Safari is the default web browser on iPhone, iPad and Mac and features advanced capabilities such as iCloud Tabs and Focus Mode for simple yet advanced usage.
Intelligent Tracking Prevention provides industry-leading privacy protection. Upgrading to iCloud+ adds even greater protection, and Safari extensions enable you to personalize the browser experience.
Features
Safari, Apple’s web browser built into their operating systems (macOS and iOS), uses WebKit engine. Known for being one of the first browsers to introduce features such as web fusion with Apple Dashboard, distraction-free Reader mode, search by history. In addition, it’s well-regarded for its excellent security measures like Intelligent Tracking Prevention which prevents websites from tracking your browsing across websites via machine learning without providing you with control over what they do with your data. This feature was introduced in 2017.
Safari provides many useful features, including the ability to preempt camera, microphone and location prompts by always permitting or disallowing these permissions for specific websites. In addition, Safari gives you the option of clearing browsing history after closing a Safari window from within a specified timeframe and includes built-in password management through Keychain.
As with other modern browsers, Safari supports extension development. This enables developers to add various new functions to the browser; however, it should be remembered that extensions can sometimes be dangerous and should always be used with caution.
Safari provides many extensions that are designed to protect you, such as ad-blockers and privacy tools; some even help enhance performance by decreasing memory usage.
Safari provides another helpful feature with its Look Up function, allowing you to highlight words or objects and receive additional information about them automatically. To use it, navigate to any website or article online and click the Look up icon.
Safari’s sandboxing technology protects users against third-party apps making unauthorized changes to the browser and other parts of their system, thereby shielding against malware which might otherwise attack. Safari is currently the only major web browser to offer this type of protection.
Safari is also unique among major browsers in that it supports website push notifications, meaning that updates on news stories, sports scores, or your favorite websites will arrive directly in the background on Safari browser and other apps you have installed on your phone or other devices allowing you to stay up-to-date. It’s an effective way of staying informed.
Security
Apple has always prioritized privacy, and their browser takes many measures to safeguard user data. Packed full of features designed to prevent websites from tracking you and have an impressive track record (excluding recent missteps ).
Intelligent Tracking Prevention is Safari’s main feature. This keeps tabs on your browsing history and blocks cross-site tracking, while helping protect from malicious software by making sure every web page has an encrypted connection; otherwise it alerts the user if a website doesn’t comply.
Another feature available through Safari is its Privacy Report, which shows all sites that track your browsing behavior as well as those which try to connect to your device over insecure connections. Accessible via its Smart Search field at the top, this report gives an excellent snapshot of just how much data is being shared about you online.
iCloud Keychain is an attractive feature, storing passwords and other sensitive information safely in an encrypted store on your device. This allows for one login across all iCloud devices; Safari remembers your passwords automatically as you browse – Mac computers with Touch ID allow fingerprint authentication for additional protection against accidental autofill of usernames and passwords as you go!
Safari provides tab-specific protection, so malware that infiltrates one tab cannot spread to others sites or apps. Furthermore, when using Private browsing mode Safari doesn’t store history or cookies.
Additionally, other security features include a setting that blocks websites from accessing an iPhone’s motion and orientation sensor, helping protect against bad actors recording your movements while browsing. On iPads, websites may use microphone or camera without your express permission;
Apple claims that Safari is the premier browser when it comes to protecting user privacy, with features like sandboxing (putting suspicious software into a virtual container that makes it hard for hackers to break out), as well as permissions that let you control which features are used by websites.
Reader mode
Internet browsing can be overwhelming, making it hard to focus and remember what you read. Most browsers offer a reader mode that strips out extra images and ads for easier reading – here’s how you can activate this feature on some of the world’s top browsers.
Safari allows users to switch into Reader View by either clicking a page icon in the URL bar (Mac and iOS devices) or selecting it from the menu. Not only will Reader View remove distracting elements, it also enables you to customize its formatting; font size, background colors and more can all be adjusted as per personal taste – adding table of contents and link list can further streamline navigation!
This mode can be useful for people with mobility issues who require to remove distractions from web pages, as well as test readability of websites and identify elements which could cause issues.
Google Chrome conceals its own reader mode, but you can activate it with just a simple flag. In order to activate it, version 75 or later of Chrome must be running, and to check which version it is visit chrome://flags/#enable-reader-mode Once activated you will see a button next to both search and address bars that when clicked will open a website in simplified reader view mode.
Reader Mode Plugin for Chrome provides a distraction-free reading experience with its wide array of useful features like Reader Mode Layout, Estimated Reading Time, Translation, Text to Speech and Reading Progress Bar. It is an invaluable asset to content marketers who aim to attract more visitors by giving them an enhanced reading experience.
This feature is available across all Apple devices – iPad and Mac included – and makes reading long articles or blogs much simpler, supporting dyslexia while taking notes, highlighting important text, translating to different languages, sharing webpages through social media or email, as well as being used offline!
Private browsing
Most major web browsers provide users with an option for privacy browsing, also known as incognito or private browsing. This mode can be especially helpful if you need to research something for school or work and don’t want your significant other seeing what results come up; or when watching movie trailers on YouTube; without it impacting recommendations that may come your way next time around.
Private browsing differs across browsers, but generally erases cookies and information from websites visited during a session. Furthermore, it keeps Safari from synching your browsing history with any Apple devices you own.
Note, though, when using Safari’s private browsing mode that it only protects against people who have physical access to your computer (for example ISPs, employers or schools that require login credentials to use their computers) but does not prevent tracking by websites nor prevent leaving behind fingerprinting data that can identify your device even without cookies being present.
Safari provides private browsing mode by changing its address bar and buttons from blue to black, making opening new private windows much simpler. Just click the button in the upper-right corner or use Command + Shift + N to launch a private browsing session; once finished, Safari will close automatically but reopening any that have previously closed will simply require clicking back or pressing Command + Shift + N again.
Keep in mind when using private browsing that it may not always be clear whether or not your browser is actually in private mode; the buttons won’t reveal this fact and some websites still track your activities behind-the-scenes, even if they’re invisible in your browser. To avoid this possibility altogether, consider switching up browsers or taking other measures for increased privacy.
