Safari

A certificate, also known as a “digital certificate” or a “public key certificate,” is a file that helps keep web communications secure. Certificates are issued by trusted organizations, such as VeriSign, Inc. or RSA Security, Inc. When you visit an encrypted website—to do online banking, for example—Safari checks whether the site’s certificate is legitimate, and if it’s not, Safari warns you.

An encrypted website and Safari work together to encrypt information you exchange with the site. The key used for the encryption is contained in the site’s security certificate. This protects your sign-in information, credit card numbers, addresses, and other secure data.

If you need to connect to a website that requires a personal certificate, you’re provided with a certificate and instructions for installing it. After it’s installed, you gain authenticated access to the website automatically. If you’re unable to access it, contact the website administrator.

Important: If a website doesn’t use the HTTPS protocol, have a digital identity certificate, or encrypt information, the words “Not Secure” appear in the search field. Don’t enter personal or financial information on a website that isn’t encrypted. The website you’re visiting might not be the website you want, and information you enter is vulnerable to theft. Instead, go back to the webpage where you signed in and check for a link to another version of the site that’s encrypted—for example, “Use our secure site.” If available, use it, even if you don’t expect to view or provide private information.

Encryption makes your connection to a website secure, but that’s no guarantee the website itself is trustworthy. Fraudulent websites sometimes pose as trusted websites by swapping one or two letters in the website address. So always check the address in the Safari toolbar and confirm it’s correct.

See also

• Browse the web using Safari on iPad

Websites use HTTP or HTTPS to transmit information to and from Safari, and HTTP doesn’t provide a secure connection. That’s why you can choose to receive a warning when you visit websites that use HTTP. You can also browse the web privately in Safari on iPad.

1. Start the Settings app on your iPad.
2. Tap Apps, then tap Safari.
3. Below Privacy & Security, turn on Not Secure Connection Warning.

See also

• Browse the web privately in Safari on iPad

You can have supported webpages read aloud in the Safari app. You just open the page you want to listen to and choose Listen to Page, and you can pause listening and start listening again. You can also search for websites using Safari, and use Siri to find information.

Listen to a webpage

1. Start the Safari app on your iPad.
2. Open the page you want to listen to.
3. Tap the Page Menu button. Then tap Listen to Page.

Pause listening

While listening to a webpage, tap the Page Menu button, then tap the Pause button.

To start listening again, tap the Page Menu button, then tap the Play button.

See also

• Use Siri to find information and get things done on iPad
• Search for websites using Safari on iPad

You can work with several tabs at the same time in the sidebar in Safari. After you select the tabs you want to work with, you can copy the tabs to paste somewhere else, duplicate the tabs in the same location, move the tabs to another window or a Tab Group, or close the tabs.

1. Go to the Safari app on your iPad.
2. Tap the Show Sidebar button to open the sidebar, then tap the More button.
3. Tap Select Tabs and select the tabs you want to work with.
4. Touch and hold one of the selected tabs and then do any of the following:
   • Copy the tabs to paste somewhere else: Tap Copy [x] Links.
   • Duplicate the tabs in the same location: Tap Duplicate [x] Tabs.
   • Move the tabs to another window: Tap Move [x] Tabs to New Window.
   • Move the tabs to a Tab Group: Tap Move to Tab Group and tap a Tab Group.
   • Close the tabs: Tap Close [x] Tabs.
5. Tap the Done button.

See also

• Share Tab Groups and collaborate in Safari on iPad

Review connection security details to determine whether a website is encrypted. Encrypted websites mask the data you exchange with them, so that only you and they can see it. It’s important to use them to prevent anyone from “eavesdropping” on you.

You’ll find a website’s connection security details in the Safari app on your iPad, with its other privacy and security information.

1. Go to the Safari app on your iPad.
2. Go to the website and tap the Page Menu button on the left side of the search field. Then tap Privacy & Security.
3. Tap Connection Security Details.

See also

• Browse the web using Safari on iPad

Use Distraction Control to hide menus and other diversions on a webpage. You just pick the items you want to hide from the webpage, and you can hide as many items as you want. You can stop hiding them later, and block pop-ups in Safari, too.

1. Go to the Safari app on your iPad.
2. On a website, tap the Page Menu button and then tap Hide Distracting Items.
3. Tap an item you want to hide from the webpage, then tap Hide.
4. Tap the Selected button.

   To stop hiding items, tap the Clear button.

See also

• Block pop-ups in Safari on iPad

You can block pop-ups in Safari on iPad, so pop-up windows don’t open while you browse. It takes just one setting, Block Pop-ups, and you can turn it off again anytime. You can also hide distractions when browsing in Safari on iPad.

1. Start the Settings app on your iPad.
2. Tap Apps, then tap Safari.
3. Turn on Block Pop-ups.

See also

• Hide distractions when browsing in Safari on iPad

You can save a PDF from Safari to your iPad to read later or share with others. In the Safari app, you just go to the PDF and save it to Files, then enter a name for the file and save it.

1. Go to the Safari app on your iPad.
2. Go to the PDF, then tap the Share button.
3. Tap View More, then tap Save to Files.
4. Enter a name for the file, then tap Save.

To choose where your PDFs are saved, check out our guide, Choose where to save downloads.

You can enable cookies on iPad. Some websites use cookies to keep track of your activity, such as your settings, and enabling cookies allows websites that require them to work normally. You can also clear your cache and cookies on iPad.

1. Start the Settings app on your iPad.
2. Tap Apps, then tap Safari.
3. Tap Advanced and turn off Block All Cookies.

See also

• Clear your cache and cookies on iPad

You can export selected data from Safari, and then import that data into another browser on iPad. If you created profiles in Safari, you can export data from one profile or all of them, and it’s saved as a .zip file in your Downloads folder.

You can export the following data from Safari:

• Bookmarks
• History
• Extensions
• Credit cards
• Passwords

WARNING: Your exported data is not encrypted and is visible to anyone who can access the file. After you import the data into another browser, delete the file you exported.

1. Open the Settings app on your iPad.
2. Tap Apps, then tap Safari.
3. Below History and Website Data, tap Export.
4. Select the data to export.

   If you created profiles for your browsing in Safari, choose the profile you want to export data from, or choose All Profiles.

   Each profile has its own history and extensions data. The data for bookmarks, credit cards, and passwords is the same across all profiles.

5. Tap Save to Downloads.
6. Tap Done.

See also

• Import data from another browser into Safari on iPad