How to Use Private Browsing on Safari for Mac Users

Click here if you wish to learn How to Use Private Browsing on Safari for Mac Users.

Private browsing in Safari is a little different than in other browsers. Safari now offers tracking protection in addition to not recording your online browsing history.

This will prevent sections of websites from tracking your browser history across various websites.

Have you ever gone to a travel website to conduct some research for a vacation and then saw advertisements for the same location when browsing other websites?

As you browse, you are being monitored. When you’re using Safari in private mode, this won’t happen.

In this article, MacSecurity will show you how to use private browsing on Safari for Mac users so you stay invisible online.

What is Safari Private Browsing Mode?

Private Browsing in Safari works by creating a new private session for each new tab you open. These temporary private sessions are completely isolated from one another as well as from your primary browsing session.

This means: You won’t be signed into your Google Account on any of your other devices. Your search history, browsing and forms will not be logged or stored offline to be synced later between devices.

Sent information as well as passwords also aren't saved when you are browsing privately . Anyone else who uses the same device won't be able to see where you went or what you did while there and since it creates a separate session, no activity will show on your iCloud account either!

How to Use Private Browsing on Safari for Mac Users

How do you Enable and Use Private Mode in Safari on a Mac

To enable private browsing in Safari, click New Private Window from the File menu at the top left.

How to Open a Link in Private Browsing Mode on Safari

You can also open specific links in private mode by following these steps:

To open a context menu, right-click the link on the current web page. On Mac, you have to hold the Ctrl key when right-clicking on the link.
Select Open Link Private Window

The link’s destination page should be displayed in a private tab or window. To be sure you’re in Private mode, look for the purple and white mask in the page’s title bar.

How to Automatically Use Private Browsing on Edge for Mac

In the Safari app on your Mac, choose Safari > Preferences, then click General.
Click the “Safari opens with” pop-up menu, then choose “A new private window”.

If you don’t see this option, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click General , then make sure “Close windows when quitting an app” is selected.

How to Close Private Browsing on Mac and Windows

In the Safari app on your Mac, close the private window, switch to a non-private Safari window, or choose File > New Window to open a non-private window.

How to Use a Private Browser on Safari for iPhone's and iPad's

Safari for iOS is a sleek and customizable app that offers plenty of privacy and security for a safe browsing experience. In order to open a private browser window on Safari for iPhone, you’d have to follow these steps.

Open Safari on your iPhone or iPod touch.
Tap the Tabs button .
Tap Tabs to show the Tab Groups list.
Tap Private , then tap Done.

If you’re looking to close the private window in Safari, you will have to open the tabs icon and then tap on the private tab and close the tab that is open.

Bonus Content -- How to Use a Private Browser on Safari for Android Devices

Quite similar to the iOS flow, you can start a private browsing session on your Android device by following a few steps:

Open the Safari app by tapping on the icon. Once the app opens, click on the Switch tab icon and select Private Tab.
Search for the web address by entering it in the address bar. Whatever you open will be in private and no cookies or site data gets stored.

You can switch between the private browser and the standard Safari browser window by tapping on the numeric icon near the address bar.

Click on the switch tab icon to view the list of private tabs that are open and tap on the square to pull up the standard browser tabs that are open in the background.

You are able to close private windows by tapping on the X next to each open tab. Similarly, tapping on the vertical three dots at the top of the page will let you close all private browsers in one go.

What data Is not stored while using the Safari private browser?

During a browsing session, Safari saves a lot of information on your computer.

A lot of this data is either never kept locally or immediately deleted when you close a private tab or window when Private Browsing mode is enabled.

This is useful when using a shared computer to browse the internet.

At the end of a Safari Private Browsing session, the following data is not left behind:

Download history
Browsing history
Cache
Cookies
Search bar keywords
Saved passwords

The one thing that will not get deleted automatically is the downloaded files and the autofill data. These will have to be manually deleted once you're done with your browsing session.

Is Safari Private Browser Really Private?

Incognito or private mode will keep your local surfing secret, but your ISP, school, or workplace will still be able to see where you’ve been online. In reality, regardless of what you do, your ISP has access to all of your surfing behavior.

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) service, on the other hand, is an option. VPN services route traffic through remote servers, giving the impression that you’re browsing from another or several locations.

However, because VPN providers can watch your online behavior, it’s important to select a business you can trust to either delete or lock down your browsing history. Advertisers’ third-party cookies will not be blocked by VPNs, but such cookies will be unable to properly identify your location, making ad trackers less effective.

How to enable private browsing in Safari?

Click on the menu tab and then press on Private Window to open a private browser. The change in color from white to black and the large notification on the screen that reads “Private Mode” shows you that you’re currently browsing in private mode and none of your online data is being tracked.

Can I view my Private Browsing history on my iPhone?

Unfortunately, yes you can view your private browsing history on your iPhone. To check out what websites were opened in private on your iPhone, follow these steps:

Open Settings on your iPhone and locate Safari app
Scroll down and click on Advanced.

You will find a Website Data option, swiping left on it will pull up your browsing history including in private browsing history.

Can I recover an accidentally closed private tab in Safari?

Since the tab opened was private, there’s no way to retrieve or restore the tab if it’s closed.

You can only reopen a closed tab if you’re using the regular browsing mode and for private browsing you will have to reopen the tab again and reenter the website URL to continue where you left off.

Takeaway

Overall, Safari’s implementation of private browsing is excellent in terms of privacy and security, and it is highly recommended for anyone who needs to keep their browsing history hidden.

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