Some websites hand Safari a theme color and the tab bar picks it up, so your normally gray Safari suddenly looks tinted. Nothing is broken. It is a display option in Safari, and you can switch it off.
The switch lives in Safari Settings under Tabs. Here is where to find it, where to look on other macOS versions, and what to check if the color comes back.
In this guide, I have covered:
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Why does the Safari tab bar change color on some sites?
You’re on a website and the tab bar shifts from its usual gray to that site’s color. Some sites hand Safari a theme color or a page background color, and Safari uses it for the tab bar when the option is switched on. Nothing is broken. No site has taken over your browser.
The switch belongs to Safari, not to the individual website. Apple documents it as Show color in tab bar in the Safari Tabs settings guide.
Turn off website colors in the Safari tab bar
A tinted tab bar is what brought you here, and this is the switch that stops it. It applies to all of Safari, so every site returns to the normal tab bar, not just the one you noticed.
- Select Safari in the macOS menu bar.
- Select Settings… from the Safari menu.
- Select Tabs in the sidebar.
- Turn off Show color in tab bar.
- Switch to one of the sites that was tinting the tab bar.
The bar should hold Safari’s normal appearance as soon as the page loads. If a tab that was already open still shows the old color, close it and open the site again.
This setting covers every website in Safari. Safari offers no separate control for letting only selected sites change the tab bar color.
What to do if the setting is missing
You open Safari Settings and there is no Show color in tab bar switch where you expected it. The panel has moved between macOS releases, so go by the label rather than by memory of the location.
- Open Safari → Settings….
- Look for Show color in tab bar in the Tabs panel.
- If it is not there, open the Advanced panel.
- Turn off Show color in tab bar if it appears in Advanced.
Still seeing the tint on a site you already had open? Close that tab and load the page fresh. A tab opened before the change can keep the old look until the page reloads.
Check whether the setting is sticking
You turned the switch off, and a day or a macOS update later the tab bar is tinted again. Safari settings can return to a previous state after system updates, so start by confirming the option is still off. The fix for Safari settings that reset after a macOS update covers the usual cause.
- Return to Safari → Settings… → Tabs.
- Confirm that Show color in tab bar is still off.
- Open the affected site in a new tab.
- Compare the tab bar with the color the page uses.
You’ll know it worked when the tab bar keeps Safari’s normal appearance on the exact sites that used to tint it. Colors inside the page still appear, because the website draws those itself. You blocked the tab bar tint, nothing else.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do only certain Safari websites change the tab bar color?
Safari takes the color from the page when Show color in tab bar is on. Sites that define a theme or background color produce a visible change. Plenty of sites do not, which is why the effect can look random.
Can I stop only one website from changing Safari’s tab bar color?
No. Safari’s documented control is global, so turning off Show color in tab bar prevents the effect on every website. A per-site allowance for tab bar coloring is not provided.
Does turning off tab bar coloring affect Safari tab groups?
No. The Show color in tab bar setting controls the color taken from the active webpage, not the ability to use colored tab groups.
Will Safari keep changing the tab bar color after I update a website?
No. A website controls its own page content, but it cannot override Safari’s global Show color in tab bar setting. With the option off, the tab bar keeps its normal appearance.
