Safari’s settings have changed, a website is giving you trouble, or you just want your browsing history gone. You can clear the data and restore your preferred settings using the controls below, starting with your device. Current Safari has separate cleanup controls instead of the historical Reset Safari... command, so there’s no single reset button to hunt down.
Clear Safari history on iPhone or iPad
Open Settings > Apps > Safari. This route also works on Apple Vision Pro.
Tap Clear History and Website Data. Select the timeframe you want to clear. Then tap Clear History to confirm. When Safari history is synchronized, deletion also affects that history on your other Apple devices.
Keep in mind that clearing Safari history leaves website-held account activity and other apps’ browsing histories untouched.
Start with browsing history on Mac
In Safari, open History > Clear History. Choose the period you want to remove. Click Clear History to confirm.
This also removes recent searches, frequently visited sites, download-list entries, and certain website permissions. Your downloaded files stay right where they are. If the website problem remains, remove its stored website data next.
Remove cookies and cached website data
This clears stored website data and lets you keep your browsing history on iPhone. On iPhone, open Settings > Apps > Safari > Advanced > Website Data. Tap Remove All Website Data. Confirm with Remove Now.
On Mac, open Safari > Settings > Privacy > Manage Website Data. Removing website data also signs you out of sites that use it to maintain your login. Select the affected website, or select several websites together. Click Remove.
Click Done. Reopen the affected website. For a complete Mac website-data cleanup, choose Remove All instead of selecting individual websites. Confirm the removal when prompted.
For the separate Mac cache-clearing option, open Safari > Settings > Advanced. Select Show features for web developers. Close Settings. Choose Develop > Empty Caches.
Disable or remove unwanted extensions
An unwanted extension needs separate attention after you clear Safari’s browsing data. On Mac, open Safari > Settings > Extensions.
Deselect the extension’s checkbox to disable it. This tab controls the default profile; if you use Safari profiles, also open Safari > Settings > Profiles, select each profile, and deselect the extension in that profile’s Extensions tab.
To uninstall an installed extension, select it in Extensions. Click Uninstall. For a custom extension made with Describe an Extension, use Delete instead.
On iPhone, open Settings > Apps > Safari > Extensions. Select the extension. Turn off Allow Extension. To uninstall an app-based iPhone extension, touch and hold its app icon.
Choose Delete app. For an AI-created custom extension, open Safari’s Page Menu. These extensions require iOS 27 and an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, or iPhone 16 or later, with supported language and region settings. Choose Manage Extensions.
Select the custom extension. Tap Delete Extension.
Put your homepage, search engine, and layout back
On Mac, open Safari > Settings > General. Adjust Safari opens with, New windows open with, New tabs open with, and Homepage to your preferences. Available choices include Start Page and Empty Page; these settings changes leave browsing data intact.
Under Safari > Settings > Search, choose your Search engine and Private Browsing search engine. Use Manage Websites beside Enable Quick Website Search to remove recorded websites. Adjust Include search engine suggestions and Include Safari Suggestions separately.
On iPhone, open Settings > Search > Search Engine and select your preferred engine. Tap Back afterward. For the tab bar, open Settings > Apps > Safari and choose Compact, Bottom, or Top under Tabs.
On Mac, open Safari > View > Customize Toolbar to add, remove, or rearrange items, then click Done. Under Safari > Settings > Tabs, choose Separate or Compact. These appearance changes leave browsing data intact, too.
Restore website permissions separately
On Mac, open Safari > Settings > Websites. Select the category you want to adjust, such as Camera, Microphone, Location, Page Zoom, or Pop-up Windows. Select the websites under Configured Websites. Click Remove to remove those saved exceptions.
Set When visiting other websites to your preferred behavior. Repeat for the other categories you want to change.
On iPhone or iPad, open Settings > Apps > Safari. Open Camera, Microphone, or Location. Choose Ask, Deny, or Allow.
For a single website on iPhone or iPad, open that website in Safari. Tap the Page Menu button. Open Website Settings. On iOS 26 or iPadOS 26, tap the More button instead.
Adjust the relevant permission below Website Settings For. Use the single-website controls when you want to change one site’s access without changing your general choices.
Check restrictions when history clearing is grayed out
Web-content restrictions can disable Safari’s history-clearing controls. For a child’s device using the iOS 27 or iPadOS 27 Family Sharing controls, the parent or guardian must open Settings > Family on their own device.
Select the child. Open Apps & Websites > Restrictions. Review Filtering under Websites for the restrictions affecting browsing.
On a work or school device, contact the administrator if management policy blocks history clearing. Once the administrator permits clearing, use Safari’s ordinary history-clearing controls.
Finish with saved information you want removed
These controls remove saved information that clearing history leaves behind. For saved form information on Mac, open Safari > Settings > AutoFill. Click Edit beside Other forms. Remove the websites whose saved form information you want deleted.
For saved AutoFill cards, click Edit beside Credit cards. Remove the saved cards you no longer want in AutoFill.
For passwords on macOS Sequoia 15 or later, open Passwords. Authenticate. Select the account. Click Delete Password or Delete Passkey.
On iPhone, open Passwords > All. When iCloud Keychain is synchronized, deleting a saved password or passkey also deletes it from iCloud Keychain. Select the account. Tap Edit.
Tap Delete. Confirm with Delete Password or Delete Passkey.
To delete a bookmark on an iPhone running iOS 27, open Safari’s start page. Tap Show Bookmarks. Touch and hold the bookmark. Choose Delete.
For an iPhone Reading List entry, tap Reading List on the start page. With the Bottom or Top layout, use Show Bookmarks > Reading List instead. Swipe left on the item to delete it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Reset All Settings clear Safari history on iPhone?
No. Reset All Settings restores system settings while preserving apps and app data. To clear Safari browsing data, open Settings > Apps > Safari > Clear History and Website Data, select the timeframe, then tap Clear History.
Will closing tabs or using Private Browsing erase my existing browsing data?
No. Closing tabs leaves stored history and cookies intact. Private Browsing also leaves existing regular browsing data intact.
Can I test a website before deleting all my Mac Safari data?
Yes. Open Safari > File > New Private Window. Test the affected website. If it works there, open Safari > Settings > Privacy > Manage Website Data, select that website, and click Remove.
Should I turn on Block All Cookies to reset Safari?
Use website-data removal for cleanup. On iPhone, enabling Block All Cookies removes existing cookies and website data, quits Safari, and reloads tabs. It also blocks future cookies, which prevents some websites from working properly. On Mac, blocking future cookies and deleting existing website data are separate actions.