Safari history is a local record of all the pages we visit over time, but it goes beyond that. When we talk about clearing the history, we're also talking about cleaning caches and deleting all cookies. What implications does this have? When to do it? Let's discuss all of it.
When to clear Safari history
Strictly speaking, the history is simply a list of the pages we have visited—unless using Safari's private browsing— and deleting it wouldn't have a significant impact on the performance of our devices, apart from perhaps freeing up a few megabytes per year.
However, by design, when we decide to clear the history, we are also clearing the cache, which is the memory used by Safari to display saved versions of the web pages we have recently visited. This saves download time and reduces waiting times. Additionally, web page storage is cleared, which is the information that pages store on our devices to function properly. Finally, cookies are deleted, which are pieces of information that identify us and store preferences, such as the language on a web page, or which may allow a certain site to attempt to track us while browsing the web.
With these concepts in mind, it is clearer why we should consider clearing the history:
- Free up space and fix display or performance errors: By clearing the cache and web page storage, we solve possible loading errors and recover some space on our devices.
- Protect our privacy: By removing cookies, we prevent web pages from tracking us and obtaining information about our browsing habits.
- Fix errors: Sometimes, we may want to clear the history to fix errors like those that occur with favorite icons and thumbnails in the reading list.
However, it is important to keep in mind that after clearing, we will have to log back into the websites that interest us.
How to clear Safari history
Clearing Safari history on our iPhone or iPad is really simple. We can do it from the Settings app by following these steps:
- Open the Settings app on our iPhone or iPad.
- Go into Safari.
- Tap on Clear History and Website Data.
- Select the time frame we want to delete, usually All history, and unless we have a specific need, select All Profiles at the bottom.
- If we want to close tabs, activate the corresponding option.
- Tap on Clear History.
When there is no history or website data to delete, this option will turn gray, indicating that the history is clean and our device is ready to resume browsing from scratch.
Safari history stores more than just browsing records; it also includes data on the functioning of the web pages we visit and cookies. Clearing this history from time to time is an important practice to maintain our browsing in optimal conditions, free up space, and protect our privacy online.
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