Is your Safari browser acting up? It might be time to give it a reset. Over time, Safari can accumulate a lot of cached data, website info, and browsing history, which can slow things down. Here’s how to get it back to its default state.
Resetting Safari on macOS
While there’s no single “reset” button, you can achieve the same effect by clearing the cache, website data, and history. Here’s the breakdown:
Method 1: Clearing Safari Cache
- First, fire up Safari from your Dock or Launchpad.
- Then, in the menu bar, click ‘Safari’ and then select ‘Preferences’ from the drop-down.
- Next, head to the ‘Advanced’ tab, and check the box that says, ‘Show Develop menu in menu bar.’
- You should now see ‘Develop’ in your menu bar. Click on it and choose ‘Empty Caches’.
Method 2: Removing Website Data
- Launch Safari from the Launchpad or the Dock, just like before.
- Go to the ‘Safari’ menu in the top bar and select ‘Preferences’ again.
- This time, click on the ‘Privacy’ tab, and then click ‘Manage Website Data…’.
- Click on ‘Remove All’ located at the bottom left of the window that pops up.
- Confirm this action by clicking ‘Remove Now’ when prompted.
Method 3: Deleting Browsing History
- Start by opening Safari from the Dock or Launchpad.
- In the menu bar, click on ‘History’, then select ‘Clear History…’ from the dropdown.
- A popup will appear; choose ‘all history’ and click ‘Clear History’.
Resetting Safari on iPhone
Resetting Safari on your iPhone is much quicker and easier, thankfully!
- Go to the ‘Settings’ app from your home screen.
- Scroll down and tap on ‘Safari’.
- Scroll down until you see and tap ‘Clear History and Website Data.’
- Confirm this by tapping ‘Clear History and Data’ in the popup.
By using these steps, your Safari browser on both your Mac and iPhone should feel refreshed and perform better.