If you are an iOS user, you must already know about Safari Private Browsing. This is a useful feature that allows you to browse the web in private mode.
If this option is enabled in Safari, it will prevent the browser from storing or tracking your browsing history, cookies, and caches. It’s a great feature for fans of online privacy.
But there are times when you want to browse the web outside the private mode. In this case, you will have to disable the Safari Private Browsing option.
If you want to know how to turn off private browsing on iPhone/iPad, this guide is for you. But before that, let’s learn a few things about Safari Private Browsing.
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What is Safari Private Browsing?
Safari Private Browsing offers a more private browsing experience. Enabling this feature will log you out of all your accounts.
It will also prevent Safari from auto-filling user passwords, logins, or payment details.
If you enable the private mode, Safari won’t track your search engine history, browsing activities, and websites that you have visited.
However, Safari Private Browsing is not as private as you might think. Even if you enable this option, it cannot prevent websites from knowing who you are and what you are doing.
Understand that private browsing Safari iPhone is different from ‘anonymous.’ It will not store web data or cookies, but it will still show your online identity to websites.
A truly anonymous browser will leave no trace of your browsing history and hide the origin of the web browsing session as well.
Unfortunately, you cannot achieve that level of privacy with Safari Private Browsing.
The private mode in Safari is only good for browsing the internet without leaving cookies, caches, and web data locally on your iPad or iPhone. You shouldn’t expect anything more from it.
The private browsing feature in Safari can come in handy in various situations.
For example, when you don’t want others to know what you are browsing.
Advantages Of Safari Private Browsing
Although Safari Private Browsing doesn’t offer the highest level of online security, it does its job perfectly. The main advantages of using this feature are:
- It stops Safari from storing user logins, usernames, payment details, passwords, and other information that you input in private browsing.
- It will also log you out of all your accounts and stop the auto-fill function.
- It will make Safari forget any search engine queries made by users in private mode.
- It will stop Safari from remembering the websites visited by users.
- It will avoid marketing cookies that might spike the prices of products on shopping websites.
It should be noted that Safari Private Browsing will not hide your IP address, secure public Wi-Fi connection, or encrypt online traffic.
So even if you have this feature enabled on your device, it will not provide 100% online protection.
For true online privacy and protection, you will need to use Safari Private Browsing with a VPN. We will discuss this later in the post.
How to Turn Off Private Browsing On iOS
Instead, of completely disabling private browsing on your iPhone, you can turn it off for a particular browsing session.
Here’s what you need to do:
- Launch the Safari app and tap the Tabs button located in the corner.
- Select “Private” to exit the private browsing mode.
Once you turn off the private browsing feature, Safari will track your browsing history and cookies.
It will also store cache from websites that you visit. The good thing is you have the option to delete all that information if needed.
How to completely turn off private browsing mode on iPhone and iPad?
If you are one of those users who want to truly disable private browsing Safari iPhones, you are in the right place.
In this section, we will tell you the steps to completely turn off the private browsing mode on your iOS device.
Here are the steps to follow:
- Launch the “Settings” app on your iPhone or iPad.
- Go to the “General” section and tap “Screen Time.” Then select the option “Restrictions.” If you are using an older iOS version, you will go directly from General to Restrictions.
- Select “Enable Restrictions.”
- Next, you will be asked to enter a passcode. Make sure to remember the passcode as you will need it later.
- Scroll down to the option “Websites” and select the option “Limit Adult Content.”
This will cause Safari to activate a web filter. This is the side-effect you have to deal with to completely disable private browsing in Safari for iOS.
Once the filter is on, you will no longer see the “Private” button in the Safari tabs view.
After everything is done, open the Safari browser to see if the new changes are applied.
The first thing you will notice is that the “Private” button is missing. This means you cannot use the Private mode at all.
However, you will have to deal with an adult content filter which is the result of disabling Private mode.
For most parents, employers, and educators, restricting adult content is probably a good thing.
How to use Safari Private Browsing on an iPhone/iPad?
Using incognito mode iPhone or iPad is simple. However, the steps might vary depending on the iOS version you are using.
If you are using iOS 14 or earlier, you should follow these steps:
- Open the Safari browser app on your iOS device.
- Tap the “Tabs” button in the bottom-right corner of the window.
- Select the option “Private” as soon as it appears.
- This will take you to a blank screen confirming that Private Browsing Mode is on.
- Now launch a private browsing window by clicking on the “+” icon.
If you are using iOS 15.1.1, the steps will be slightly different for you. No worries, we have got you covered.
Follow the instructions below and you will be good to go:
- Launch the Safari app on your device.
- Go to the “Tabs” button and click on it.
- Tap “X Tabs.” This shows the number of windows that you have opened.
- Select “Private.”
- This will enable the Private Browsing mode.
- Now click on the “+” icon to launch a new private browsing window.
If you click the “Private” button again, it will turn off private browsing in Safari for iOS devices.
If you have more than one tab open, they won’t close automatically. You will have to swipe each tab to exit the private mode.
Use A VPN With Safari Private Browsing
Now that you know how to go incognito on iPhone, let’s take things a notch higher. In this section, we will learn how to use a VPN with Safari Private Browsing.
Using a VPN with Safari incognito will give you the ultimate online security you are looking for.
It will not only hide search history and logged browsing history, but will also make it difficult to track your identity.
By opting for this method, you can enjoy a greater level of anonymity online.
Here are the steps you need to follow:
- Select a VPN of your choice. It is recommended you choose a paid VPN service as they are more reliable than non-paid ones.
You should opt for top VPNs like ExpressVPN, CyberGhost VPN, etc.
- Download and install the VPN on your iPhone/iPad.
- Now sign into your account.
- Select the desired VPN server in your country. If you are all about online security, then the location doesn’t matter.
But if you wish to expand your streaming possibilities, then choosing the right location is important.
- Connect to the selected VPN server.
- Once the connection is established, your IP address will mirror the IP of your VPN server.
Using VPN is legal in many countries. It provides greater online security, which is better than Safari Private Browsing alone.
Why should you use Safari Private Browsing on iOS?
According to a research study, the most common reason people use private browsing is to prevent others that are using a shared device to see what they are doing online.
This helps them to protect two things – browsing history and personal data.
Thankfully, Safari Private Browsing can do both of these things wonderfully. We have already discussed how to turn on private browsing on iPhone, so you can use this feature with ease.
How does Safari Private Browsing improve online privacy?
Now let us explain how Safari Private Browsing helps improve online privacy.
- With Safari Private Browsing enabled on your device, you can visit any website and the browser won’t remember anything.
This allows you to access embarrassing or other inappropriate websites that you don’t want your friends or family members to know.
- Your search engine queries will not be saved. Normally, search engines will show suggested searches.
Based on your past clicks and searches, some links might be colored purple too. All these things won’t happen if you have Safari Private Browsing on.
- Safari will no longer auto-fill or suggest passwords, usernames, or payment card details.
If you ask your device to remember these details, it will auto-fill in the next time you visit the website.
But with the Safari Private Browsing mode on, this kind of detail will not be stored.
How to pay less with Safari Private Browsing?
Safari Private Browsing can help you save money. Yes, you read that right!
When you visit an online shopping site more than once, cookies are saved on your device by your browser. In this case, Safari browser.
These kinds of cookies allow the website to figure out what you are interested in. This in turn causes the website to increase the prices of the products.
For example, flight tickets and hotel booking fees.
However, enabling Safari Private Browsing will prevent the browser from storing website cookies. This way you can avoid hiked prices.
Conclusion
Safari Private Browsing on iPhone and iPad is a useful feature. It allows you to maintain a decent level of online privacy while browsing the internet.
However, if you want to disable the private browsing feature, you should follow the steps explained in this post.
Disabling private browsing will activate an adult content filter in the Safari browser. This is the side-effect you have to deal with for disabling private browsing.
Follow the steps explained in this post and you will be good to go.
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