Safari suggestions show search history, bookmarks, and sites you visit often — and you can remove them individually or clear them all at once

Safari's suggestion feature tries to save you typing by showing sites and searches you've done before. If you want to stop seeing a particular suggestion, you can delete it right from the dropdown. If you want to wipe out all suggestions at once, you'll go through Safari's settings to clear your browsing history, which is where Safari stores the data it pulls from.

The steps differ slightly between iPhone and iPad (which use the same method) and Mac, but both take less than a minute. You don't need to restart Safari or your device afterward.

Key Takeaways

  • You can delete a single suggestion by tapping or clicking and holding on it, then choosing the delete option from the menu that appears.
  • To clear all suggestions at once, you need to clear your browsing history through Safari settings, which removes the data Safari uses to generate suggestions.
  • On iPhone and iPad, go to Settings > Safari > Clear History and Website Data; on Mac, use Safari > Settings > Privacy tab.
  • Clearing history removes suggestions but also signs you out of most websites, so you may need to log back in afterward.
  • If you turn on Private Browsing, Safari won't store new suggestions from sites you visit in that mode.

Delete a single suggestion on iPhone or iPad

Open Safari and tap the address bar at the bottom of the screen. A list of suggestions will appear below the search field. Press and hold on the suggestion you want to remove — don't tap it, hold your finger on it for a moment.

A menu will pop up with the option to "Remove" or "Remove from Suggestions." Tap that option and the suggestion disappears immediately. This removes only that one item; all your other suggestions stay in place. You can repeat this for as many suggestions as you want to delete individually.

Delete a single suggestion on Mac

Click the address bar in Safari. Your suggestions will appear in a dropdown menu below it. Move your cursor over the suggestion you want to remove and a small X icon will appear on the right side of that suggestion.

Click the X and the suggestion is deleted. Like on iPhone and iPad, this removes only that one suggestion. You can remove multiple suggestions this way without affecting the rest of your browsing history.

Clear all suggestions on iPhone and iPad

Go to the home screen and open the Settings app (the gray icon with gears). Scroll down and tap Safari. Scroll down again until you see Clear History and Website Data.

Tap it. A popup will ask you to confirm — tap Clear History and Data again. Safari will now remove all your browsing history, cookies, and cached data. This is what Safari uses to generate suggestions, so clearing it removes all suggestions at once.

Be aware that clearing history will sign you out of most websites. When you visit those sites next, you'll need to log back in with your username and password.

Clear all suggestions on Mac

Open Safari and click Safari in the menu bar at the top of the screen. Select Settings (or Preferences if you're on an older version of macOS). Click the Privacy tab.

Look for the section labeled Remove all website data and click the Manage Data button. A window will open showing all stored website data. Click Remove All at the bottom right, then confirm by clicking Remove Now. This clears all suggestions along with your browsing history and cached data.

Like on iPhone and iPad, you'll be logged out of most websites after this action.

Stop Safari from storing new suggestions

If you don't want Safari to collect suggestions going forward, turn on Private Browsing. When Private Browsing is on, Safari won't store your history, searches, or website data from that session. This means no new suggestions will be generated from sites you visit in Private Browsing mode.

On iPhone and iPad, swipe up from the bottom of the screen (or down from the top on newer models) to open Control Center. Tap the Private icon (it looks like a mask) to turn it on. On Mac, click Safari in the menu bar and select Private Browsing.

Keep in mind that Private Browsing only affects new activity — it won't delete suggestions you've already built up. You'll still need to clear history manually if you want to remove existing suggestions.

What happens when you clear suggestions

Clearing your browsing history removes the data Safari pulls from to show suggestions. This means you lose not just the suggestions themselves, but also the browsing history that created them. Safari will start fresh and won't show suggestions until you've visited sites and done searches again.

You'll also lose saved passwords and autofill information unless you specifically choose to keep them. When you clear history on iPhone and iPad, you get options for what time period to clear (last hour, today, today and yesterday, or all time) — choose the timeframe that matches what you want to remove.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I delete suggestions without clearing my entire browsing history?

Yes. Deleting individual suggestions one at a time (by holding or right-clicking on them) removes only those specific items. Your full browsing history stays intact. This is the best option if you want to remove just a few suggestions but keep the rest of your history.

Will clearing suggestions sign me out of websites?

Yes. Clearing your browsing history also clears cookies, which is what keeps you logged into websites. After you clear history, you'll need to log back into Gmail, social media, banking sites, and other accounts. Deleting individual suggestions does not sign you out.

Why do suggestions keep coming back after I delete them?

If you continue visiting the same sites or doing the same searches, Safari will add them back to your suggestions. To prevent this, either delete them again each time they appear, use Private Browsing for those sites, or clear your entire history regularly.

Does clearing Safari suggestions affect my iCloud sync?

Clearing history on one device does not automatically clear it on your other Apple devices if you use iCloud sync. You'll need to clear history on each device separately, or turn off Safari syncing in iCloud Settings if you want to stop syncing suggestions across devices.

Can I recover suggestions after I delete them?

No. Once you delete a suggestion or clear your history, that data is gone. Safari doesn't keep a backup of deleted suggestions. If you need to visit a site again, you can search for it by name or type the URL directly into the address bar.