Safari stores your search history and website suggestions to speed up typing
When you start typing in Safari's address bar or search field, the browser shows you suggestions based on sites you've visited, searches you've done, and bookmarks you've saved. These suggestions appear automatically to save you time. But Safari also remembers things you may not want it to — typos, failed searches, or sites you visited by accident.
You can remove individual suggestions one at a time, clear all suggestions from a specific time period, or turn off suggestions entirely. The method depends on whether you want to delete one suggestion or wipe your entire history.
Key Takeaways
- You can delete a single suggestion by hovering over it and clicking the X that appears next to it.
- To clear all suggestions at once, go to Safari menu > Clear History, then choose how far back you want to erase.
- Turning off suggestions in Safari settings stops the browser from showing them, but does not delete existing history.
- Private browsing mode prevents Safari from storing suggestions for that session, though it does not affect suggestions from previous sessions.
- Deleting suggestions does not affect your bookmarks or saved passwords — only your search and browsing history.
Delete one suggestion at a time
If you want to remove a single suggestion without clearing your entire history, hover your cursor over the suggestion in the dropdown list. A small X icon will appear to the right of it. Click that X and the suggestion disappears when ready.
This method works for any suggestion — a website you visited, a search you performed, or a bookmark. The suggestion is gone from the list, but your full browsing history remains intact. If you need to delete many suggestions, this approach takes longer than clearing history all at once, but it lets you keep the suggestions you want to preserve.
Clear all suggestions from a time period
To delete suggestions in bulk, open the Safari menu at the top of your screen and click Clear History. A window will pop up asking you to choose a time range: the last hour, today, today and yesterday, or all history.
Select the time period that covers when you want suggestions removed. Click Clear History again to confirm. Safari will erase your browsing history, search history, and suggestions from that period. Your bookmarks and saved passwords stay in place — only the history goes.
If you choose "all history," Safari removes every suggestion it has stored. This is the most thorough option but also the most drastic. You will lose suggestions for sites you visit regularly and may have to retype addresses more often until Safari rebuilds its history.
Turn off suggestions in Safari settings
If you do not want Safari to show suggestions at all, you can disable them in the browser's preferences. Click Safari in the menu bar, then select Settings (or Preferences on older versions of macOS). Go to the Search tab.
You will see checkboxes for different types of suggestions: search engine suggestions, Safari suggestions, and others depending on your version. Uncheck any you want to turn off. When you close the settings window, Safari will stop showing those suggestions when you type in the address bar.
Turning off suggestions does not delete your existing history — it only prevents Safari from displaying suggestions going forward. If you want to remove the history itself, use the Clear History method described above.
Use private browsing to prevent suggestions from being stored
Private browsing mode tells Safari not to save your history, searches, or suggestions during that session. Open a new private window by clicking File in the menu bar and selecting New Private Window, or press Shift + Command + N on your keyboard.
While you browse in a private window, Safari does not record what you visit or search for. When you close the window, nothing from that session is added to your suggestions. This is useful if you want to search for something sensitive or visit a site you do not want appearing in your history.
Private browsing does not erase suggestions from previous sessions — it only prevents new ones from being stored. If you have already visited a site and want to remove it from suggestions, you still need to delete it manually or clear your history.
Differences between Safari on Mac and iPhone
The process is slightly different on iPhone and iPad. Open the Settings app, scroll down and tap Safari, then tap Clear History and Website Data. Choose a time range and confirm. This removes suggestions from your iPhone's Safari browser.
To delete a single suggestion on iPhone, you cannot hover and click an X like on Mac. Instead, you must clear history for a time period or turn off suggestions entirely in Settings. Go to Settings > Safari and toggle off Safari Suggestions or Search Engine Suggestions to stop them from appearing.
If you use iCloud to sync Safari across your devices, clearing history on one device will clear it on all devices connected to the same Apple ID. This is useful if you want to remove a suggestion everywhere at once, but it also means you cannot keep different history on different devices.
What happens to bookmarks and passwords when you delete suggestions
Deleting suggestions, clearing history, or turning off suggestions does not affect your bookmarks or saved passwords. Those are stored separately from your browsing history. You can clear all your history and suggestions without losing a single bookmark or login credential.
If you want to delete a bookmark, you must do that separately. Right-click the bookmark in your bookmarks bar or menu and select Delete. To remove a saved password, go to Safari Settings > Passwords, find the password you want to remove, and delete it there.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will deleting suggestions affect my bookmarks?
No. Bookmarks are stored separately from your browsing history and suggestions. You can clear all your history without losing any bookmarks. If you want to remove a bookmark, you must delete it manually through the bookmarks menu.
Can I delete suggestions on Safari without clearing my entire history?
Yes. Hover over a single suggestion in the dropdown list and click the X that appears. This removes just that one suggestion without touching the rest of your history. If you want to delete many suggestions at once, you will need to clear history for a specific time period.
Does private browsing delete old suggestions?
No. Private browsing only prevents new suggestions from being stored during that session. It does not erase suggestions you have already accumulated. To remove old suggestions, use the Clear History option or delete them one at a time.
If I turn off suggestions, will my history still be saved?
Yes. Turning off suggestions in Settings only stops Safari from displaying them — your browsing history is still recorded. If you want to delete the history itself, use the Clear History option from the Safari menu.
What is the difference between clearing history and turning off suggestions?
Clearing history removes the record of what you have visited and searched for. Turning off suggestions prevents Safari from showing those suggestions when you type, but the history remains stored. You can do one without the other depending on what you want.