Safari’s Reading List fills up with pages you no longer need. To empty it, delete the saved entries on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac using the controls below. Just want those links off your start page? You can hide the list and keep everything saved.
Clear your Reading List on iPhone
On iOS 26, start with the Reading List inside Safari.
- 1.Open Safari.
- 2.Tap More, then Bookmarks. With the Bottom or Top Tabs layout, tap Show Bookmarks instead.
- 3.Open Reading List, identified by the glasses icon.
- 4.Swipe left on an entry to delete it.
- 5.Repeat for every remaining entry to empty the list.
Remove saved pages on iPad
This deletes saved Reading List links on iPadOS 26. Open Safari, then tap Show Sidebar. If Reading List is missing, tap Back at the top of the sidebar.
Choose Reading List below Saved. Touch and hold the entry you want to remove. Tap Delete, then repeat for each remaining entry until the list is empty.
Delete entries on Mac
In Safari on macOS Tahoe 26, open Safari > Sidebar > Reading List. The keyboard shortcut Control-Command-2 also shows or hides this sidebar. It opens the list; it does not clear it.
Click All to include previously read entries. Control-click an entry to open its menu. Choose Delete to remove it. Repeat for the remaining pages.
Prefer a gesture? With a trackpad or mouse that supports gestures, swipe left over an entry, then click Remove, or swipe all the way left until the entry disappears. Repeat your chosen gesture for each remaining entry to empty the list.
Hide the list for a cleaner start page
On iPhone, open Safari. Open More > New Tab, or Tabs > Add with the Bottom or Top Tabs layout. Scroll to the bottom of the start page, then tap Edit and turn off Reading List.
On iPad, open Safari. Tap New Tab at the top right. Scroll to the bottom of the start page, then tap Edit and turn off Reading List.
On Mac, open Bookmarks > Show Start Page in Safari. Click Edit at the bottom right, then deselect Reading List. Click in the Safari window to finish. Use this visibility setting when you want a cleaner start page while keeping every saved link.
Handle a Reading List shared across devices
Safari’s iCloud syncing is why deleting a Reading List entry on one device also removes it from your other synced devices. If your devices already use the same Apple Account with Safari enabled in iCloud, choose the iPhone, iPad, or Mac you want to use for the cleanup.
Delete the entries using that device’s steps above. The removals apply everywhere that Safari data syncs, so you do not need to repeat the cleanup on each synced device. To keep the links and hide the start-page section, use the visibility setting above.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I delete every Safari Reading List item at once?
Apple’s current instructions provide no bulk-delete procedure. To empty the list, repeat the individual deletion action for every entry.
Does clearing Safari history clear the Reading List?
Apple does not list Reading List among the data removed by Clear History. Use the deletion controls inside Reading List to remove your saved links.
Does turning off automatic offline saving delete my Reading List?
No. It only controls whether Safari saves offline copies automatically. Your saved links stay in Reading List until you delete them with the controls above. On iPhone or iPad, open Settings > Apps > Safari. Under Reading List, turn off Automatically Save Offline. On Mac, open Safari > Settings > Advanced. Deselect Save articles for offline reading automatically.