Master Apple Safari: Top 50 Tricks You Didn’t Know Existed

By Garima Singh | February 13, 2024 12:54 pm

Apple's Safari browser, a cornerstone of browsing on both iOS and macOS, is renowned for its sleek design, efficiency, and integration within the Apple ecosystem. However, beneath its straightforward interface lies a wealth of features that can transform your browsing experience, cater to your privacy needs, and even assist developers in creating more engaging web applications.

This blog will unveil 50 hidden tricks inside Safari, revealing how users and developers alike can leverage these features to their fullest potential. From customizing your Safari settings to exploring the depths of web development tools, prepare to dive deep into Safari's capabilities and uncover the secrets it holds.

Getting Started with Safari Browser

Welcome to the beginning of your journey into the depths of Apple's Safari browser, where convenience meets customization.

Customizing Your Safari Experience

Safari Settings: To kickstart your journey, navigating Safari’s settings is essential. By accessing Safari -> Preferences on macOS or Settings -> Safari on iOS, you can modify the homepage, adjust privacy settings, and manage site data. These initial adjustments are crucial for a tailored browsing experience.
Dark Web Websites: While Safari is designed for safe and efficient browsing, it's vital to be aware of privacy settings, especially when venturing into the less navigated corners of the internet. Safari's privacy features, such as intelligent tracking prevention and private browsing mode, ensure that your activities remain confidential.

Enhancing User Convenience

How to Add Safari to Home Screen: For iPhone and iPad users, adding Safari directly to your home screen can streamline your browsing. Simply tap the share icon at the bottom of Safari, then select 'Add to Home Screen'. This trick puts your favorite browser just a tap away.
How to Pin Safari on iPhone: Keeping essential tabs open and readily accessible is seamless with Safari’s pinning feature. To pin a tab, open it, then press and hold the tab button, selecting 'Pin Tab'. Your pinned tabs will always appear first, saving you valuable time.
How to Favorite a Website on iPhone: For quick access to your most-visited sites, adding them to your favorites in Safari is a game-changer. Tap the share icon while on a website, then select 'Add to Favorites'. Your go-to pages will now be a click away, right from Safari’s start page.

50 Hidden Tricks Inside Apple's Safari Browser

Creating a comprehensive list of 50 hidden tricks in Apple's Safari browser offers a wealth of knowledge for users looking to enhance their browsing experience. Here's a curated list that spans efficiency improvements, privacy features, and more, designed to reveal the depth of functionality within Safari:

Pin Tabs: Keep essential websites open, accessible, and out of the way by pinning them. Pinned sites stay in place, even when you open a new window or quit Safari.
Customize Favorites: Edit your Favorites folder in Safari’s bookmarks to ensure your most-visited sites are always one click away on the new tab page.
Use Handoff: Start browsing on one device and pick up where you left off on another, using Apple's Handoff feature, available on all devices signed into iCloud.
Enable Picture-in-Picture: Detach video content into a floating window that stays visible while you work in other tabs or apps.
Reader View: Activate Reader View to strip away ads, buttons, and background images, focusing solely on the text and images of the article you're reading.
Mute Tabs: Instantly mute audio playing from any tab directly from the Smart Search field, avoiding the need to find the offending tab.
Safari Extensions: Enhance Safari’s functionality with extensions from the App Store, ranging from productivity tools to social media enhancements.
Privacy Report: Access a detailed report of trackers Safari has blocked over the past 30 days, available in the Privacy Report button next to the Smart Search field.
Website Settings: Customize individual settings for websites, like camera and microphone access, location services, and content blockers.
Automatic Strong Passwords: Let Safari generate strong, unique passwords for your online accounts, then store them securely in iCloud Keychain.
Use iCloud Keychain: Store your website logins, credit card information, and Wi-Fi passwords in iCloud Keychain for easy autofill across all your devices.
Download Manager: View and manage all your downloads in one place, accessible from the toolbar.
Quick Website Search: After enabling this feature in a website’s settings, search the site directly from the Smart Search field using a shortcut.
AirPlay to Apple TV: Stream video content from Safari to your Apple TV, enjoying a bigger screen without leaving the browser.
Gesture Navigation: Navigate through your browsing history with two-finger swipes on your trackpad or Magic Mouse.
Tab Groups: Organize your tabs into groups that you can easily access, name, and manage, keeping related pages together.
Customizable Start Page: Personalize your start page with a background image, your Favorites, frequently visited sites, Siri suggestions, and more.
SnapBack: Mark a spot on a webpage or search results to quickly return to it later, even after navigating away.
Save Webpage as PDF: Save an entire webpage as a PDF file directly from the Safari File menu, preserving its layout and links.
Full Page Screenshots: On iOS, take screenshots that capture the entire webpage, not just what's visible on the screen.
Smart Search Field Tricks: Use the Smart Search field for quick calculations, unit conversions, and even as a dictionary.
Close Tabs to the Right: Right-click on a tab to find the option to close all tabs to the right of the current one, streamlining tab management.
Recently Closed Tabs: Access and reopen your recently closed tabs by right-clicking on the tab bar or using the History menu.
Text Size Adjustments: Quickly increase or decrease the text size on any website for easier reading, accessible through the View menu.
Use Web Inspector: Connect your iOS device to a Mac and use Safari’s Web Inspector to troubleshoot website issues on mobile.
Develop Menu: Enable additional developer tools by showing the Develop menu in Safari’s Advanced preferences.
Change User Agent: Temporarily change Safari’s user agent via the Develop menu to view websites as if you were using a different browser or device.
Enable Content Blockers: Speed up your browsing and reduce distractions by enabling content blockers that filter out ads and tracking scripts.
Keyboard Shortcuts: Learn Safari’s keyboard shortcuts to navigate faster, switch tabs, and manage your browsing without reaching for the mouse.
Offline Reading List: Save articles and webpages to your Reading List, making them available for reading even without an internet connection.
Zoom In on Websites: Use the zoom feature to enlarge the entire webpage, making it easier to read small text or view details in images.
Voice Search: Use Siri on your Mac or iOS device to perform voice searches directly in Safari.
Shared Links: View a list of links shared by people you follow on Twitter or LinkedIn, accessible in the Safari sidebar.
Intelligent Tracking Prevention: Safari uses on-device machine learning to identify advertisers and others who track your online behavior, and removes the cross-site tracking data they leave behind.
Custom Search Engines: Add and use custom search engines in Safari, personalizing your search experience beyond the default options.
Safari Reader Customization: Adjust the appearance of Safari’s Reader mode, including background color, font type, and font size, for a more personalized reading experience.
Manage Website Notifications: Choose which websites are allowed to send you notifications, ensuring you only receive alerts from sites you trust.
Batch Download Images: Utilize extensions that allow you to download all images from a webpage in one go, perfect for designers and developers.
Access Saved Passwords Quickly: Use Safari’s Preferences to quickly access and manage your saved passwords, updating them as needed.
Autoplay Preferences: Set your preferences for autoplaying videos on websites, either allowing them, muting them, or blocking them entirely.
Use Split View in Safari on iPad: Open two Safari windows side by side on your iPad, making it easier to compare websites or multitask.
Highlight All Search Terms: After performing a search on a webpage, Safari can highlight all occurrences of your search term, making them easier to find.
Customizable Toolbar: Right-click on Safari’s toolbar to customize it, adding or removing buttons based on your preferences.
Dark Mode for Websites: Enable Dark Mode in macOS or iOS, and Safari will show websites in dark mode when available.
Link Preview: Preview the content of a link by lightly pressing it with Force Touch on the trackpad or by using a long press on iOS.
Website Zoom Level Memory: Safari remembers your preferred zoom level for each website, automatically applying it when you return.
DuckDuckGo Privacy Search: Use DuckDuckGo as your search engine in Safari to keep your searches private and avoid tracking.
Open Links in Background: Hold down the Command key on Mac or use a long press on iOS to open links in a new tab in the background.
Use as Default Browser: Set Safari as your default web browser in System Preferences on macOS or the Settings app on iOS.
Clear Browsing History by Timeframe: Choose to clear your browsing history from the last hour, the last day, or all time, directly from the History menu.

Advanced Safari Features

This section is tailored for users who wish to explore beyond the surface and for developers interested in leveraging Safari's capabilities for web development and website design . From inspecting elements to understanding Progressive Web Apps, these insights will empower you to use Safari in ways you never thought possible, enhancing both your productivity and web development skills.

Web Development and Inspection Tools

How to Inspect Element: Safari's Web Inspector is a powerful tool for developers and curious users alike, offering insights into a website's underpinnings. To enable it on macOS, first activate the Develop menu from Safari’s Preferences under the Advanced tab, then choose 'Show Web Inspector' from the Develop menu when browsing. This tool allows you to view the HTML, CSS, and JavaScript of any page, facilitating debugging and learning.
Progressive Web Apps (PWA): Safari supports Progressive Web Apps , allowing users to enjoy app-like experiences directly from the browser. For developers, this means testing and optimizing PWAs is crucial for ensuring a seamless user experience on Safari. Engage with Safari's Application Manifest support and offline capabilities to enhance your PWA on Apple devices.
AJAX: Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX) allow for dynamic content loading without refreshing the page, and Safari fully supports this technology. Developers can utilize AJAX to create fluid, app-like web experiences. Safari’s debugging tools provide a way to monitor AJAX calls and responses, ensuring your site operates smoothly.

Safari for Web Designers and Developers

Website Templates: Safari offers a pristine environment to test and preview website templates . With its accurate rendering engine, web designers can ensure their sites will look as intended on all Apple devices. Utilize Safari's responsive design mode to test templates across different screen sizes and orientations.
AI Text Generator: For content creators and marketers, Safari can be the gateway to AI text generators and content tools available online. These platforms can help generate ideas, create draft content, and even refine your website’s copy, all accessible through Safari’s intuitive browsing interface.
Convert Website to App: With the rising trend of mobile-first design, converting your website to an app can significantly enhance user engagement. Safari's support for Progressive Web Apps makes this transition smoother, allowing users to "install" your website on their home screen, providing an app-like experience without the need for app store submission.

Convert Website to App

Safari and Online Functionality

Whether you're looking to accept payments online , capture website screenshots, or ensure your browsing activities remain private, Safari offers a robust suite of features to support these needs. Here, we uncover how Safari not only simplifies your online interactions but also secures them, showcasing the browser's versatility in catering to a wide array of online activities and user preferences.

Online Tools and Services

Website Screenshot Generator: Safari streamlines the process of capturing website screenshots, a feature invaluable for designers, developers, and content creators. To take a full-page screenshot, simply use the Shift-Command-5 shortcut on macOS, then select 'Options' to capture the entire webpage. This trick is perfect for creating visuals of web designs or sharing online content through a website screenshot generator .
Accept Payments Online: For businesses and e-commerce platforms, Safari supports a seamless online payment experience. By leveraging Apple Pay in Safari, websites can offer a secure, one-tap payment option, significantly enhancing the checkout process. Ensure your website is configured to accept Apple Pay, providing a frictionless payment solution for Safari users.
Payments Solutions: Beyond Apple Pay, Safari is compatible with various online payment solutions . Integrating these into your website can broaden your market reach and cater to user preferences. Safari's security features ensure that payment information is handled securely, offering peace of mind to your customers.

Try Website Screenshot Generator

Safari Browser in Private Mode

For those concerned with privacy, Safari’s Private Browsing mode offers a way to surf the internet without saving your browsing history, cookies, and other site data. To enter Private Browsing mode, simply open Safari and tap the tabs icon, then select 'Private'. This feature is crucial for sensitive browsing sessions or when you want to ensure your online activities remain confidential.

Conclusion

Apple's Safari browser is much more than a tool for accessing the web; it's a gateway to enhancing your online experience, safeguarding your privacy, and even facilitating web development and design. Through this guide, we've uncovered 50 hidden tricks that reveal the depth and versatility of Safari. From customizing your browsing experience with ease to leveraging advanced features for web development, Safari offers a range of capabilities waiting to be explored.

As we've journeyed through the customization settings, delved into the world of web development tools, and explored the functionalities that enhance online operations, it's clear that Safari is designed to cater to a wide audience. Whether you're a casual user looking to streamline your browsing experience or a developer seeking to optimize web applications , Safari provides the tools necessary to achieve your goals.

Moreover, the introduction of privacy-focused features like Private Browsing mode underscores Apple's commitment to user security and confidentiality, ensuring that your digital footprint can be managed according to your preferences.

In wrapping up, the exploration of Safari's hidden tricks is just the beginning. As technology evolves and new updates are released, Safari will continue to offer new features and capabilities. We encourage you to experiment with these tricks, discover new ones, and share your findings. The versatility and power of Safari are in your hands, ready to be unlocked and utilized to its full potential. Engage with these features, push the boundaries of your web experience, and redefine what you expect from a browser. Safari is more than just a window to the internet—it's a tool that, when fully leveraged, can enhance productivity, creativity, and privacy in the digital age.

Garima Singh