Keep your browsing history private in Safari and Maps

Reviewing and clearing search history and caches for browsers and other apps may be a good practice if you’re concerned someone has access to your device. Many apps store information about what you’ve searched for and what you’ve looked at so that it’s easy for you to rediscover it in the future. For example, when you use the Maps app, having a history of locations you’ve searched for or navigated to can make it easier to navigate back to a place you recently visited.

If you’re in an unsafe personal situation and need to look up safety strategies online but don’t want Safari to keep a record of what you’ve viewed, you can open a Private Browsing window on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. When you use Private Browsing, the details of your browsing aren’t saved, and they aren’t shared across your devices. Additionally, if you’ve updated your devices to iOS 17, iPadOS 17, macOS 14, or later, Safari locks Private Browsing tabs after a period of inactivity so that they can be opened only with your password, passcode, Face ID or Touch ID, protecting your privacy when you’re away from your device. You can clear your browsing history and open a Private Browsing window on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

Find out how: To view a task below, select the plus button next to its title.

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

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

Open the Safari app , then tap .
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.

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.
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.

In the Safari app , choose Safari > Preferences, then click General.
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 > System Settings, click Desktop & Dock in the sidebar, then make sure “Close windows when quitting an app” is selected.
- On your Mac with macOS 12 or earlier: Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click General , then make sure “Close windows when quitting an app” is selected.