How to Manage Browsing History on Safari for iPad

This article explains how to manage browsing history on Safari for iPad, including how to view and delete the iPad Safari history, cookies, and stored website data. This article applies to all iPad devices with iOS 10 or iPadOS 13 or later. The process for managing browser history in Safari on an iPhone is slightly different.

How to View and Delete Your iPad Browser History in Safari

Reviewing your iPad browser history is a straightforward process. Safari stores a log of websites you visit along with other related components, such as the cache and cookies. These elements enhance your browsing experience, but you may want to delete your browsing history for privacy reasons.

You can manage your web browsing history on the iPad in two ways. The easiest option is to do it directly in Safari:

1. Open the Safari web browser.

2. Select the Bookmarks icon (it looks like an open book) at the top of the screen. 

3. Select the clock icon to open the History pane. A list of sites visited over the past month appears.

   To delete a single website from the browser history, swipe left on its name.

4. Select Clear at the bottom of the panel to reveal four options: The last hour, Today, Today and yesterday, and All time.

5. Select your preferred option to remove the browsing history from your iPad and all connected iCloud devices.

How to Delete History and Cookies From the iPad Settings App

Deleting the browser history through Safari doesn't remove all the data it stores. For a thorough cleaning, go to the iPad Settings app. You can also delete the browsing history and cookies from the Settings app. Clearing the history this way deletes everything Safari saved.

1. Select the gear icon on the Home screen to open the iPad Settings.

2. Scroll down and select Safari.

3. Scroll through the list of settings and select Clear History and Website Data to delete the browsing history, cookies, and other cached website data.

4. Select Clear to confirm, or select Cancel to return to the Safari settings without removing any data.

How to Delete Stored Website Data on iPad

Safari sometimes stores additional website data on top of a list of web pages you visited. For example, it can save passwords and preferences for frequently visited sites. If you want to delete this data but don't want to clear the browsing history or cookies, selectively delete specific data saved by Safari using the iPad Settings app.

1. Open the iPad Settings app.

2. Scroll down and select Safari.

3. Scroll to the bottom of the Safari settings screen and select Advanced.

4. Select Website Data to display a breakdown of the data each website currently stores on the iPad.

   Select Show All Sites to display the expanded list if necessary.

5. Select Remove All Website Data at the bottom of the screen to delete the site data at once, or swipe left on individual items to clear items one at a time.