Safari Privacy Settings on iPhone: 6 Switches to Check in 4 Minutes

Safari is where most of us read, shop and sign in on an iPhone. Apple has built strong privacy switches into it, but several of them sit two or three menus deep, and some depend on how you set up your phone. Four minutes in Settings is enough to check all of them.

On recent versions of iOS the Safari settings are under Settings > Apps > Safari. On older versions they are under Settings > Safari. Everything below starts from there.

1. Keep "Prevent Cross-Site Tracking" on

Under Privacy & Security, make sure Prevent Cross-Site Tracking is switched on. It stops ad companies from following you from one website to the next with cookies they place in the background. You stay signed in to the sites you use directly.

2. Hide your IP address from trackers

In the same section, tap Hide IP Address and choose From Trackers. Known tracking companies then see an address that is not yours. If you pay for iCloud+, you may also see an option for websites as well; that one routes your Safari traffic through Apple's Private Relay.

This only covers Safari, and only the trackers Apple knows about. Other apps on your phone still see your normal address.

3. Turn on tracking and fingerprinting protection

Scroll down to Advanced and open Advanced Tracking and Fingerprinting Protection. Choose All Browsing if you see it. Fingerprinting is when a site recognises your phone from small details such as screen size and fonts, without any cookie. This setting removes tracking codes from links and makes those details harder to read.

If a site you trust stops working properly, you can set this back to Private Browsing only.

4. Lock Private Browsing behind Face ID

Under Privacy & Security, turn on Require Face ID to Unlock Private Browsing (or Touch ID, or your passcode). Private tabs then stay closed to anyone who picks up your unlocked phone. Private Browsing itself also does not keep your history, your searches or what you type into forms once you close the tabs.

5. Keep the fraud warning on

Check that Fraudulent Website Warning is on. Safari will warn you before it opens a page known for phishing, the fake sign-in pages that try to steal passwords. It is one of the few protections that works before you type anything.

6. Clear old history and close old tabs by themselves

Under Tabs, set Close Tabs to After One Week or After One Month. Then tap Clear History and Website Data once, choose a time range, and start fresh. Fewer saved pages and logins mean less for anyone to find if they get into your phone.

What a VPN changes, and what it does not

These settings control what websites and trackers learn inside Safari. A VPN works one layer lower: it encrypts the whole connection between your device and the VPN server, for every app, so the owner of the Wi-Fi you are on cannot read what you send, and websites see the VPN server's address instead of yours. It does not stop a site you sign in to from knowing it is you, and it does not replace the switches above. Use both.

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