Create and Manage Tab Groups in Safari on iPhone & iPad

The Apple Safari browser introduces the Tab Groups feature that helps in effectively managing the open or active tabs. Users can segregate the open tabs into a group based on type or categories. We can create, move, rename, and delete the tab groups based on our need. The feature even allows you to favorite/bookmark the tab group and launch the favorites folder as a tab group.

Many of us have this knack of keeping multiple tabs opened simultaneously inside the browser window. While it’s excellent from the multi-tasking point of view, it gets challenging to manage all these tabs efficiently.

Moreover, finding the desired one from the crowds is no easy task in itself. Well, this is where Safari’s Tab Group feature comes in handy.

It allows you to create groups based on a particular subject and then send all the tabs to their respective groups.

For example, you could create a News Group and send all the news-related tabs to that group, have one for multimedia and send the Netflix and YouTube tabs under that roof, and so on.

All this leads to the neat segregation of tabs based on their category and would help you find the desired tabs within seconds. So with such a long list of benefits attached, it’s no hidden secret why users want to try it out immediately.

This guide will help you begin with Safari Tab Groups if you echo the same thought process. This tutorial will show detailed instructions to create and manage tab groups in the Safari browser on iOS and iPadOS.

Create a New Tab Group

We can create multiple tab groups and assign unlimited tabs within a group. It helps categorize similar tabs within a group and identify with a name. Here are the steps to create a new tab group:

1. Launch the Safari app on your device.
2. Tap on the Tabs at the bottom right.
   It shall open the tabs menu. 
3. Tap on the # Tabs button in the bottom center.
   It will open the Tabs option in Safari.
4. Select the New Empty Tab Group to create a blank tab group.
   
5. Enter New Tab Group a name and hit on Save.

That’s it; you have successfully created a new tab group on your iPhone/iPad.

Alternatively, you can choose the New Tab Group from # Tabs option to send all the currently opened tabs to a group.

Send/Move Tabs to a Group

If we have created multiple tabs and need to move the tab from one group to another, we can use the Move to Tab Group feature.

Here are the steps to move tabs from one Tab Group:

1. Launch the Safari app on your iPhone/iPad.
2. Open the tab that you wish to shift.
3. Tap and hold the Tabs at the bottom right of the browser screen.
   It shall bring up that Tabs associated menu.
4. Select the Move to Tab Group option.
   It will display the list of existing tab groups and the option to create a new group.
5. Select the desired Tab Groups from the list.

That’s it; it will move the current tab into the selected group. Please note that we can send only one tab at a time, and it doesn’t support multi-tab selection to move between tab groups.

Rename a Tab Group

The name given to the tab group is not permanent. We can rename the tab group anytime per our needs. It’s best used to improvise the tab groups for different usages. Here are the steps to rename the existing Tab Group:

1. Launch the Safari app on your device.
2. Tap on the Tabs at the bottom right.
3. Tap on the Tab Group name in the center.
   It will display the list of existing tab groups and browser tabs options.
4. Tap and hold the Tab Group you desire to rename.
5. Select the Rename option from the context menu.
   
6. Change the Tab Group name and hit on the Save button.

That’s it. It will rename the tab group to the new title. Check back the Tab Group window to see the group’s new Name.

Reorder Tab Groups

The tab groups are available in the order they are created; however, we can reorder them per our needs. If you need a specific important tab group at the top, then we can slide the tab group to the desired position.

Here are the steps to Reorder the Tab Groups:

1. Launch the Safari browser on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap on the Tabs at the bottom right.
3. Tap on the Tab Group name in the center. It will display the list of existing tab groups and browser tabs options.
4. Tap on the Edit option situated at the top left.
   It shall open the tab groups in editor mode.
5. Slide the Move bar  to reorder the Tab Groups position.
6. Hit the Done button to save the reorder.

You can move the Safari Tab Group position to within the tab groups list and set the priority.

Close All Tabs in a Tab Group

We can close the individual tab within a group; however, the Safari Tab group feature allows us to close all the tabs in one shot. It will not delete the Tab Group but remove all the tabs within the group.

Here are the steps to close all the tabs within Tab Group:

1. Launch the Safari app on your iOS/iPadOS.
2. Tap and hold the Tabs at the bottom right of the browser screen.
   It shall bring up that Tabs associated menu.
3. Select the Close All # Tabs command.

It will close all the tabs within the group without destroying the Tab Group. You can further open new tabs and keep them active within the group.

Delete a Tab Group

If you need to close all the tabs and delete the tab group, perhaps we can use the Delete command within the tab group.

Here are the steps to permanently delete a group:

1. Open the Safari browser app on your device.
2. Tap on the Tabs at the bottom right.
3. Tap on the Tab Group name in the center.
   It will display the list of existing tab groups and browser tabs options.
4. Tap and hold the Tab Group you desire to delete.
5. Select the Delete command from the context menu.
6. Hit the Delete button on the confirmation dialog box.

That’s it. The tab group is deleted from the Safari browser.

Note: All the associated tabs within the group will also be closed when you delete the tab group in the Safari browser.

Bottom Line

We round off the guide on how you could create and manage tab groups in the Safari browser on iOS and iPadOS.

Likewise, we have also listed the steps to transfer tabs from one group to another, rename and reorder them, close tabs from a group, or bid farewell to the entire group at once.

The new addition to the Safari browser will surely go to a great length in helping you to manage all your opened tabs effectively. In fact that it also spells out a decluttered UI to the tabs menu and subsequently to the entire browser interface as a whole.

If you have any queries concerning the instructions mentioned above on Safari Tab Groups feature usages, do let us know.

Lastly, if you've any thoughts or feedback, then feel free to drop in below comment box. You can also report the outdated information.