Keep your browsing history private in Safari and Maps

If you’ve been looking up information about safety strategies online and are concerned someone may see your browsing history, you can remove all records that Safari keeps about where you’ve browsed.

• On your iPhone or iPad: Go to Settings > Safari > Clear History and Website Data.

• On your Mac: Open the Safari app , choose History > Clear History, click the pop-up menu, then 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:

• A history of the webpages you visited

• The back and forward list for open webpages

• A list of frequently visited sites

• Recent searches

• Icons for webpages

• Snapshots saved for open webpages

• A list of items you downloaded (downloaded files aren’t removed)

• Websites you added for a Quick Website Search

• Websites that asked to use your location

• Websites that asked to send you notifications

1. Open the Maps app , then scroll down in the search field to Recents.

2. Do one of the following:

   • Swipe a recent route left.

   • Tap More directly above the list, then swipe a recent route left; or to delete a group of routes, tap Clear above the group.

3. If you want to remove a Favorite location, scroll to Favorites, then tap More. Swipe from right to left on the Favorite location you want to delete, or tap Edit and tap to remove multiple Favorites.

1. Open the Maps app , the scroll to Recents in the sidebar.

2. Below Recents, click Clear Recents.

3. If you want to remove a Favorite location, Control-click a location (in the sidebar below Favorites), then choose Remove from Favorites.

1. Open the Safari app.

2. Tap .

3. Tap in the bottom center of the Tab bar at the bottom of the screen, then tap Private.

   The tab is automatically added to a Tab Group called Private. You can open multiple private tabs in the group.

You can easily confirm that you’re in Private Browsing Mode by checking that the search field bar is gray or that it displays the word Private.

To hide the sites and exit Private Browsing Mode, tap , then tap to open a different Tab Group from the menu at the bottom of your screen. The private sites reappear the next time you use Private Browsing Mode.

To close private tabs, tap , then swipe left each of the tabs you want to close.

• In the Safari app, tap , then tap Private.

  While Private Browsing Mode is on, the search field background is black instead of white and sites you visit don’t appear in History on iPad or in the list of tabs on your other devices. You can open multiple private tabs in the Private Tab Group.

  To hide the sites and exit Private Browsing Mode, tap , then switch to a different tab group. The tabs reappear the next time you use Private Browsing Mode.

1. In the Safari app , choose File > New Private Window, or switch to a Safari window that’s already using Private Browsing.

   A window using Private Browsing has a dark Smart Search field with white text.

   

2. Browse as you normally would.

   Note: When your device is locked or asleep, or if you aren’t actively using Safari, your private windows in Safari will lock. When you unlock or wake up your device, or start using Safari again, just unlock your private window with Face ID, Touch ID, or your device passcode or password.

   

1. In the Safari app , choose Safari > Preferences, then click General.

2. Click the “Safari opens with” pop-up menu, then choose “A new private window.”

   If you don’t see this option, do one of the following:

   • On your Mac with macOS 13 or later: Choose Apple menu , select System Settings, click Desktop & Dock , then make sure “Close windows when quitting an app” is selected.

   • On your Mac with macOS 12 or earlier: Choose Apple menu , select System Preferences, click General , then make sure “Close windows when quitting an app” is selected.

• In your Downloads folder, delete any items that were downloaded while you were using Private Browsing windows.

• Close any other Private Browsing windows that are still open, to prevent other people from using the Back and Forward buttons to see pages you visited.