Safari for iOS has got a range of tricks to make web browsing faster, more efficient and secure. But then again, you’ve got to master all those goodies to get the most out of the web browser.

If you think that you are yet to take full advantage of Apple’s web browser, this hands-on video guide covering as many as 28 iOS Safari tips for iPhone and iPad can take you through.

Whether you are into more personalization or willing to cut down the unnecessary steps to speed up web browsing, chances are high that you will get some cool tricks fully-geared towards your needs. So, let’s get started!

#1. 3D Touch the Safari App Icon

Right at the top in this long roundup is the way to take advantage of 3D Touch. Just touch and hold the Safari icon to quickly access commonly used stuff like a reading list, bookmarks and even open a new tab right from the Home screen of your iPhone.

It’s pretty good and I kind of like this neat implementation. So, do give it a shot to get into the action a little faster. (Punch line)

#2. Take A Sneak Peek

Next in line is the option to take the preview of a page and also get multiple useful options without having to leave that page.

Just touch and hold a URL to get the preview of a page. Then, you can swipe up to reveal options like Open In Background, Add to Reading List; Copy and Share.

That’s yet another little but a very effective trick that can smoothen up your web browsing in Safari.

#3. Paste and Go & Paste and Search

Frankly speaking; this tip does sound quite simple, but I think that not everyone knows it. And that’s why I’ve included it in this roundup.

When you have copied a URL to the clipboard, just touch and hold the address bar and then hit Paste and Go.

Likewise, you can use this same trick to search anything a bit faster. After copying any text, touch and hold the address bar. Then, hit Paste and Search. There you go! As you can see how handy this little thing can be in letting you search faster.

#4. Easily Type Top-Level Domains

Next up, I’d like to show you a quick way to enter top-level domains in the search bar. Simply, touch and hold the tiny “.” period button in the bottom row of the keyboard and then choose from several top-level domain extensions such as .com, .net, and .org based on your location.

This is just the tip of the iceberg as the stock QuickType keyboard has many tricks up its sleeve.

To discover more about such cool keyboard tips, do check out our hands-on guide.

#5. Perform A Quick Website Search In Safari

Now comes a really productive and time-saving hack! Safari is quite smart in learning how the built-in search of a site works, and it creates a shortcut to let you quickly access the content of a site without even having to go there.

To get going, I’m going to try out this shortcut for our site. Simply hit the search button and enter any search term like iPad Pro. And then, hit the result when it appears.

From now onwards, I just need to type in our site name followed by the search term in the Safari’s address bar. It will suggest something like Search igeeksblog.com for iPad Pro in the suggestions box. Simply hit it to get the quick search results.

Wow! That’s really smart, isn’t it?

#6. Search Within A Webpage

While navigating through webpages, at times I have to look for a specific word or term. And that’s the time when I use this incredibly useful feature to quickly search within a webpage.

Supposing, I want to search iOS on one of our articles called “How to Change Apple Pencil 2 Settings on iPad Pro.”

I just need to tap on the smart search bar and type in iOS. Now scroll down a bit and check out–On This Page and the number of matches. Hit Find “iOS .”

Next, it will highlight iOS on this webpage. I can use the upward/downward arrow to navigate through the highlighted word on this page. In the end, tap on Done to finish.

Alternately, I can also hit the Share icon and choose “Find on Page” in the share sheet. Then it’s business as usual.

#7. Jump Back To The Top Of The Page

While reading an article, you’ve scrolled all the way to the bottom, how would you quickly jump back to the top of the page? By scrolling up? That’s not productive at all.

The smarter way to get it done is just by double-tapping the status bar at the top of the screen. It works reliably and makes web browsing a bit smooth-sailing. Really.

#8. Set Reminder to Look At A Page At A Specific Time

Did you know that Siri could help you set a reminder to check out a webpage at a specific time?

Just invoke Siri and say something like, ” Remind me to look at this page today at 9 P.M.” Siri will confirm that it will do the assigned task.

Now, you will get the reminder at the set time to check out that article. Tap on it, and you will be taken to the Reminders app. Then, hit the Safari icon to visit that page.

I often use this feature to catch up with my favorite articles at a convenient time. And I would recommend you to use it as well because it’s very user-friendly.

#9. Quickly Access Forward/Backward History

While browsing the web, you’ve gone several pages deep and now want to quickly access all the backward history. What will you do normally? Keep tapping on the backward button.

No, that’s not the better way to go about it. Simply touch and hold the back button. Now, you will see all of your backward history.

Similarly, you can touch and hold the forward button to view all of your forward history.

So, the next time you want to go back and forth while browsing the web, do not forget to use this nifty trick.

#10. Play Video In the Background

If you like listening to audio while browsing the web, this tip is for you.

Assuming a video is playing in Safari, press the Home button or swipe up from the Home bar. Now, the video will pause. Bring up CC and hit the play button. The video will start playing again in the background.

Keep in mind; YouTube doesn’t support this feature officially. However, there are some tricks to overcome this hurdle. To find out how they work, check out our hands-on guide.

#11. Load Desktop Site (Two methods)

Not all the sites are perfectly optimized for mobile devices. To be honest, I have come across many websites, which look cramped out on mobile devices. Thankfully, there is an option to request the desktop version of a site.

To do it, simply touch and hold the tiny refresh button at the top right and choose Request Desktop Site. Alternately, hit the Share icon and then choose Request Desktop Site in the share sheet.

Boom! Safari will instantly present you the desktop version of the site.

Unfortunately, there is no quick way to go back to the mobile version. To do so, you need to head over to Settings app → scroll down and tap on Safari. Now, hit Advanced and tap on Website Data.

Then, find the specific site which desktop version you had requested. After that, swipe left from right on the website data and hit the Delete button. Now, you will see the mobile version of the site in the web browser.

Come on Apple! You’ve got to fix this huge pain in the back sooner than later!

#12. Change Default Search Engine

Google is set as the default search engine in Safari. However, you can choose to change it as and when you want. All you need to do is; launch Settings app and hit Safari.

Then, tap on Search Engine. Now, you have multiple options like Google, Yahoo, Bing, DuckDuckGo. So, choose the one you want to use, and you are ready to go!

#13. Multitasking in iOS 12 Safari

It’s time to embrace multitasking to carry out multiple tasks at once.

You can make the best use of the Split View to put two tabs side by side in Safari. To activate it, ensure that your iPad is in landscape mode and then touch and hold the tabs icon at the top right. Next, choose Open Split View.

Alternately, you can also just drag a link and drop it on the right or the left side of the screen to activate Split View mode.

That’s it! Now, go ahead and work on both the tabs simultaneously and seamlessly.

If you want to master multitasking on your iPad, do check out the below link of our hands-on video.

#14. Rearrange Tabs

Especially during extensive research, I like to keeps tabs in the right order as it makes it a bit easier to access the specific ones.

To rearrange tabs, fire up Safari and hit the tabs icon. Now, you will see all of your open tabs. Simply, touch and hold a specific one and drag it at the top or bottom or anywhere you want.

Use this simple gesture to keep all of your tabs perfectly organized.

#15. Search Specific Tabs

The next tip that I’m gonna talk about is searching specific tabs. Save it for the time when you have several open tabs and want to quickly jump onto specific ones.

To do so, hit the tabs icon and then scroll up to reveal the Search Tabs bar. Next, type in the name of the tab you are looking for. For instance, enter iGeeksBlog and it will show all the related tabs. That’s pretty neat!

I don’t think most of you would be aware of this secret trick that lets you close all the searched tabs. Frankly speaking, I was also not aware of this hack until I stumbled upon it a few days back.

Just touch and hold the Cancel button and you will see an option to close all the tabs matching a site. Simply, hit it and all the tabs matching that particular site will be gone!

#16. Close All Tabs at Once

After spending plenty of time on web browsing, now you want to close out all of your open tabs so that prying eyes can’t figure out what you are up to. Simply, touch and hold the tabs icon. Then, hit the Close All Tabs and boom! All the open tabs will be gone.

Alternately, you can also hit the tabs icon once. Then touch and Done button. Finally, hit Close All Tabs and they will go away!

#17. Reopen Recently Closed Tabs

At times after closing all the tabs, I realize I needed to check out some specific ones. And that’s the time when this tip comes onto the scene.

To reopen recently closed tabs, hit the tabs icon and then touch and hold the ‘+” button. Now, you will see the list of all the tabs you had recently closed.

Next, select the one you want to use. Super handy, isn’t it?

#18. Display favicons

This one is one of my favorite features that have come with iOS 12. I like adding favicons to Safari tabs because it makes a tad easier to spot a specific one. And of course, it also brings in some nice little customization into the play.

To do so, fire up the Settings app on your iOS device → scroll down and hit Safari. Then, make sure to turn on the switch next to “Show Icons in Tabs.”

Going forward, you will see favicons or website icons in the tabs. Check out, doesn’t it make the tabs look a little better? It surely does.

#19. Open Incognito tab

Safari comes with an incognito mode to let you search the web with more privacy. The best part about it is that when you enter this mode, the web browser doesn’t store any of your data.

To invoke this mode, tap the tabs icon and then hit Private. Next, make sure to tap on Done to confirm.

When you want to disable the private browsing mode, simply repeat the same steps I’ve just mentioned. And the general web browsing mode will be back.

#20. Clear Cookies and History

Moving on, make sure to clear out cookies and history from time to time to prevent the app from being cluttered. And oh, it can also prevent others from guessing what sort of stuff you are browsing these days!

To clean it up, hop into Settings app, scroll down and hit Safari. Then, tap on Clear History and Website Data. Then, confirm.

Now, all of your browsing data will be wiped out for good.

#21. Manage All Of Your Saved Passwords

Believe me; managing passwords on iOS had never been so painless and seamless before. If you haven’t given it a try, now is the time to get started.

To manage your codes, open Settings app, and tap on Passwords & Accounts. Now, tap on Website & App Passwords.

Next, you need to authenticate. Once it’s done, you will see all of your accounts. Tap on the one you want to manage then hit Edit. Next, make desired changes and tap on Done to confirm.

Now that you know how to deal with these saved passwords, use the built-in password manager to keep your secret codes in the right sync.

#22. View Saved Passwords Using Siri

Siri makes it incredibly easy to view saved passwords not just on iPhone and iPad but also on Mac.

Say, I want to access the passwords of the Facebook account. I will invoke Siri and say something like, “Show my Facebook passwords.”

Now, I need to authenticate my device. Once it’s done, I will have access to the Facebook account and the saved password. Told you, it’s super handy.

#23. Autofill Passwords

Every time you want to log in to any website account, you don’t need to enter the password manually. To take advantage of this feature, ensure that Autofill Passwords switch is ON inside the Passwords & Accounts setting.

Going forward, the first time you log in to an account, you will get the option to save it to the iCloud Keychain.

Now, the moment you start entering your login credential, the keyboard will automatically pop-up your saved account. Tap on it and all the details will be instantly filled in.

#24. Quickly Enter Verification Codes

The latest version of iOS has made the process of entering verification codes very simple, thanks to the Two-Factor Authentication.

All you’ve got to do is just hit the text field and then tap on the incoming verification code to autofill the confirmation box. That’s really very user-friendly.

#25. Change Default Password AutoFill Provider

I’m really glad that I can now use third-party password AutoFill apps like 1Password and LastPass seamlessly on the iOS device. Though Apple’s iCloud Keychain is great, the option to use third-party apps is great.

To change default password AutoFill provider, ensure that you’ve already installed your favorite password manager and ideally set it up. After that, launch the Settings app on your iOS device, and then you need to scroll down and tap on Passwords & Accounts. Next, tap on AutoFill Passwords.

Under “Allow Filling From”, the compatible third-party password managers installed on your device will show up. Choose your preferred option and follow the instruction to authenticate it and you are done!

#26. Convert A Webpage into PDF

While browsing the web, whenever I stumble upon an article I like to drop it into my special collection. That’s when the option to convert a webpage into PDF comes into the picture.

Let’s say, I want to convert this webpage into PDF, I will tap on the Share button and then choose “Create PDF” in the share sheet. Then, I have the option to annotate the file using the Markup tool and save it to the Files app. That’s a pretty intuitive iOS feature.

#27. Quickly Add Any Article to Your Reading List

If you are a voracious reader, this tip is for you. The next time you want to save an article to read it later; touch and hold the tiny little icon that looks like an open book and choose “Add to Reading List” in the menu.

In the same tiny menu, there is also an option to Add Bookmark. Take advantage of it to easily access a webpage whenever you want.

#28. Make the Most of Reader Mode

Last but not least, Safari comes with a useful Reader Mode to enhance the reading experience.

Simply, touch and hold the multiple tiny horizontal lines in the search bar. Then, you get two options–Use the reader view on this site or use this mode on all websites. Select your preferred option and it will instantly get rid of all the unnecessary stuff to make it easier for you to read the article.

That’s not all; you can also tap on the text button and then choose from several fonts and themes to further boost your reading experience.

So, make the most of this lesser-known iOS feature to make reading a webpage more convenient.

That’s pretty much it!

author: DHVANESH ADHIYA