How to customize your Safari settings on iPhone

You can customize your start page, change the text size on websites, and change display and privacy settings. Sign in to iCloud with the same Apple Account on multiple devices to keep your open tabs, bookmarks, browsing history, and Reading List up to date across all your Apple devices.

Your start page is where every new tab begins, and you can give it new background images and choose what appears on it.

Here’s how to customize your Safari settings on iPhone.

Customize your start page

Every new tab you open begins on your start page, which you can customize with new background images and options.

1. Open the Safari app on your iPhone.
2. Tap the Tabs button, then tap the Add button.
3. Scroll to the bottom of the page and then tap Edit.
4. Choose the options you want to appear on your start page:
   • Use Start Page on All Devices: Use these settings on all your Apple devices where you have Use Start Page on All Devices turned on and you’re signed in to the same Apple Account using two-factor authentication.
   • Tab Group Favorites: Display shortcuts to your favorite bookmarked websites in the current Tab Group.
   • Favorites: Display shortcuts to your favorite bookmarked websites.
   • Suggestions: See websites you visit most, websites shared in other apps (such as Calendar and Maps), and links shared with you in Messages, Mail, and more.
   • Privacy Report: Stay updated on how many trackers and websites Safari blocked from tracking you.
   • Reading List: Show webpages currently in your Reading List.
   • Recently Closed Tabs: Go back to tabs you previously closed.
   • iCloud Tabs: Show open tabs from other Apple devices where you’re signed in to the same Apple Account and Safari is turned on in iCloud settings or preferences.
   • Background Image: Choose the image you want to appear in the background each time you open a new start page in this Tab Group. To use a photo as your background, tap Select Image from Library.

Customize the Page menu

The Page menu is where you can add your favorite Page and Tab Actions.

1. Open the Safari app on your iPhone.
2. Tap the Page Menu button on the left side of the search field. Then tap Customize Menu.
3. Tap the Insert button to add Page or Tab Actions to the Page menu.

   Tap the Remove button to remove an action.

4. Tap the Done button. Tap the Done button again.

Make the content larger or smaller for a website

To zoom in or out on a webpage, use the Page Menu button.

1. Open the Safari app on your iPhone.
2. Tap the Page Menu button on the left side of the search field and tap Page Zoom.
3. Tap the large A to increase the font size or the small A to decrease it.

When the font size defaults to 100%, an indicator briefly appears.

Change the display controls for a website

Among other things, you can hide the search field and switch to Reader.

1. Open the Safari app on your iPhone.
2. Tap the Page Menu button and then do any of the following:
   • Hide the search field: Tap Hide Toolbar (tap the bottom of the screen to get it back).
   • See a streamlined view of the webpage: Tap Show Reader (if available).

     To return to the normal view, tap the Page Menu button, then tap Hide Reader.

   • See what the webpage looks like on a desktop computer: Tap Request Desktop Website (if available).
   • See a summary of the webpage (requires Apple Intelligence): Tap Summarize.

     Note: Apple Intelligence on iOS 27 or later is available on an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, or iPhone 16 model or later. Apple Intelligence is not available in all languages or regions. Usage limits may apply.*

You can also adjust Safari settings in Accessibility settings. Go to the Settings app , tap Accessibility, then tap Per-App Settings. Tap Safari to adjust settings. If Safari isn’t listed, tap Add App, then tap Safari to add it.

Choose where to save downloads

Downloading a file in Safari? You get to choose whether to save it to iCloud or on your iPhone.

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Tap Apps, then tap Safari.
3. Tap Downloads and then choose one of the following:
   • iCloud Drive: Select this option to save downloads to the Downloads folder in iCloud Drive. This allows you to access the downloaded file on any iPhone, iPad, or Mac where you’re signed in to the same Apple Account.
   • On My iPhone: Select this option to save downloads to the Downloads folder on your iPhone.
   • Other: Select this option to save downloads in a location other than a Downloads folder.

Share website passwords with a group

If you create a group of trusted contacts, you can share a set of passwords that stay up to date for everyone in the group. You can remove someone at any time.

Adjust privacy settings

You can choose what privacy settings you want across Safari, and create individual exceptions for websites. *Apple Intelligence is available with Siri and device language set to Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, or Vietnamese. Some features may not be available in all regions or languages. Some devices may not be available in all regions. Siri AI is available in beta in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, and visionOS 27 and requires an Apple Intelligence–enabled device set to a supported language. Available in English to start. Siri AI will not be initially available in the EU on iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS. Certain Apple Intelligence features that rely on server-side models are subject to daily usage limits, including but not limited to Siri AI, Intelligent Photo Editing Tools, Image Playground, and AFM 3 Cloud models in Shortcuts. Daily limits may vary by feature, request complexity, system demand, system policies, and other factors. Expanded access to such features will be available for a fee in the future. Use of these features is subject to the Apple Intelligence Terms and Conditions.