Safari is the native browser on an iPhone. It is generally a fast browser but it may become slower for various reasons. If you’re wondering how to speed up Safari it often just requires some maintenance. Clearing your browsing history or closing tabs may just make it faster. Below are some tips to help you keep Safari performing optimally.
Clear your browsing history
As you use Safari, the browser stores information about the sites it visits to make browsing them faster. This can be very useful but it can slow down Safari over time as data accumulates. Even websites you no longer visit may be cached. When you clear your browsing history, your iPhone performance will improve. Under Settings go to Safari and scroll down until you see Clear History and Data. Once you clear it you can relaunch Safari. You won’t lose your bookmarks but the browser won’t suggest a URL as you type. You have to visit the site again for it to do this.
To further enhance your browsing speed and maintain privacy, consider using Safari’s Private Browsing or Incognito Mode. If you do not know how to enable that, here’s a solution. On https://moonlock.com/private-browsing-on-iphone, you can find out more about this. Does incognito mode on iPhone allow you to browse privately? Yes, both of these modes offer privacy when browsing. Does incognito hide IP? It will hide your IP address and won’t save cookies or your browsing history. If you subscribe to iCloud+ you can also turn on Private Relay for even more protection while browsing. You can even choose to download a specialized browser that offers added privacy while browsing.
Check VPN and other settings
If you receive a message that Safari is unable to load the site, it could be because you have enabled Private Relay. When you enable it, your IP address is visible to an internet relay Apple operates but not to a second relay that a third-party provider operates. This relay generates a temporary IP address, decrypts the website name, and connects you to the site. You may have to turn off Private Relay if you have difficulty loading a specific site.
Private Relay isn’t quite the same using a VPN but a VPN can also cause issues when loading certain websites. If Safari can’t open the page, it could be because you’re using a Virtual Private Network (VPN). If you have a VPN turned on, it can block content on some apps or websites from loading. You will need to check your VPN settings.
Check your iPhone storage
If your iPhone storage is nearly full, it will slow down Safari because it doesn’t have enough memory to work. It may not even speed up when you clear the cache because you have so little storage left. Go to Settings>General>Storage and you can see how much space you have left. You may have to delete some large files and take other measures if your storage is nearly full.
Close tabs
It is easy to keep opening new tabs in Safari as you browse. Sometimes when you’re asking “Why is Safari so slow?” it could be because you have too many tabs open. In iOS 10 and newer, Safari supports an unlimited number of tabs so you shouldn’t have this problem. If you have an older iPhone that feels a bit slow, you should close all the open tabs.
- Go to the two squares in the bottom right corner.
- Give them a long press and you will see a Menu
- Select Close all [x]Tabs.
Disable background processes
Safari itself may not be the problem. The slow speed could be due to background processes such as downloading updates or refreshing apps. You may have to disable automatic downloads by going to Settings>iTunes and App Stores. You can turn off automatic downloads for music, apps, books, and updates. Go to Settings>General>Background App Refresh and you can turn it off. You can also select individual apps to turn off if you are sure they are the culprits.
Turn off Javascript
Turning off JavaScript may make website loading time faster in Safari. It will help to block ads and pop-ups on some websites. It can also block certain components that may include cookies. These components using JavaScript can take longer to load which can make Safari slower.
In some cases, a website may seem unusable and this is because JavaScript may be necessary for the user experience. If so, you can go to your browser settings for JavaScript and add certain websites as Exceptions. You will choose Add Site Exceptions to add it. To enable or disable JavaScript you can toggle it on or off under Settings>Safari>Advanced.
Reset your network settings
By connecting to a different network, you can find out whether an issue is specific to your network. Resetting all the network-related settings on your iPhone could help to speed up Safari. You will need to reconnect to your Wi-Fi network but it may just fix what’s affecting Safari.
- Go to General in Settings.
- Scroll to the bottom and select Reset.
- On the Reset page, tap Reset Network Settings.
Conclusion
Safari offers seamless browsing on your iPhone so it’s worth taking the time to fix any issues. Common problems occur with regular use so they are not something that should worry you. Regularly clearing your cache, cookies, and browsing history can often optimize its performance. When you’ve tried all the other tips and performance is still slow, you may have to reset your network settings.
