Clearing your browsing history on iPhone and iPad in Safari has been a straightforward affair for years now.
Sometimes you want to clear your history to get rid of bloat and streamline your browsing experience. Other times, you’re trying to hide a gift purchase from a loved one.
Apple makes it very easy to clear your browsing history on both the iPhone and iPad and we’re here to show you how. Here’s how you can make a fresh start in Safari and debloat your web browsing experience.
What you’ll need
On the latest models, web browsing is smoother than ever before thanks to ProMotion in the iPhone 15 Pro and faster chipsets like the M2 found in the iPad Air 6. If you’re looking for a new Apple device, we highly recommend one of the following:Â
How to find your web-browsing history
Viewing your web history in iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 is very easy to do, here’s how:
- 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.
- Use the History search bar to find previously viewed pages.
How to clear your web browsing history
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 or an iPad Mini 6, all Apple devices require the same steps.
- 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.
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.
It’s great to have a feature like this in Safari — but it would be good to have this automated in iOS 18. If Apple’s web browser could automatically clear history after 24 hours it 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.
