Safari provides a quick way to let you access your recently closed tabs. Though this is a very helpful feature as it lets you go back to the tabs that you have just closed, it has the potential to expose your privacy. Just imagine someone getting into Safari without your permission and viewing all the tabs that you have used. Wouldn’t it annoy you to the core? Most probably, it would. Fortunately, you can now clear all recently closed Safari tabs in iOS 18/17 on iPhone and iPad with ease to safeguard your privacy. Keep reading to…
Clean Up All Recently Closed Safari Tabs in iOS 18 and iPadOS 18
To begin with, let’s delve into how this new add-on works!
How does cleaning up recently closed Safari tabs work on iOS and iPadOS?
By default, Safari shows the recently closed tabs right on the start page so that you can go back to any tab you have just used without having to dig deep. From a user experience perspective, this is well-thought-out. On the other side of the coin, it could be a big loophole to your privacy shield and might leave you ashamed with embarrassment – especially after you have browsed something very personal that you would like to keep concealed at all hazards.
In iOS 17, as soon as you close tabs, a Clear All button shows up at the upper-right corner of the screen. Tapping on this button allows you to instantly wipe out all the traces.
This cleanup-all button is fine but is there a way to block the recently closed Safari tabs from showing up on the start page itself? Take a breath! There is a native way to hide the recently closed tabs from the Safari start page. As this button is buried deep into Safari’s menu, most eyes often fail to spot it.
What About the Quick Gesture That Reveals All the Recently Closed Safari Tabs?
When you tap on the tabs icon in Safari on your iPhone, a “+” button appears at the bottom left corner of the screen. Long-pressing this very “+” button reveals a menu with the tabs that you have just closed. This is a pretty smart way to access the removed tabs by keeping the prying eyes in check – to a decent extent.
The reason why this feature is slightly under wraps is that it’s privacy-intrusive and could leave you red-faced in the face of intrusion. Though no one can deny the fact that how handy it feels when you want to go back and check the tabs that you have removed – on the flip side.
Though there is no direct way to block this gesture, iOS offers a reliable workaround. More on this later.
Wipe Out All Recently Closed Safari Tabs on iPhone and iPad
- Navigate to Safari on your iPhone or iPad -> touch and hold onto the tabs icon -> tap on Close All Tabs.
- Next, tap on the Clear All option at the top right corner of the screen and you are good to go!
That’s pretty much it! So, how you can prevent anyone from viewing the recently removed Safari tabs on your iOS or iPadOS. Now that you know how this nifty but important privacy feature functions, make the most of it to shield your privacy.
Stop Recently Closed Safari Tabs from Showing on the Start Page on iOS and iPadOS
- Head over to Safari on your iPhone or iPad -> tap on the tabs icon at the bottom right corner of the screen -> Edit button.
- Now, turn off the toggle next to Recently Closed Tabs and then hit the “X” button at the top right corner of the screen to get out of the menu.
Prevent the Hidden Safari Gesture to Show Recently Closed Tabs on iOS and iPadOS
As I said above, there is no official way to block this insidious Safari gesture from working. Nevertheless, there is now a decent workaround. Since iOS 17 allows you to clear Safari history of the last hour, you can get rid of the browsing history of the last hour to prevent this shortcut from showing the popup of the recent tabs.
- To get it done, go to the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad -> Safari -> Clear History and Website Data -> Under the Tiem Frame section, choose Last Hour -> select the profile which history you want to clean up.
- Ensure that the toggle next to Close All Tabs is selected.
- Finally, hit Clear History and you are done!
Wrapping up…
There you have it, folks! So, that’s you can clean up the recently closed Safari tabs at your on pace. Have any feedback to share? If yes, share it via the comments section below.
