changing safari settings on iphone

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Safari Browser

How to Change Safari Settings on iPhone or iPad

Last Updated: November 4, 2019 Tested

This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Nicole Levine, MFA . Nicole Levine is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. She has more than 20 years of experience creating technical documentation and leading support teams at major web hosting and software companies. Nicole also holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Portland State University and teaches composition, fiction-writing, and zine-making at various institutions. The wikiHow Tech Team also followed the article's instructions and verified that they work. This article has been viewed 35,318 times. Learn more...

This wikiHow teaches you how to customize the behavior of the Safari web browser on your iPhone or iPad. If you're using iOS 13 or later, you now have the option to choose display options for individual websites in addition to making global changes.

Changing Web Preferences by Website

Changes you make with this method will only affect the currently-open website. If you want your preferences to affect all websites rather than just for those you customize, see the Changing Web Preferences for All Websites section instead.

Select Ask on a feature if you'd like to be asked each time the site tries to access the feature (default).
Select Deny if you never want the site to access the feature.
Select Allow to always allow the site to access the feature.

Changing Web Preferences for All Websites

Step 1 Open your iPhone or iPad's Settings icon.

It is also possible to customize these settings on a per-website basis. See this method to learn how.
Changing your web preferences using this method will not affect sites you've customized individually.

Step 4 Tap Page Zoom to adjust the default font size.

Select Ask on a feature if you'd like to be asked each time any site tries to access the feature (default).
Select Deny if you never want websites to access the feature.
Select Allow to always allow websites to access the feature.

Changing General Safari Settings

Use the sliders in the "IN SAFARI" section at the top to choose whether Siri has access to Safari.
Use the sliders in the "IN SEARCH" section to customize whether Safari options show when searching your iPhone/iPad or using the Shortcuts app.
Tap the back button when you're finished.

Step 4 Modify your default search preferences in the

Tap AutoFill to adjust which information appears automatically in form fields, such as your name, address, phone number, email, and credit card info.
Pop-up ads are blocked in Safari by default. If you'd like to see pop-up ads on websites, slide the "Block Pop-ups" switch to the Off (gray) position.
Tap Downloads to choose where to save files and media you download from websites. You'll have the option to choose a cloud storage service or your iPhone/iPad.

To allow sites and services to track your browsing anywhere on the web, slide the "Prevent Cross-Site Tracking" switch to the Off (gray) position. To retain your privacy, you can leave this switch in the On (green) position.
Cookies are used by websites to keep track of your visits, preferences, and login information (for sites that require username/password access). [2] X Research source The "Block All Cookies" switch is Off (gray) by default, but you can enable it by toggling it to the On (green) position.
Safari will display a warning message if a website you visit is deemed fraudulent in some way. If you don't want to see these messages, you can toggle the "Fraudulent Website Warning" switch to the Off (gray) position.
Adjust the "Check for Apple Pay" switch to reflect your desired Apple Pay behavior on all websites.

Step 8 Tap Advanced for advanced and experimental features.

Expert Q&A

About This Article

1. Go to a website in Safari. 2. Tap the Aa button. 3. Tap Website Settings . 4. Make your changes. 5. Tap Done . Did this summary help you? Yes No

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How to Control iPhone Safari Settings and Security

Control your settings and security in the iPhone browser

Ithaca College

How to Change the Default iPhone Browser Search Engine

How to use safari autofill to fill out forms faster, how to view saved passwords in safari, control how links open in iphone safari, how to cover your online tracks using private browsing, how to clear your iphone browser history and cookies, prevent advertisers from tracking you on your iphone, how to get warnings about potentially malicious websites, how to block websites, ads, cookies, and pop-ups using safari, how to use apple pay for online purchases.

Take Control of Your iPhone Security and Privacy Settings

What to Know

To change search engine, go to Settings > Safari > Search Engine . To control links, go to Safari > Open Links .
To use AutoFill, go to Settings > Safari > AutoFill > turn on Use Contact Info .
To view saved passwords, go to Settings > Passwords & Accounts > Website & App Passwords .

This article explains how to adjust Safari settings and security on your iPhone or iPad.

Searching for content in Safari is simple; tap the menu bar at the top of the browser and enter your search terms. By default, all iOS devices use Google for web searches, but you can select a different search engine by following these steps:

Open the Settings app.

Select Safari > Search Engine .

Select the search engine you would like to use as the default. Options include Google , Yahoo , Bing , and DuckDuckGo . The setting is automatically saved, so you can search using the new default search engine right away.

Similar to a desktop browser , Safari automatically fills in forms by grabbing information from your address book. This saves time because you don't need to fill out the same forms over and over again. To use this feature, follow these steps:

Select Safari > AutoFill .

Toggle the Use Contact Info switch to on/green.

Your information appears in the My Info field. If it does not, select the field and browse your address book to find your contact information.

Older versions of iOS allowed you to change your username and password info here. If you want to save, edit, or delete usernames and passwords in iOS 13 or later, go to the Passwords & Accounts settings page (select Settings > Passwords & Accounts ).

To save frequently used credit cards to make online purchases quicker, move the Credit Cards switch to on/green. If you don't have a credit card saved on your iPhone, select Saved Credit Cards , and add a card.

Saving usernames and passwords in Safari means you're not forced to memorize login credentials to access a website. As this data is sensitive, iOS takes measures to protect it. If you need to look up a username or password, you can do so by following these steps:

Select Passwords & Accounts > Website & App Passwords .

You are asked to authorize access to this information using Touch ID , Face ID , or your passcode.

A list details all the websites for which iOS has saved login data. Select a site to view the corresponding username and password.

You can choose where new links open by default—in a new window that appears either in front of or behind the page you are currently viewing. Follow these steps to adjust this setting:

Select Safari > Open Links .

Select In New Tab to open links in a new window in Safari and to have that window appear in front of the current tab. Select In Background to open links in a new window that appears behind the page you are currently viewing.

Browsing the web leaves digital footprints. Between browsing history, cookies, and other usage data, you may prefer to cover some of those tracks. The Safari Private Browsing feature prevents Safari from saving information about your behavior—including browsing history, cookies, and other files—while it is turned on.

When you want to delete your browsing history or cookies manually, follow these steps:

Select Safari > Clear History and Website Data .

A menu appears asking if you would like to clear the browsing data. Select Clear History and Data .

Cookies allow advertisers to track you across the web. This lets them build a profile of your behavior and interests to target you with ads better. Here's how to opt-out of some of that tracking data:

Select Safari .

Move the Prevent Cross-Site Tracking switch to on/green.

Older versions of iOS included a Do Not Track feature that asked websites not to track your browsing data. Apple removed this feature, as the request was never mandatory and did not do much to limit the tracking of user data.

Setting up fake websites that look like ones you normally use is a common method of stealing data from users. Safari has a feature to help avoid these sites. Here's how to enable it:

Move the Fraudulent Website Warning switch to on/green.

You can speed up your browsing, maintain privacy, and avoid certain ads and websites by blocking cookies. Here's how:

Move the Block All Cookies switch to on/green, then select Block All to confirm the action.

If you set up Apple Pay , you can use it at any participating retailer to complete purchases. To make sure you can use it at those stores, enable Apple Pay for the web. Here's how:

Move the Check for Apple Pay switch to on/green.

Take Control of Your iPhone Security and Privacy Settings

While this article focuses on privacy and security settings for the Safari web browser, the iPhone has other security and privacy settings. These settings can be used with other apps and features to protect private info stored on your iPhone .

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How-To Geek

How to change the default search engine in safari on iphone or ipad.

Prefer DuckDuckGo or Bing to Google? Here's how to change your iPhone or iPad's default search engine.

Quick Links

Changing the default search engine in safari on iphone and ipad.

Safari uses Google as its default search engine out of the box, but it's not the only option. You can choose other search engines like Bing, Yahoo, or DuckDuckGo if you prefer them.

While most modern search engines can find the websites you're looking for, there are often ramifications to consider when making your selection. Google is the big player here, but you might want to select something else depending on your privacy stance. For example, DuckDuckGo pushes itself as a more private search engine, while Bing is integrated with Microsoft Rewards . Making the change in Safari on your iPhone or iPad is super simple, so long as you know where to look.

To get started, open the Settings app and tap "Safari."

Next, under the "Search" heading, tap "Search Engine."

Finally, select the search engine that you would like to use as your default when inside Safari. To select a search engine, tap it. You can choose either Google, Yahoo, Bing, Ecosia , or DuckDuckGo .

Sorry---those are the only options. Apple won't let you choose other search engines as your default. You can still navigate to those search engines in Safari and search them from their website, but that's it. The only way you'll get more options here is if Apple adds them in a future version of the iOS operating system.

There is, however, a caveat to consider here. This setting will only change the default search engine that is used when searching from within Safari. If you use Siri or Spotlight to search, they'll still use Google. It's not ideal, but Google pays a considerable amount of money to Apple every year to make this the situation we have to live with, unfortunately.

Related: What Is DuckDuckGo? Meet the Google Alternative for Privacy

How to customize Safari privacy and security settings on iPhone and iPad

Want to check in on your Safari privacy and security settings? Follow along below for a look at what you can customize on iPhone and iPad and an explainer on each option.

Apple offers a host of security and privacy settings across iOS and iPadOS, and specifically within Safari settings, there are four options under Privacy & Security.

These include Prevent Cross-Site Tracking, Block All Cookies, Fraudulent Website Warning, and Check for Apple Pay. You’ll likely want to adjust these depending on your needs or preferences on iPhone and iPad .

Open Settings, swipe down and tap Safari
Swipe down again and look under Privacy & Security
Customize your settings, read more below for help on making a decision

Here’s how this looks:

Note: On Mac, you can head to Safari > Preferences > Privacy to see the same settings.

Either temporarily or permanently, you may want to allow cookies, as many websites will require them.

Another consideration is cross-site tracking. This will allow websites to track what you’ve been looking at if you turn the prevention feature off. However, it will mean you’ll get more relevant ads served to you compared to when you prevent cross-site tracking.

Personally, I always keep Check for Apple Pay and Fraudulent Website Warning toggled on, as I only see an upside to using them.

You can tap on About Safari & Privacy… to get a description of each one or read more below.

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COMMENTS

3 Ways to Change Safari Settings on iPhone or iPad
3. Adjust the font size. The default zoom amount (100%) appears at the top of the menu. Tap the smaller A on the left to decrease the default font size, or the larger A on the right to increase it. Continue taping until you're satisfied with the new size, then tap anywhere on the page to close the window. [1] 4.
How to Control iPhone Safari Settings and Security
To control links, go to Safari > Open Links. To use AutoFill, go to Settings > Safari > AutoFill > turn on Use Contact Info. To view saved passwords, go to Settings > Passwords & Accounts > Website & App Passwords. This article explains how to adjust Safari settings and security on your iPhone or iPad.
How to Change the Default Search Engine in Safari on iPhone
Changing the Default Search Engine in Safari on iPhone and iPad. To get started, open the Settings app and tap "Safari." Next, under the "Search" heading, tap "Search Engine." Finally, select the search engine that you would like to use as your default when inside Safari. To select a search engine, tap it.
How to customize Safari privacy and security settings on
This step by step guide with images covers how to customize Safari privacy and security settings on iPhone and iPad and a short explainer on each option.
How to Specify Safari Settings on Your iPhone
Tap the Settings icon on the Home page. In the Settings screen that appears, tap Safari. All Safari's settings appear for the changing. Here are the Safari settings you can adjust on your iPhone: Clear the history: To clear your history so that nobody else can trace your steps, tap Clear History. Fill out forms with AutoFill: When AutoFill is ...