6 Tips to Improve Your Safari Experience on iPhone
Accessing the internet on an iPhone is made simple by Safari, Apple’s native web browser; it does a great job of getting you started, but there are several other features that you can leverage to enhance your user experience.
Below, we’ll list some valuable tips you can use to get the most out of Safari on your iPhone. So, let’s get started.
1. Modify the Start Page
The start page is the first element you usually run into when launching Safari—it’s the default screen if you’ve not used the browser before or didn’t leave any tabs open after your last session. And the first step you can take in improving your Safari experience is to customize it.
Customizing the start page involves changing the background image and choosing the sections (listed below) you want the app to show. We’ve added descriptions to help you understand a little more about each section.
To begin customizing your Safari’s start page, follow the steps listed below:
If you want to experience Apple’sContinuity feature, toggle onUse Start Page on All Devicesat the top of the edit menu. This will ensure your start page is in sync across all devices connected to your iCloud account.
2. Create Tab Groups in Safari
The next step in improving Safari on iPhone is tocreate and use Tab Groups. The feature lets you bring order and control to tabs by allowing you to group similar ones—or those you often use together—into folders. Ideally, you may use the feature to separate search results and websites related to work from those you open during casual browsing.
To create a Tab Group, follow the steps listed below:
TheXin the second option will vary based on the number of tabs open when creating a Tab Group.
3. Use Safari Extensions
Like Chrome, you can install Safari extensions to improve your browsing experience. For those unaware, these are applications built for web browsers that bring additional functionality and make your life easier.
For example, you can install applications that scour the web for coupon codes and bring them up when you’re making a purchase or add ones that help edit written content to ensure you aren’t making silly errors.
Adding extensions to Safari on an iPhone is a bit different compared toinstalling and removing extensions in Safari on a Mac. To do this, follow the steps listed below:
You may sometimes see options without having installed an extension before; these are present due to an application—that offers Safari extensions—installed on your iPhone from before.
Once you’ve installed an extension, activate it inSettingsusing the same steps above and then do the following:
4. Choose Websites to Automatically Use Reader
Reader in Safari is a nifty add-on that lets you read content from a website with minimal distractions and no ads. It makes the experience quite simple and offers options like changing the page color, font, and font size.
Activating Reader is quite simple; tap theAAbutton in the address bar when you’re on a supported webpage and chooseShow Reader. However, if you frequently visit a specific website, you can configure Safari to load all its webpages in Reader. Here’s what you need to do:
5. Set Tabs to Open in Background
Despite it being easy toaccess AI tools like ChatGPT on mobilefor learning about things, if you prefer getting deep into the weeds when doing research, you may want to view many of the following webpages in new tabs.
By default, opening a new tab via a hyperlink will leave the old tab behind and move you to the new tab. While this behavior is fine, it can feel like a chore if you’d like to open multiple results from a search page.
Fortunately, you can change this behavior. Here’s what you need to do:
6. Configure Safari to Automatically Close Tabs
Lastly, while the ability to open many tabs in Safari is a boon, knowingways to organize your browserand keeping it clutter-free can help you focus better and increase productivity. And keeping only a few tabs open can be a part of this regime.
Safari on iPhone also helps with this, with the ability to automatically close tabs after a set period of time; we’ve detailed the steps to activate the feature below:
Become a Safari Power User With These Changes
Each customization method listed above will help improve your Safari experience, be it with a new background image that makes the app feel more personal or a setting that keeps it clutter-free.
Overall, Safari is an excellent browser that can be made even better for power users with a few changes. And some of Apple’s exclusive features make a strong case for the app, especially if you’re a Mac user.
Many Mac users often overlook Safari, but here are some reasons to strongly consider it over other third-party browsers.
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