How to make Safari safer

Summary

Safari has inherent safety features like hiding IP from trackers and preventing cross-site tracking.
Adjust your privacy settings by checking Hide IP address, Website tracking, Manage Website Data, and Private browsing.
Additional security measures on Safari include cache and cookie management to protect user information.

Security should be at the top of your priority list any time you go on the web. There are so many ways for your data to become compromised, especially with all the people out there trying to steal it. You’ve probably completed plenty of work training modules about how to avoid phishing scams and ways to detect when someone is trying to steal your personal information. Why don’t many people use those skills outside of work? Looking at personal data as something that needs to be protected is a smart way to go about online.

Different browsers have different settings to try and protect your data. The security built into each of them is different, though you can add your own antivirus software to your computer for additional protection. Safari is the browser that is pre-installed onto macOS computers. macOS is lauded for its safety and protection — many people don’t even install an additional antivirus program because of how stringent Apple’s security is.

This is not a recommendation that you don’t need antivirus software. Apple’s operating system just happens to be more protective than Windows.

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Even though Safari and macOS are particularly safe for users to use, there are still ways to make them safer. What you may not have known is that it just takes adjusting some settings for it to protect you even further. Then, you really don’t have to think about those work modules when you’re browsing. Here are ways to protect your data even more in Safari.

Safari

Safari is the browser pre-installed on all macOS computers. It is known for its security and is laid out similarly to how macOS’s interface is laid out.

What are some of the features of Safari?

There are many notable ones

Safari is a commonly used browser. According to StatCounter, Safari is the second most popular browser in the world, holding an 18.75% usage rate across the globe. Apple has built a lot of safety features into the browser to protect user data, but there are many other features that Safari has that are part of the reason it is as popular as it is.

It connects across other platforms, so it seamlessly integrates with your iPad, iPhone, AirPods, and more Apple devices. Being able to Airdrop something from Safari on your computer to your iPad makes productivity much simpler.

Safari can translate entire web pages into a number of different languages. It offers the ability to look up images quickly by just holding a cursor on the image. It can offer up to 50% faster loading speeds than Chrome for frequently visited sites. It also offers up to 17 hours of streaming and four more hours of streaming video than Chrome.

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What security features are built into Safari?

There are many to highlight for users

MacBook Air with Apple's Butterfly Keyboard.

Safari is one of the safest browsers to use. It starts by hiding your IP address from known trackers known as Inteligent Private Tracking, which is the minimum of how browsers should operate. You can use Private Browsing and Safari will remove unique trackers from URLs. If you use web extensions, Safari will stop them from seeing what you’re browsing.

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Any time you’re searching, Safari does not share your location. Safari can also utilize your fingerprint that comes with your MacBook to unlock different features in the browser. It offers a privacy report for all the on-site trackers that might be offered. Instead of storing passwords, Passkeys let you log in using a digital key linked to your fingerprint or face, reducing the risk of compromised credentials and eliminating the need to remember a hundred passwords.

How to change the privacy settings in Safari

Fixing the features to give you ultimate protection

If you want to ensure that your protection is as high as it can be, you can consider installing additional antivirus software. But you can make sure that your Safari privacy settings are as protective as they can be. It is easy to check and make sure that your settings are where they should be.

Open up the Safari browser.
Click Safari at the top of the computer, next to the Apple menu.
Scroll down and click Preferences.
Scroll over and click Privacy.

From here, you’ll see all the Privacy settings that Safari offers. The first button is Website tracking, which should be checked because the option is Prevent cross-site tracking. The second option is to Hide IP address, which should also be checked as it will hide it from trackers. The third option is Manage Website Data, which will show you every website that has data stored from your computer.

Safari is one of the safest browsers to use. There are a lot of safety features that are already set up for you before you even open up a window.

This includes cache and cookies. You can click on individual sites and remove your data from those websites. You can also select Remove all to remove your data from each and every website listed. This may clear your passwords you have saved on those websites, but it will also protect your info from being stored on their site.

The fourth and final privacy setting is Private browsing. This should also be checked because it entails requiring a password for someone to view a private tab. This is when you open a New Private Window in Safari — you can also open up a new “Private” window by right-clicking on a tab and clicking Move to New Private Window.

Safari might be getting some nice new features on iOS

The changes are being hinted at by code in the lastes WebKit version.

You can also choose Security in the overall Preferences menu and look at the two options listed there. The first option is about Fraudulent websites, which should be checked because it asks you if you want to be warned about visiting any fraudulent websites.

The final privacy settings you can check on are the Advanced Settings, the final setting in the Preferences menu. If you click on that and scroll down to Privacy, there are multiple options to choose from — the first one being to use advanced tracking and fingerprinting protection. Then there are two options: in Private browsing and in all browsing. You can pick which one you want to opt for.

The third option under Privacy should also be checked, as it enables privacy-preserving measurement of ad effectiveness. This helps limit targeted ads while still allowing advertisers to measure performance without tracking your personal data.