Whenever you use Safari on your Mac, the browser ends up caching web pages to speed up subsequent visits. It also stores cookies to remember site-related preferences and even allows you to keep track of what you did next by continuously recording your browsing activity. This helps improve your online experience.
But sometimes, browsing data can cause serious problems. For example, an outdated browser cache often causes performance issues, while history and cookies pose a threat to privacy. Additionally, AutoFill data types, such as passwords and saved web forms, put sensitive information at risk.
12 solutions for when Safari won't open web pages on iPhone and iPad
Thankfully, Safari offers several approaches to clearing the cache, history, and cookies on your Mac. It is up to you to choose the method that best suits your situation.
Notice: the Deleting browsing history and Autofill data in Safari causes the changes to sync with other Apple devices that you own. If you want to stop it, open the System Preference on your Mac, select Apple ID and deactivate Safari before starting.
Clear browser cache only in Safari
Safari improves page loading speed by saving site content, such as indexes and images, to your Mac's local memory. However, if you experience rendering issues, site elements not working, or erratic behavior, you may have dealing with an outdated or corrupted browser cache. You can fix this by clearing cached data via Safari's hidden Develop menu.
Final report: if an issue is isolated on a specific website, you can try clearing the cache for that site only, later.
- Select Safari in the menu bar and choose Pref Renze.
- Switch to the tab Advanced and check the box next to Show Develop menu in menu bar. Then, exit the Preferences panel.
- Open the menu Development and select Clear cache.
This should clear your browser cache immediately. You can choose to return to the Preferences panel and disable the Develop menu if you wish.
If clearing the cache in Safari didn't help resolve any site loading issues, you may want to clear the DNS cache on the Mac or renew the DHCP lease.
Clear browsing history in Safari only
Safari keeps track of all the websites and web pages you have visited and you can access the information through the browser's History panel. Recorded browsing activity also tends to show up in search suggestions.
But that makes it easy for anyone else using the browser to understand what you've been doing online. So if privacy is an issue, you need to clear your browsing history.
Clear individual browsing history entries
- Open the menu Chronology Safari and select the option Show history.
- Select the entry you want to delete. You can use the search bar at the top right of the screen to filter items by site.
- Click on the item while holding held down the Ctrl key and select Delete.
To delete multiple entries, select them while holding down the key Command. Then, press the key Canc.
Clear complete browsing history
- Press and hold the key Option and open the menu Safari. Then, select Clear history and keep website data.
- Setting up Clear su all history.
- Select Cancel the timeline.
Alternatively, you can set Clear about options of the last hour, today e today and yesterday if you want to delete specific browsing history only for those periods.
Clear cookies and cache (single site or all sites)
Browser cookies are small pieces of data that help Safari save site preferences and login sessions. But cookies also allow websites to track you. Furthermore, outdated cookies can prevent the sites from functioning properly.
How tracking apps work and where our data goes
You can clear cookies for a specific site or for all sites you have previously visited, along with any cached data about the site or sites.
- Open the menu Safari and select Pref Renze.
- Switch to the tab Privacy.
- Select the button with the label Manage website data.
- You should see a list of websites. Use the search field at the top right of the window to filter them by site. Then, choose a voice and select Remove to delete it. You can also hold the button down Command to choose and remove multiple items. If you want to remove all cookies and cached data, select instead Remove everything.
- Select Done.
Deleting cookies related to a site forces you to log in to that site again. If you remove all cookies, you will have to log in again everywhere.
We recommend that you use Safari's private browsing windows in cases where you do not want your browser to store cookies indefinitely.
How to clear the cache in all browsers
Clear all history, cookies and cache in Safari
If you are in a hurry, you can immediately delete the history, cookies and cache in Safari.
1. Open the menu Safari and select Cancel the timeline.
2. Set Clear su all history. Alternatively, select le options Last hour, Today o Today and yesterday if you want to clear your browsing history, cookies and cache only for those periods.
3. Select Cancel the timeline.
Clear download history (individual entries or complete history)
Safari also keeps a separate log of your download history. You can easily remove individual entries or the complete list.
- Open the menu Show of Safari.
- Select the option Show downloads.
- Ctrl-click on an item and select Remove from list. Alternatively, choose Clear to clear the entire download history.
Deleting the download history will not remove the downloaded files. You need to manually locate and delete your Mac downloads.
Clear Autofill data (passwords, credit cards and web forms)
The autofill feature in Safari saves specific types of data (passwords, credit cards, and web forms) to make it easier to fill in repeatedly. However, considering the sensitive nature of the information, you may want to delete it if other people also have access to the same Mac user account.
1. Open the menu Safari and select Pref Renze.
2. Switch to the tab Automatic compilation.
3. Select Modification next to the Autofill data type ( Usernames and passwords, Credit cards o Other modules ) that you want to delete.
4. Enter your Mac user account password to proceed. Then, select one or more items and select Remove to delete them.
5. Exit the Preferences panel.
You have successfully deleted your Safari browsing data
Clearing the cache, history and cookies in Safari requires a fair amount of searches in hidden settings and menus. But you can get rid of everything you want very quickly after trying it a couple of times.
However, you should only delete browsing data if you have serious concerns about performance or privacy. If not, you'll just end up slowing things down.
Further Reading:
- How to clear cache and cookies in Safari
- How to clear iPhone history
- How to clear the history of any web browser
- How to update Safari on Mac
- How to clear the cache in Windows 10
