How to Disable Private Browsing in Safari on iPhone or iPad: Quick Guide

PDF download Download Article

Block or turn off Safari's private browsing feature on your iPhone

PDF download Download Article

Trying to disable the private browsing feature in Safari on an iPhone? You can do so easily by using the built-in content restrictions settings. If you're just trying to turn off private browsing and get back to normal browsing, you can switch modes directly in the Safari app. This wikiHow guide will show you how to turn off or permanently disable Private Browsing on an iPhone or iPad.

Things You Should Know

  • To turn off private browsing, open Safari, tap the tabs button, and tap Private to switch to normal browsing.
  • To disable private browsing, go to Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions > Content Restrictions > Web Content.
  • On the Web Content page, select "Limit Adult Websites" to disable private browsing.
Method 1
Method 1 of 2:

Switching Back to Regular Browsing

PDF download Download Article
  1. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/7\/78\/Disable-Private-Browsing-on-iPhone-Step-1.jpg\/v4-460px-Disable-Private-Browsing-on-iPhone-Step-1.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/7\/78\/Disable-Private-Browsing-on-iPhone-Step-1.jpg\/v4-728px-Disable-Private-Browsing-on-iPhone-Step-1.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fair_use\">Fair Use<\/a> (screenshot)<br>\n<\/p><\/div>"}
    It's a blue and red compass on one of your home screen pages. This method turns off private browsing and takes you back to normal browsing. [1]
  2. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/5\/58\/Disable-Private-Browsing-on-iPhone-Step-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Disable-Private-Browsing-on-iPhone-Step-2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/5\/58\/Disable-Private-Browsing-on-iPhone-Step-2.jpg\/v4-728px-Disable-Private-Browsing-on-iPhone-Step-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fair_use\">Fair Use<\/a> (screenshot)<br>\n<\/p><\/div>"}
    It's two overlapping squares in the bottom right of Safari.
    Advertisement
  3. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/5\/5a\/Disable-Private-Browsing-on-iPhone-Step-3.jpg\/v4-460px-Disable-Private-Browsing-on-iPhone-Step-3.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/5\/5a\/Disable-Private-Browsing-on-iPhone-Step-3.jpg\/v4-728px-Disable-Private-Browsing-on-iPhone-Step-3.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fair_use\">Fair Use<\/a> (screenshot)<br>\n<\/p><\/div>"}
    It's at the bottom of the tabs page.
  4. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/1\/19\/Disable-Private-Browsing-on-iPhone-Step-4.jpg\/v4-460px-Disable-Private-Browsing-on-iPhone-Step-4.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/1\/19\/Disable-Private-Browsing-on-iPhone-Step-4.jpg\/v4-728px-Disable-Private-Browsing-on-iPhone-Step-4.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fair_use\">Fair Use<\/a> (screenshot)<br>\n<\/p><\/div>"}
    This will take you back to normal browsing in Safari. Note that any private tabs you have open won't close automatically when switching browsing modes.
    • This will be called Start Page if you don't have any tabs open in the normal browsing mode.
    • Private mode doesn't record your browsing history. For normal browsing mode, you can delete your browsing history if needed.
    5. Advertisement
Method 2
Method 2 of 2:

Disabling Private Browsing Permanently

PDF download Download Article
  1. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/4\/4d\/Disable-Private-Browsing-on-iPhone-Step-5.jpg\/v4-460px-Disable-Private-Browsing-on-iPhone-Step-5.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/4\/4d\/Disable-Private-Browsing-on-iPhone-Step-5.jpg\/v4-728px-Disable-Private-Browsing-on-iPhone-Step-5.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fair_use\">Fair Use<\/a> (screenshot)<br>\n<\/p><\/div>"}
    It's a gray gear icon on one of your home screen pages.
    • This method uses the built-in content and privacy restriction features to limit access to adult websites. This setting turns off the ability to use private browsing in Safari. Note that this will also prevent the user from accessing most websites with adult content.
  2. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/4\/46\/Disable-Private-Browsing-on-iPhone-Step-6.jpg\/v4-460px-Disable-Private-Browsing-on-iPhone-Step-6.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/4\/46\/Disable-Private-Browsing-on-iPhone-Step-6.jpg\/v4-728px-Disable-Private-Browsing-on-iPhone-Step-6.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fair_use\">Fair Use<\/a> (screenshot)<br>\n<\/p><\/div>"}
    It has a purple and white hourglass icon. [2]
  3. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/d\/d8\/Disable-Private-Browsing-on-iPhone-Step-7.jpg\/v4-460px-Disable-Private-Browsing-on-iPhone-Step-7.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/d\/d8\/Disable-Private-Browsing-on-iPhone-Step-7.jpg\/v4-728px-Disable-Private-Browsing-on-iPhone-Step-7.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fair_use\">Fair Use<\/a> (screenshot)<br>\n<\/p><\/div>"}
    If you have set up restrictions before, you'll be prompted to enter your Screen Time password. If you haven't, you'll be taken to the restrictions page immediately.
  4. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/1\/1b\/Disable-Private-Browsing-on-iPhone-Step-8.jpg\/v4-460px-Disable-Private-Browsing-on-iPhone-Step-8.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/1\/1b\/Disable-Private-Browsing-on-iPhone-Step-8.jpg\/v4-728px-Disable-Private-Browsing-on-iPhone-Step-8.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fair_use\">Fair Use<\/a> (screenshot)<br>\n<\/p><\/div>"}
    If you haven't set up restrictions in the past, you'll need to turn the feature on now.
  5. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/a\/a4\/Disable-Private-Browsing-on-iPhone-Step-9.jpg\/v4-460px-Disable-Private-Browsing-on-iPhone-Step-9.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/a\/a4\/Disable-Private-Browsing-on-iPhone-Step-9.jpg\/v4-728px-Disable-Private-Browsing-on-iPhone-Step-9.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fair_use\">Fair Use<\/a> (screenshot)<br>\n<\/p><\/div>"}
  6. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/5\/59\/Disable-Private-Browsing-on-iPhone-Step-10.jpg\/v4-460px-Disable-Private-Browsing-on-iPhone-Step-10.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/5\/59\/Disable-Private-Browsing-on-iPhone-Step-10.jpg\/v4-728px-Disable-Private-Browsing-on-iPhone-Step-10.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fair_use\">Fair Use<\/a> (screenshot)<br>\n<\/p><\/div>"}
  7. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/6\/65\/Disable-Private-Browsing-on-iPhone-Step-11.jpg\/v4-460px-Disable-Private-Browsing-on-iPhone-Step-11.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/6\/65\/Disable-Private-Browsing-on-iPhone-Step-11.jpg\/v4-728px-Disable-Private-Browsing-on-iPhone-Step-11.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fair_use\">Fair Use<\/a> (screenshot)<br>\n<\/p><\/div>"}
    A checkmark will appear next to the option. You're done! There will no longer be a Private option in Safari.
    • Note that this will also prevent you from accessing most websites with adult content.
    8. Advertisement

Expert Q&A

Ask a Question
200 characters left
Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.
Submit
      Advertisement

      Tips

      Submit a Tip
      All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published
      Submit
      Thanks for submitting a tip for review!
      Advertisement

      You Might Also Like

      2 Easy Ways to Check Your Safari Search History
      How to
      Unblock Websites on Safari
      Simple Steps to Change Your General Preferences on Safari
      2 Simple Ways to Bookmark a Website in Safari
      Simple Ways to Open Safari in Full-Screen Every Time on Mac
      2 Simple Ways to Clear Safari Search History
      2 Easy Ways to Delete Cookies Using the Safari Web Browser
      How to
      Block a Website in Safari
      3 Easy Ways to Transfer and Import Bookmarks with Safari
      How to
      Enable Cookies in Safari
      How to
      Change Your Start Page on Safari
      How to
      Change Safari Settings on iPhone or iPad
      Simple Ways to Remove Frequently Visited on Safari: Mac, iPhone + iPad
      How to Disable the Safari Pop-Up Blocker: Quick Step-by-Step Tutorial
      Advertisement

      References

      1. ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203036
      2. ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201304

      About This Article

      In other languages
      Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 108,936 times.

      Is this article up to date?

      Advertisement