How to Manage History and Browsing Data in Safari for iPad

This tutorial is only intended for Safari users on Apple iPad devices running iOS 8 and above.

The Safari Web browser on your iPad stores a log of Web pages that you have visited in the past, as well as other browsing-related components such as cache and cookies. From time to time, you may find it useful to look back through your history in order to revisit a particular site. These additional data files can also prove useful, enhancing the overall browsing experience by doing things like speeding up page loads and customizing the look and feel of a site based on your preferences.

In addition to viewing your history, you may have a desire to delete it from your iPad along with the other aforementioned data that is generated during a browsing session. In this tutorial, you will learn how to do both of these things.

Please note that the Safari application should be completely shut down prior to clearing any history, cache, cookies, etc. If you are unsure how to do this, visit our How to Kill iPad/iPhone Apps tutorial.

Browsing History, Cookies, and More

To get started select the Settings icon, typically located on your iPad's Home Screen. When the iOS Settings interface appears, scroll down and tap on the option labeled Safari. All settings for the Safari app should now be visible. Scroll down once more and select Clear History and Website Data. You will now be prompted to confirm this decision. To continue with the deletion process, tap on Clear History and Data. To return to Safari's settings without removing any data, select the  Cancel button.

Additional Data Storage

Some websites may store additional data that is not always included under the umbrella above. To delete these items as well, first, scroll to the bottom of Safari's settings and select the option labeled Advanced. Once the Advanced screen is visible select Website Data. You should now see a breakdown of data currently stored on your iPad by each individual website, including the amount of space being utilized.

To delete data from a specific site, select its name and swipe left. Next, select the red Delete button that appears. To delete the data stored by all sites, scroll down (if necessary) and tap on the Remove All Website Data button.