The Apple Safari browser on iPhone and iPad has a feature that automatically downloads the page which is added to the reading list. However, if you do not want to download all the pages added to the reading list, you can disable a toggle button, which is present on the settings page. These downloaded reading list pages help in offline reading.

The reading list is beneficial for keeping the stuff bookmarked and reminds you where to read from in the future. For example, if we find any blog post or article interesting, we can quickly add it to the reading list for offline access.
You can use the feature reading list iPhone in conjunction with the bookmarks. However, the main difference is the ability to download the reading list pages.
I do a lot of reading online and browse numerous articles simultaneously. The reading list iPhone on the Safari browser always comes in handy for me.
One of the benefits of adding articles or web pages to the reading list is to have the document available offline. By default, Safari has enabled the option to auto-download the reading list. However, you can control whether to download it or not.
Save Reading List Offline
Safari offers a feature called the reading list. It enables the offline download of the website pages on the Safari browser for iPhones and iPad.
Here are the steps to save pages in the reading list:
- Open the Settings app on the iPhone or iPad.
- Scroll down and choose the Safari menu from the Settings page.
- Scroll down and toggle to enable the Automatically Save Offline option.
This will automatically download all the pages and files within the page added to the reading list. The safari reading list is synced within the iCloud account. Hence, anything added to the iPhone reading list from your other iCloud signed-in devices will be auto-downloaded.
You can disable the toggle button to stop offline downloading for future reading list articles. If you add an article link on the safari mac computer, it’s also added to Safari iOS since the reading list is synced with the iCloud account.
Bottom Line
The Safari browser has this fantastic feature that lets you download the reading list to keep it offline. However, you can enable or disable the reading list auto-download per your needs.
I keep the download option enabled to keep the offline pages accessible, and I like to read the articles when I am off-network. The download reading article is no different than online articles. It helps me stay productive even when I’m in a no-network zone.
Similarly, you can also manage downloads on the Safari Mac computer. Safari browser can either allow or block downloads from specific websites.
What do you think about auto-downloading the reading list in the Safari app? Also, what is your current setting for the safari reading list download?
Lastly, if you've any thoughts or feedback, then feel free to drop in below comment box. You can also report the outdated information.