In the Safari app, you can use Face ID or Touch ID, on supported models, to securely sign in to supporting websites with a passkey. It’s quick. When a website supports it, the option to use a passkey to sign in appears at the bottom of the screen.
You can create multiple Safari profiles, like Personal, Work, and School, and use them to separate your internet browsing into different themes. Each profile has separate favorites, histories, tabs, and Tab Groups. You can add, edit, or remove a profile at any time.
Profiles also follow you: any iPhone, iPad, or Mac signed in to the same Apple Account shows them in its Safari settings. You can also choose a bookmarks folder for each profile’s favorites.
If you’re signed in to the same Apple Account on any iPhone, iPad, or Mac, the profiles you create on iPhone also appear there in Safari settings.
If you have multiple folders of bookmarks, this option selects the folder of bookmarked websites that are recommended as you enter an address, search, or create a new tab. For example, if you have a folder of bookmarks related to work, you can create a work profile and use this field to ensure that those websites are suggested as you type in the address field.
With a profile, you can easily browse the internet or move between profiles.
Note: You’ll find your saved bookmarks and passwords in iCloud keychain in any profile.
To customize the way your browser works on iPhone, you can install extensions.
If you’ve installed extensions on your iPhone, you can customize which ones you’d like to use with each profile.
Deleting a profile, which you can do at any time, also erases the favorites, history, and Tab Groups associated with it and closes all websites open in the profile.
Important: This action can’t be undone.
You can enable cookies. Some websites use cookies to keep track of your activity, such as your settings, and enabling cookies allows websites that require cookies to work normally. It’s one setting, Block All Cookies, in Safari’s Advanced settings on your iPhone.
Websites use HTTP or HTTPS to transmit information to and from Safari, and HTTP doesn’t provide a secure connection. You can choose to receive a warning when you visit websites that use HTTP , with a setting called Not Secure Connection Warning.
Enter a URL or a search term to find websites or specific information.
Search suggestions can help as you go, and you can also search a webpage, choose a search engine, and see your favorite websites while you search. And if you don’t want to see suggested search terms, you can turn off Search Engine Suggestions in Safari’s settings on your iPhone.
Here’s how to search for websites in Safari on iPhone.
If you don’t want to see suggested search terms, go to Settings > Apps > Safari, then turn off Search Engine Suggestions.
Looking for a specific word or phrase on a webpage? You can find it.
Visual Look Up helps you identify and learn about popular landmarks, plants, pets, and more in your photos and videos.
Quick tip: The same feature can also scan text and search online.
You can have supported webpages read aloud in the Safari app on your iPhone. Listen to Page is in the Page Menu, and while you’re listening to a webpage, you can pause listening, then start listening again from the same menu.
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.
You can choose the tab bar layout that works best for you in the Safari app. There are three: Compact, Bottom, and Top. Compact keeps the tab bar small and below webpages, Bottom expands it below webpages, and Top expands it above webpages, and both show additional controls at the bottom of the screen.
A certificate, also known as a “digital certificate” or a “public key certificate,” is a file that helps keep web communications secure. It’s issued by a trusted organization. Safari relies on certificates whenever you visit an encrypted website, for example, to do online banking, so your connection stays secure.
Certificates are issued by trusted organizations, such as VeriSign, Inc. or RSA Security, Inc. When you visit an encrypted website—for example, to do online banking—Safari checks if the site’s certificate is legitimate. 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.
Although encryption ensures that your connection to a website is secure, it doesn’t guarantee the website is trustworthy. Some fraudulent websites masquerade as trusted ones by changing one or two letters of the address, so always check the address in the Safari toolbar to confirm it’s correct.
You can import data into Safari that you exported from another browser. Browser data can include bookmarks, history, extensions, credit cards, and passwords.
The data can come as a ZIP file, and there might be individual files for each piece of browsing data, like bookmarks or history. After you import it, a description of the browser data appears, and any passwords go into the Passwords app. For security, you’ll want to delete the file or folder you imported, since it may include unencrypted data.
Individual files might be available for each piece of browsing data, such as bookmarks or history.
A description of the browser data you imported appears.
Note: Any passwords you import go into the Passwords app.
WARNING: For security, delete the file or folder you imported. It may include unencrypted data and could be visible to anyone who can access it.
You can hide the recent searches that appear when the search field is empty in the Safari app. It’s one setting, Show Recent Searches, in Safari’s settings on your iPhone. When you turn it off, recent searches no longer appear in the empty search field.
