see which sites you visited and what you searched for on search engines. You can also delete your search history to clean it up or to prevent others from seeing websites you visited. Viewing and deleting search history is straightforward in all web browsers.

How to View, Search and Delete History in Chrome

Use Ctrl+H to go to your history in Chrome. The history appears on a full page in a new tab, organized by time. Mobile users should tap the three-button menu and choose History .

You can browse search history in Chrome with the search box at the top of the History page. Just start typing, and your search history will become filtered automatically to show only the items that match your search.

If you're using the Chrome mobile app, tap the search icon at the top to find the search box.

If you find part of your Chrome search history that you want to keep but decide that there's something particular you want to remove, press the three-dotted button next to that specific item, and then choose Remove from history .

Mobile users can erase a single website from their history by tapping the small x off to the right.

Another way to erase your Chrome search history is to delete it all in one action.

Stay on the History tab.

Select Clear browsing data to open a new window, and choose Browsing history .

You can change the Time range value to whatever works for you, and then press Clear data to delete your browsing history and search history.

The Chrome app for mobile devices works the same way: use the Clear browsing data link on the History page to see the same screen shown above.

How to View, Search and Delete History in Microsoft Edge

The Ctrl+H shortcut opens your history in Edge. The items show up on the right side of the screen sorted by date. For the mobile app, tap the three-dotted menu button at the bottom and then choose History.

There's an x next to each item in your Edge history that you can press to remove them from the History page immediately. If you're on the mobile app, press-and-hold an item to find the Delete option.

Alternatively, you can delete your entire search history in one action.

On the left menu of Edge's list of your search history, select Clear browsing data .

Ensure that Browsing history is one of the chosen items.

Select Clear now .

On the Edge mobile app, from the History page, select the trash icon at the top and then choose Clear . Select Browsing history before deleting.

How to View, Search and Delete History in Firefox

Enter Ctrl+H from your keyboard to see all your Firefox search and web history. The History panel opens on the left side of Firefox, organized by day by default, but can be customized to show the history by site and frequency of use. For the Firefox mobile app, tap the three-button menu and choose History .

Type something into the search box above the Firefox history list to instantly search through your search history and the websites you've visited.

Erasing a single web page or search item from your history in Firefox is as easy as right-clicking it and choosing Delete Page . If you're using the mobile app, press-and-hold and then select Remove .

Firefox lets you erase all your history through the Clear All History menu.

Get there with the Ctrl+Shift+Del keyboard shortcut.

Make sure Browsing & Download History and Form & Search History is chosen from the list, and then press Clear Now .

If you want to erase only recent history, change the Time range to clear option to something other than Everything .

The Firefox mobile app lets you clear the web search history, too, by selecting CLEAR BROWSING HISTORY on the History page.

How to View, Search and Delete History in Safari

Go to History > Show All History at the top of the browser to view your Safari history. All of your recently visited sites are listed on a single page, sorted by day. For the mobile app, tap the bookmarks icon on the bottom and then the clock icon at the top.

Look through your Safari history from the History page. Start typing into the text box at the top of the page, and the results populate instantly.

To delete single search history items from Safari, locate what you want to remove and right-click it to find the Delete option. You can delete an entire day's worth of history, too.

Mobile Safari users can selectively delete history items by swiping to the left and then tapping Delete .

To delete all search history in Safari, use the Clear History button on the History page. Choose how much to remove — the last hour , today , today and yesterday , or all history — and then choose Clear History .

The Safari app lets you delete all your history, too, via the Clear button on the bottom of the History page.

How to View, Search and Delete History in Opera

The Ctrl+H shortcut lets you view your Opera web history. The history list shows up in a new tab called History. If you're using the mobile app, tap the Opera menu icon on the bottom, and then select History .

On the History page in Opera is a search box at the top that you can use to search through old search history items and browse websites you've already opened. Just type and then wait a moment for the results to populate.

To remove particular search history items in Opera, hover your mouse over the item you want to delete and then select the x off to the right. If you're on the mobile app, press the three-dotted menu to the right of the item and then choose Delete .

You can also delete all of your Opera history from the same page, with the Clear browsing data button. From there, make sure Browsing History is selected and that the set Time range is as you want it, and then press Clear data .

The Opera app makes clearing all the history a little easier. Just select the trash icon at the top of the History page.

How to View, Search and Delete History in Yandex

Like most browsers, your Yandex search history is accessible from the Ctrl+H shortcut.

After opening the search history in Yandex, locate the search box at the upper-right corner of the page. You might have to scroll if your browser window is too small to see it. Type the search term and press Enter to view the search history that matches.

Yandex is like Chrome when it comes to deleting a specific page from your history: hover your mouse over the item that needs to be deleted, press the small arrow, and then choose Remove from history .

Use the Clear history link to the right of your history items to open a new prompt where you can delete all the history in Yandex. Choose how far back to remove the search history and then select Views . Select Clear to erase it all.

Removing the Yandex browsing and search history on the mobile app is done through the menus. Tap the menu bottom on the bottom and choose Settings , and then Clear data . Select History before tapping Clear data .

To delete your browsing or search history on your iPhone , open Settings > Safari > Clear History and Website Data . Alternately, open Safari and select Bookmarks > History > Clear > All time . Note that this process only applies to your iPhone's built-in Safari web browser and other browsers may require different steps.

To clear your search history in YouTube , sign into the site via a web browser and select History > Search History > Clear All Search History . Or if you use the YouTube app, select your profile icon on iOS (or the Menu icon on Android) > Settings > Clear search history > OK .

Clearing your Google search history on mobile requires using the Chrome app. On Android, select the three dots > History > Clear Browsing Data > All time > Clear data . On iOS, select the three dots > History > Clear Browsing Data > All Time > make sure Browsing History is checked > select Clear Browsing Data twice.

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2 Simple Ways to Clear Safari Search History

Last Updated: November 28, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was written by Gonzalo Martinez and by wikiHow staff writer, Rain Kengly . Gonzalo Martinez is the President of CleverTech, a tech repair business in San Jose, California founded in 2014. CleverTech LLC specializes in repairing Apple products. CleverTech pursues environmental responsibility by recycling aluminum, display assemblies, and the micro components on motherboards to reuse for future repairs. On average, they save 2 lbs - 3 lbs more electronic waste daily than the average computer repair store. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 506,121 times.

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

Step 1 Open your device's icon Settings.

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

Step 5 Toggle

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

Step 1 Open Safari.

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

Step 5 Click Clear History.

Troubleshooting Safari History Data

Step 1 Turn off Screen Time.

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

Step 2 Disable iCloud syncing for Safari.

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

Step 3 Restart your device.

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

Community Q&A

Community Answer

You Might Also Like

Import Bookmarks to Safari

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

About This Article

Gonzalo Martinez

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

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search my safari history

How to clear the cache on your iPhone (and why you should)

How many tabs are open on your mobile browser right now? Go ahead, check -- you might be surprised by what you find.

Americans spend over five hours a day on their smartphones. That's over five hours of your phone potentially accessing, retrieving, and saving cache and cookies, which can negatively impact your iPhone's storage space .

What is cache?

Cache is the temporary storage of some data, like parts of a website from the last time you visited it, for example. Browser cache is content from a website that is stored on your phone during a browser session to help the browser execute faster the next time you visit that page.

Also:  How to clear Google search cache on Android

Cache data can slow down your phone's overall browsing performance, however, since it takes up storage space on your device, so it's good to clear it out regularly. In this article, we mainly focus on clearing web browser cache on an iPhone, but you should know that other types of cache include mobile app cache and CPU cache.

How to clear cache on iPhone

What you'll need: Everything you need to clear your browser cache is within the iPhone's settings app or the Safari app, so grab your iPhone to get started.

Keep in mind that clearing the cache can clear private data, which can close all open tabs in Safari. This is also likely to log you out of all your websites, prompting you to sign in again the next time you open them. 

How do I clear the cache from Chrome on iPhone?

If Google Chrome is your preferred browser, it may have a substantial amount of data stored on your device, which could also slow down performance. 

To clear the cache in Chrome, open the Google Chrome app and follow these steps:

  • Tap  Settings .
  • Go to  Privacy and Security .
  • Select  Clear Browsing Data .
  • Select the time from which to delete the data (if you want to delete all your browsing history, choose All Time ).
  • Go through the items you'd like to delete, like your Browsing History, Cookies and Site Data, Cached Images and Files, Saved Passwords , and Autofill Data.
  • Confirm by tapping  Clear Browsing Data  at the bottom of the screen.
  • Tap Done when you've deleted the Chrome cache.

Also: Apple releases iOS 17.4 with podcast transcripts, new emojis, and EU app store changes

Clearing the browsing and cache data in Google Chrome doesn't close all open tabs, but it will refresh each tab and log you out of websites. Once you tap on one of the tabs you want to access, you'll have to log back in.

How can I browse on Safari without history?

If you're learning how to clear cache on an iPhone, you may also be wondering if there's a way to use Safari without saving any browsing history. You can turn on Private Browsing by following these steps:

  • Open  Safari .
  • Tap on  Tabs .
  • Choose Private .

You can also enable private browsing by going to your iPhone Settings, finding Safari, and toggling on the private option. 

How do I clear my app cache on my iPhone?

To clear the app cache from your iPhone Settings app, you can either delete the app and reinstall it, offload it, or try to clear the cache from within the app. Unfortunately, iOS apps don't have consistent settings across the board that would allow you to clear the cache of every app.

Also: Apple warns: Don't put your wet iPhone in rice. Do this instead

Apps like TikTok and CapCut, for example, have options to Clear Cache within their respective settings. Amazon lets users delete their browsing history, while the Reddit app can clear local history. It all depends on what the app's settings let you do. 

Is "clear cache" the same as offloading?

Not exactly, though app offloading can help if your phone is slowed down by low storage. To offload an app  means to uninstall an app without deleting any documents or data associated with it. 

Also: Apple secures iMessage against threats from the future

To offload an app, go to  Settings , then  General , choose  iPhone Storage  and select the app to offload, then tap  Offload App . If you ever download it again, you'll pick up where you left off for that app.

Are cookies and cache the same thing?

Cookies and cache are not the same. Cookies are data files that websites send to your phone, including things like saved passwords to keep you logged into an account or even the website preferences from the previous time you visited. 

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Though they do sound harmless, cookies can also track how you browse the internet. They monitor patterns in your browsing and search history, even seeing what you clicked on or what your mouse hovered over. Ever made an innocuous search on Amazon only to find ads for it on all the apps you use? Cookies likely made that possible.

Can I block cookies on my iPhone?

While you can block cookies on Safari, the ranks are divided on whether you should. Blocking cookies entirely means that websites won't be able to get information from you, but it also means that some websites may not even work correctly on your browser. A lot of users actually enjoy a more personalized browsing experience, so cookies are a good thing for them.

 If you'd like to block cookies in Safari, follow these steps:

  • Go to  Settings  and select  Safari .
  • Tap on the toggle next to  Block All Cookies .

There are also third-party extensions that help you block cookies and trackers in Google Chrome, like Ghostery and Disconnect .

How do I check iPhone storage?

On an iPhone, Settings can show you what's taking up most of your media storage, like photos, videos, and music. You can also see what each particular app's storage consumption is, which includes temporary data. To view the details of your iPhone's storage space, follow these steps:

  • Go to the iPhone Settings .
  • Tap on General .
  • Select iPhone Storage .
  • Scroll through to find the app you're looking for.
  • Tap on the app to view storage status and options.

Unfortunately, you can't clear your iPhone cache for third-party apps by going into your Settings app, but this gives you a visual of your iPhone's storage and the option to delete or offload apps.

Also: Here's the fastest way to declutter your iPhone and free up Gigabytes of space

When you look at your device's storage space, you'll probably see recommended steps you can take to optimize your iPhone's storage, like offloading unused apps.

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It’s Time to Switch to a Privacy Browser

Image may contain Electronics Text and Label

Google's admission that, yes, it does track you while you're in Chrome's Incognito mode , is just the latest in a long line of unsettling revelations about just how keenly Big Tech keeps an eye on our movements every time we connect to the internet. Billions of data records will now be deleted as part of a settlement to a class action lawsuit brought against Google.

As we've written before , Incognito mode and the equivalent modes offered by other browsers aren't as secure as you might think, particularly if you start signing into accounts like Google or Facebook. Your activities and searches as a logged-in user on large platforms can still be recorded, primarily to create advertising that's more accurately targeted toward your demographic.

Google, for its part, says it’s transparent about what data it’s storing and why—and in recent years it has made it easier for users to see and delete the information held about them. To really lock down your privacy and security, though, it’s best to switch to a browser not made by a company that earns billions of dollars selling ads.

And there are alternatives: Below we recommend several browsers built with user privacy and security as a priority. Even better, in many cases they can import data such as bookmarks and passwords from your current browser—Google Chrome, for example.

DuckDuckGo ( Android , iOS , Windows , macOS )

DuckDuckGo browser

The DuckDuckGo browser blocks trackers at their source.

You might know DuckDuckGo as the anti-Google search engine, but the parent company has branched out to make its own browsers too. They keep you well protected online and at the same time give you plenty of information about the tracking technologies being proactively blocked.

DuckDuckGo starts by enforcing encrypted HTTPS connections when websites offer them, and gives each page you visit a grade based on how aggressively it's trying to mine your data. It'll even scan and rank site privacy policies for you.

When it comes to browsing data, this can be cleared automatically at the end of each session or after a certain period of time. Pop-ups and ads are snuffed out, and of course the DuckDuckGo search engine is built in, free of the Google trappings.

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You also get extras like throwaway email aliases you can use in place of your real email address to protect your privacy, and everything about the browser and its features is simple to use: You don't really need to do anything except install them, so you're getting maximum protection with minimal effort.

Ghostery ( Android , iOS , Windows , macOS )

Ghostery browser

Ghostery comes with a range of tools to protect your privacy.

Install Ghostery on your mobile device or your computer, and straight away it gets to work blocking adverts and tracking cookies that will attempt to keep tabs on what you're up to on the web. There are no complicated setup screens or configurations to manage.

Like DuckDuckGo, Ghostery tells you exactly which trackers and ads it's blocking and how many monitoring tools each website has installed. If you do come across certain sites that are well behaved, you can mark them as trusted with a tap.

Or, if you find a site that's packed full of tracking systems, you can block every single bit of cookie technology on it (for commenting systems, media players, and so on), even if the site ends up breaking. A simple, private search engine is built in to replace Google too.

Ghostery's tools are a little more in-depth and advanced than the ones offered by DuckDuckGo, so you might consider it if you want to take extra control over which trackers are blocked on which sites—but it's simple enough for anyone to use.

Tor Browser ( Android , Windows , macOS )

Tor browser

Tor connects you to the Tor network, to keep your online activities more private.

Tor Browser markets itself as a browsing option "without tracking, surveillance, or censorship." It is worth a look if you want the ultimate in anonymized, tracker-free browsing—unless you're on iOS, where it isn't available (Tor recommends the Onion Browser instead).

The browser is part of a bigger project to keep internet browsing anonymous: Use Tor and you use the Tor Project network, a complex, encrypted relay system managed by the Tor community, making it much harder for anyone else to follow your activities online.

As well as this additional layer of anonymity, Tor Browser is super-strict on the background scripts and tracking tech that sites can run. It also blocks fingerprinting, a method where advertisers attempt to recognize the unique characteristics of your device.

At the end of each browsing session, everything gets wiped, including cookies left behind by sites and the browsing history inside the Tor Browser app itself. In other words, private browsing that leaves no trace is the default—and indeed the only option.

Brave ( Android , iOS , Windows , macOS )

Brave browser

Brave gives you a clean, speedy browsing experience.

Brave comes with all the tracking protection features you would expect: Ads are completely blocked, there are tight restrictions on the data that sites can gather through cookies and tracking scripts, and you're always kept informed about what's happening.

The browser comes with an optional built-in VPN, though it costs extra ($10 a month). You can also, if you want, use Brave to access the Tor network we mentioned with the Tor browser and take advantage of its anonymizing relay service that hides your location and browsing data.

There's no doubt about the effectiveness of Brave's tracker-blocking technologies, and getting around the web in Brave is quick and snappy. It's a comprehensive package and one that strikes a well-judged balance between simplicity and power for the majority of users.

Brave has regularly pioneered features related to innovative web technologies, including cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and (most recently) artificial intelligence; there's actually a new AI assistant built into it. In other words, it's not exclusively focused on security and privacy.

Firefox ( Android , iOS , Windows , macOS )

Firefox browser

Firefox is part of a suite of privacy products from Mozilla.

Firefox has long been at the forefront of online privacy—blocking tracking cookies across sites by default, for example—and it continues to be one of the best options for making sure you're giving away as little data as possible as you make your way across the web.

Firefox also gives you a ton of information on each website you visit regarding the trackers and cookies that pages have attempted to leave, and which ones Firefox has blocked. Permissions for access to your location and microphone can be easily managed as well.

Aside from looking after the interests of its users, Firefox also scores highly for user customization. You can change the look and behavior of the browser in a variety of ways, and there are useful integrations like the built-in Pocket utility that saves web stories on your device so you can read them later.

Firefox developer Mozilla offers plenty of extras, including a free data-breach monitor that tells you when your usernames and passwords may have been exposed somewhere online, a free email alias system to keep your actual email address protected, and a VPN that costs $10 per month. It all adds up to a comprehensive package for keeping you safe online.

Safari (iOS, macOS)

Safari browser

Safari has been blocking tracking cookies for some time.

Apple continues to add privacy tech to Safari with each release on iOS and macOS—like requiring user authentication (such as a Face ID scan) when returning to a browsing session—though it's obviously not a browsing option if you're on Android or Windows.

Safari has long been blocking third-party tracking cookies that try to connect the dots on your web activity across multiple sites. It also blocks device fingerprinting techniques that try to identify your devices, and it reports back on the trackers it has disabled.

The browser can now also warn you when you try to use a password that's too weak on a new website or service, and it will make a suggestion of a stronger password if needed. Recent browser updates added support for logging in with passkeys too.

Safari operates against the backdrop of Apple's commitment to collect as little information about you as possible and to keep most of that information locked away locally on your device rather than on Apple's servers.

Update: April 6, 2024, 8:30 am: This guide was updated to include new guidance for DuckDuckGo and Ghostery, as well as to bring some descriptions of browser providers' data collection policies up to date.

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IMAGES

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  3. Safari History iPhone: How to See It [2023 Guide]

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  5. 如何在 iPhone 和 iPad 上查看最近的 Safari 历史记录

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  6. Clear the history and cookies from Safari on your iPhone, iPad or iPod

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  3. How to delete Search history on safari 

  4. How to view history in safari [easy]

  5. How to find old Safari history on iPhone (FULL GUIDE

  6. How To Clear Search History On Safari

COMMENTS

  1. How to View and Search Your Safari History: 2 Simple Ways

    Use the search bar to find specific websites. Enter your text in the Search bar. A list of matching results from your history will appear. Click a site to load it in Safari. 5. To clear your history, click the "History" menu. Click Clear History…. [2] Select a time frame from the drop-down menu, then click Clear History.

  2. Search your web browsing history in Safari on Mac

    In the Safari app on your Mac, choose History > Show All History. Type in the Search field at the top-right corner of the window. Safari uses iCloud to keep your browsing history the same on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Mac computers that have Safari turned on in iCloud preferences. On your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, go to Settings ...

  3. Search your web browsing history in Safari on Mac

    In the Safari app on your Mac, choose History > Show All History. Type in the Search field at the top-right corner of the window. Safari uses iCloud to keep your browsing history the same on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Mac computers that have Safari turned on in iCloud preferences. On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, go to Settings ...

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

    In Safari, tap the Bookmarks button. Select the History icon in the upper right corner. Tap Clear and select how much history you'd like to clear: the last hour, the last day, 48 hours' worth, or all recorded history. To clear History, tap the Bookmarks button, then choose the History icon.

  5. Clear the history, cache, and cookies from Safari on your iPhone, iPad

    Clear cookies and cache, but keep your history. Delete a website from your history. Block cookies. Use content blockers. Delete history, cache, and cookies. Go to Settings > Safari. Tap Clear History and Website Data. Clearing your history, cookies, and browsing data from Safari won't change your AutoFill information. When there's no history or ...

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

    Open Safari and head to the menu bar located at the top of the page. Tap "History" then "Show All History" to reveal the list of websites you have visited. To find a particular website ...

  7. How to Search the Browsing History on an iPhone in 2 Ways

    1. Open the Safari app. 2. Tap the book icon at the bottom of your screen. It is the second icon from the right. This will bring up your search history. Click on the book icon to access your ...

  8. How to Manage Your Browsing History in Safari

    Here's how to manage Safari's history on a Mac: Open the Safari browser and select History in the menu bar located at the top of the screen. You'll see a drop-down menu with the titles of the web pages you visited recently. Select a website to load the respective page or select one of the previous days at the bottom of the menu to see more options.

  9. How to clear browsing history on Safari on iPhone or Mac

    In Safari, choose the History menu. Select Clear History from the very bottom of the menu. In the dialog box that appears, choose from clearing the last hour, today, today and yesterday, or all ...

  10. How to Access & Search Safari History on Mac

    How to Search Safari History on Mac. Open the Safari web browser on the Mac if you have not done so already. Pull down the "History" menu and choose "Show All History". You'll now be presented with all stored Safari History of web browsing activity, with each browsing history session separated by date. Click into the search box seen ...

  11. How to See Safari History on iPhone 11: A Step-by-Step Guide

    To see your Safari history on an iPhone 11, simply open the Safari app, tap the book icon at the bottom of the screen, and then select the clock icon to view your browsing history. It's a straightforward process that doesn't require any technical know-how. After completing this action, you'll have access to a list of websites you've ...

  12. How to Manage Browsing History on Safari for iPad

    Select the gear icon on the Home screen to open the iPad Settings . Scroll down and select Safari . Scroll through the list of settings and select Clear History and Website Data to delete the browsing history, cookies, and other cached website data. Select Clear to confirm, or select Cancel to return to the Safari settings without removing any ...

  13. How to Clear History in Safari: Mac and iOS

    Open Safari and click the "History" menu. 2. Select "Show History". You can also press ⌘ Command +⌥ Option + 2 to open the Show History window. 3. Find the entry that you want to delete. You can use the search bar in the upper-right corner, or expand the dates to browse through all your entries. 4.

  14. How To Check Safari History on iPhone and Mac [2024]

    Follow these simple steps too: 1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone. 2. Scroll through the options and click on Safari. 3. Again, scroll and find the Clear History and Website Data option. 4 ...

  15. How to Find Browsing History on Mac: Safari, Chrome, Firefox

    View your history. Scroll down to view your browser history. The most recent will be at the top. Since there's no way to navigate by date, you'll need to scroll down further until you reach the specific date. Use the search bar at the top of the window to find a specific website.

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

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

  17. How to View Safari History on iPhone

    How to See Safari History on iPhone 11. Launch Safari. At the bottom of the screen, tap the book icon. To examine your history, tap the clock symbol. Our explanation continues below with further information on seeing your iPhone's Safari history, as well as screenshots of these procedures. When you use your computer or smartphone's Web ...

  18. How to Find Safari History on iPhone 13

    Step 3: Select the Clock icon at the top-right of this menu. You can then choose a date to view the browsing history for that day. You can also delete individual pages from your history by swiping to the left on them and then touching the trash can button. Now that you know how to find Safari history on iPhone 13, you can use this feature to ...

  19. Safari History iPhone: How to See It [2023 Guide]

    April 13, 2023 by Matthew Burleigh. To view your browsing history in Safari on your iPhone, start by launching the Safari app. Once open, locate the Bookmarks button, symbolized by an icon resembling a book, positioned at the lower part of your screen. Upon tapping this icon, a menu will present itself. Look for the History button, represented ...

  20. How to Clear Safari Profile Web History on iPhone

    Scroll down and tap Safari. Tap Clear History and Website Data in blue. Choose a timeframe in which to clear your history: Last hour, Today, Today and yesterday, or All history. Choose a specific ...

  21. How to clear Safari browsing history on iPhone and iPad

    In Safari, tap the book icon. Firstly, open Safari and tap the book icon in the bottom bar. 2. Select the history tab (clock icon) and tap Clear. Now select the history tab (clock icon) and tap ...

  22. Clear your browsing history in Safari on Mac

    Open Safari for me. In the Safari app on your Mac, choose History > Clear History, then click the pop-up menu. Choose how far back you want your browsing history cleared. When you clear your history, Safari removes data it saves as a result of your browsing, including: History of webpages you visited. The back and forward list for open webpages ...

  23. Search History: How to View or Delete It

    To delete your browsing or search history on your iPhone, open Settings > Safari > Clear History and Website Data. Alternately, open Safari and select Bookmarks > History > Clear > All time. Note that this process only applies to your iPhone's built-in Safari web browser and other browsers may require different steps.

  24. How to Clear Safari Search History: iPhone, iPad, and Mac

    Click Clear History…. 4. Choose a timeframe you want to clear. You can choose: the last hour, today, today and yesterday, or all history. 5. Click Clear History. This will remove all history, cookies, and other browsing data from Safari. 6. On the top toolbar, click Preferences.

  25. How to clear the cache on your iPhone (and why you should)

    Go through the items you'd like to delete, like your Browsing History, Cookies and Site Data, Cached Images and Files, Saved Passwords, and Autofill Data. Confirm by tapping Clear Browsing Data at ...

  26. Best Privacy Browsers (2024): Brave, Safari, Ghostery, Firefox

    The browser is part of a bigger project to keep internet browsing anonymous: Use Tor and you use the Tor Project network, a complex, encrypted relay system managed by the Tor community, making it ...