Like most Apple products, iPhones and other devices have Safari as the default browser. Apple developed Safari and specially designed it for iOS and Mac OS devices. The browser uses the WebKit engine and has undergone several changes and upgrades.
Sometimes you may have noticed that your browser is slowing down, usually due to cookies, caches, browsing history, etc., accumulated over the period. To fix such issues, you must reset the Safari browser periodically. Resetting Safari will wipe out all the cookies, caches, and browsing history.
However, there is no hard reset option built-in with Safari. Therefore you will have to do it manually at different settings levels; you can do it from your iPhone settings or the Safari browser. Both of these methods work fine and will reset your Safari browser completely.
After you have manually reset Safari, you can have a fresh start. You can reset your Safari anytime; there is no set timeline. If you are concerned about your privacy, you should reset the browser frequently, but it varies from person to person.
Reset from iPhone Settings
If privacy is a significant concern, wiping out Safari data from storage is a good way. It will delete entire records and data stored within the browser.
You can wipe the entered browsing data from your iPhone settings app, including cache and cookies; clearing the history and data will reset the Safari browser.
- Open up the iPhone’s Settings app.
- Please scroll down and find the option Safari; tap on it.
- Within the Safari tab, tap on the Clear History and Website Data option at the bottom of the Safari settings page.
- Confirm the Clear History and Data prompt by selecting the command, and the Safari will be reset now.
It will remove the entire browsing history log, cookies, and cache data stored in the Safari browser.
You must sign in to your online account again since the cookies are cleared, and the website does not identify you as an existing user.
Clear Browsing History
You can delete the browsing history to retain the current sign-in and data. You can wipe the data from the last hour to your All-time browsing history.
Follow these steps to reset the browser history:
- Launch the Safari app.
- Tap on the Bookmark
icon located at the bottom-right of the screen.
- To visit the History tab, select the Clock icon on the Safari bookmark page.
- Now, hit the option at the bottom.
- Select the option from the drop-down list, and the Safari browser will be reset.
This will only delete the History from the Safari browser. Based on your selection, whether you want to clear all-time data or just a few days, you can choose and remove it from browsing history records.
Reset iPhone Content and Settings
This could sound very tiring as you have to take a complete backup of photos, videos, messages, etc. However, resetting your iPhone will also reset any system apps, which include the Safari browser.
If you’re worried about any third-party web-based virus or malware, like removing search marquis, this is the best way to eliminate them.
Follow the steps for a complete reset of your iPhone device:
- Open the Settings app
- Navigate to the General settings tab.
- Scroll down and see a command option.
- Choose the Erase All Content and Settings options.
This might take some time based on device data and storage occupancy.
Bottom Line
Safari is a decent browser, but if history and other data are stored too long on your device, it may ruin your browsing experience and become laggy.
Also, many third-party websites are installing cryptocurrency mining scripts into your browser, which can make your iPhone comparably slow and vulnerable. I faced this attack when one of my computer engineer friends told me about such scripts.
Thanks to these methods, I could reset the Safari browser and all such suspicious scripts.
If you’re also facing lag or performance issues while using the Safari browser on your iPhone, you could fix it by following the above methods. However, I wouldn’t suggest the last method of complete device reset unless necessary.
Lastly, if you've any thoughts or feedback on How to Reset Safari Browser on iPhone/iPad, then feel free to drop in below comment box. You can also report the outdated information.
