what happened to top sites in safari

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Safari 14.0. Missing Top Sites!

• Thread starter Bksansoo
• Start date Sep 18, 2020
• Sort by reaction score

macrumors newbie

• Sep 18, 2020

I absolutely hate that there is no longer Top Sites for the new Safari. I will not be updated on MacBook Air for this reason. It is stupid to have Favorites on the Home Screen when Favorites is also listed on the top bar. Come on Apple! Why did you do this?  

macrumors member

Come on Apple, at least give us the Option to use Top Sites. You could have at least informed us you were deleting the Top Sites option prior to the release of the update. I have NO USE for the crap you put on Start Page. The icon is still in the Favorites Bar but it only goes to this New Crappier Start Page. Like Tim0 said above, I had 8 or 9 links that I hadn't book marked and now no way to get them back as they appear to be lost. Give me back Safari 13.0!!!!!!  

macrumors regular

Well as I mentioned earlier I think it was a very bad idea and will either try to find a way to roll back to a previous version......or as I am doing now, just use Google chrome and bye bye Safari “Come on Apple let people at least have an option”  

• Sep 19, 2020

I did some research last night and the Top Sites file is still there if anyone needs their links: ~/Library/Safari/TopSites.plist It may look a bit confusing at first (my file starts with lots of "banned URLs", but the links that you need are located towards the end of the file. They are marked with TopSiteIsPinned key. Still hopeful they will restore TopSites in future updates. Is there any way to send Apple feedback for the new versions?  

nickdalzell1

Macrumors 68030.

AZhappyjack

Macrumors g3.

I am missing all of the sites that I previously stored as "Top Sites". Apple screwed the pooch yet again.  

• Sep 20, 2020

I had my Top sites bookmarked so I am still able to access them, but this Frequently Visited Sites does not work the same and I do not think I can arrange the icons like I want. It also throws stuff in there that I do not want. I hope Apple returns the Top Sites as well.  

I guess I lucked out. I still had the same stuff that was in Top Sites show up under Frequently Visited. The view is a bit cluttered but oh well. I never did get access to the 'siri suggested' sites that was supposed to be a hallmark feature in Catalina...It just never worked.  

macrumors 65816

• Sep 21, 2020

I have an empty Frequently visited and the Top Sites are missing, what a bad update this is  

Tim0 said: I did some research last night and the Top Sites file is still there if anyone needs their links: ~/Library/Safari/TopSites.plist It may look a bit confusing at first (my file starts with lots of "banned URLs", but the links that you need are located towards the end of the file. They are marked with TopSiteIsPinned key. Still hopeful they will restore TopSites in future updates. Is there any way to send Apple feedback for the new versions? Click to expand...

I'm aggravated about Top Sites too, but I've found an okay — not great — solution. If you open Safari preferences and click on the General tab, you'll see "Favorite shows." It allows you to create a folder where you manually add your Top Site URLs. Then choose that new folder for "Favorite shows" and at least you'll have the icons there. It pales in comparison to Top Sites, but it's way better than nothing, at least for me. (I've attached a screenshot.)  

Attachments

• Sep 22, 2020

Man I'm glad I read this - I live and die by Safari, I'm planning on sticking with Catalina for a while, and jumped on the forum to check out some of the feedback, I'll stick with 13 for now.  

jonnysods said: Man I'm glad I read this - I live and die by Safari, I'm planning on sticking with Catalina for a while, and jumped on the forum to check out some of the feedback, I'll stick with 13 for now. Click to expand...

• Sep 23, 2020

macrumors 68020

springmil said: I'm aggravated about Top Sites too, but I've found an okay — not great — solution. If you open Safari preferences and click on the General tab, you'll see "Favorite shows." It allows you to create a folder where you manually add your Top Site URLs. Then choose that new folder for "Favorite shows" and at least you'll have the icons there. It pales in comparison to Top Sites, but it's way better than nothing, at least for me. (I've attached a screenshot.) Click to expand...

I get mad every time I need to use Safari. I am definitely going to change browsers. Worst update ever. I wasn't even given a choice. It updated on its own.  

• Sep 24, 2020

Pin frequently visited websites in Safari on Mac

BrtHrt said: I miss Top Sites - there is a new functionality to replace it though - Pinned Sites: Pin frequently visited websites in Safari on Mac In Safari on your Mac, if you use tabs, save frequently visited websites as icons in the tab bar. support.apple.com Click to expand...

Donna Carlen

• Sep 25, 2020

So why did they do this and who do you complain to? Woke up this morning with a completely different computer. I'm very unhappy. I'm not technologically savvy and this is ridiculous for me. I have favorites of things I'd like to get back to - not that any of those were frequently used. This is shameful.  

Judit Juhasz

nickdalzell1 said: It's just re-labeled 'Frequently Visited' on mine. They just changed the name. Works about the same; all the sites that were in Top Sites are still there. It's like when iTunes got renamed Apple Music. It's still the same app! View attachment 956046 Click to expand...

BigMcGuire said: For those who aren't aware (like me) - how to get Frequently Visited --- right click in the blank space to get: View attachment 958409 when on a new tab. Click to expand...

dwfaust said: It's NOT the same thing... not even close. I had 24 sites on my Top Sites page that were there when I opened a new tab... what a royal PITA. I wish Apple would leave my cheese alone. Click to expand...

SgtLip said: Can't find the ~/Library/Safari/TopSites.plist location. Where is it? Click to expand...

Where Did Top Sites Go In Safari?

upgraded to version 14 today, now my TopSites is missing and not in any menu. I only see my favorites and no way to edit. I used top sites to actually see only a few (12 at most) frequent sites, not a list of 50 to sort through all the time. did I miss something and how do I fix this please.

—– Michael Calamia

Comments: 19 Responses to “Where Did Top Sites Go In Safari?”

This feature is gone with Safari 14. You now have a Start Page that you can customize. The top part is Favorites, so just put the sites you want to see there in your Favorites in Bookmarks and you can pretty much have the same sites you saw before in Top Sites, totally controlled by you.

Favorites does not work well as a substitute for Top Sites - This is a major step backwards. Give me back Safari 13.

Steve: Can you explain further? In what way does it not work for you? You've got Favorites, which can be exactly what you want, and then Frequently Visited, which gives you others -- just like the pinned and other sites shown in Top Sites.

I don't know about Steve, but I didn't have my Top Sites saved in other places like Favorites. So Safari's removal of them is highly frustrating!

My Top Sites ate just gone without any warning. Was there any heads up on this anywhere? How do I get my Top Sites list back? Will Apple gbe us back TopSites? The screen images were very helpful

Bruce: Safari 14 was in beta for a while and there was mention of this in the news. I even did a video a while back and showed the new Start Page. Did you see my more recent video on the Start Page? https://macmost.com/how-to-use-the-safari-14-start-page.html It shows how the Favorites and Recents sections of the Start Page can basically be the same as Top Sites, more or less. Actually, I feel it is better since you can do more in Favorites than you could on Top Sites.

This is ridiculous. They shouldn't just delete something that I rely on. They should've at least took my top sites and saved them in a bookmarks folder instead of deleting them completely. Now I have to try and figure out all the sites I had previously put in Top Sites. Wasted an hour of my work day this morning trying to solve this, with no simple solution. Epic Fail, Apple.

If it helps, you can get to your old TOP SITES list and manually copy/paste to some other solution/bookmark — go to your LIBRARY (CMD+SHIFT+L or OPTION+GO menu), then SAFARI folder, then "TopSites.plist" — open this in a text editor (TEXTEDIT/BBEDIT/etc.) and the HTML links URLs are there.

But I used the Top Sites all the time, and wish it were an option.

I hate that the top site feature is gone. The new start page is not the same nor as efficient. Yes, you can delete the websites you had saved as favorites, but I used this as a placeholder for sites that I wanted to go back and browse at in the future. Now it takes the place of the my old top sites feature. Also the icons are not near as big and characteristic to the site. Looks like I am in the majority of hating the change. Bring it back! Otherwise, I'll switch to Chrome or Firefox.

I hate this new start page. Hate, hate , hate it.

I like the old Top Sites page better. I lost important information in this change.

Apple, what is happening to you? You were always so smart full of excellent creative idea. The top sites were fantastic. I use those for my work as an interior designer every single days.... Now it is hell for me.... what is wrong with you???? So I did go to Library to find the addresses of my top sites but this is really not particle.... it is simply a huge disappointment. Please bring the Top Site back. Thank you.

Top sites worked. I upgraded to 15.1 yesterday and everything went to help. Now I have to remember what I use and put in web address.

Tim Cook is not doing his job. Upgrades with lousy user interface.

Gary--with all due respect, the new layout is a pitiful substitution for the former Safari layout. The icons are far smaller, making them almost illegible for those of us with imperfect eyesore. The icons do not convey the most recent information of when a page was most recently visited--i.e., they do not resemble the page most recently visited. The individual page captions are truncated, often making them meaningless. They do not contain updated information (e.g., Facebook notifications). Etc.

Jon: So it sounds like everything you are missing could be solved by just allowing a setting where the Favorites are shown as a preview, like the Frequently Visited section, right? Then why not suggest that to Apple?

Yet again! Change and redesign for no reason and because someone needed to make a change for change sake. Please put back Top Sites! Annoying beyond the beyond. Im not interested in relearning every time I update. I have other things I'd rather do and learn. My world doesn't not revolve around Apple, nor the computer.

Really frustrated and so disappointed that top sites has gone without any warning! Exceptionally bad customer service

Removal of Top Sites from Bookmarks was definitely a bad decision. I just wasted time trying to manage it in Big Sur and was surprised like the rest (migrated from Mojave to Big Sur). Oh, and by the way there is no Safari folder on my Big Sur install under either the system library and my username library, so where is it?

William: Not sure what you are looking for, but I definitely see a Safari folder in my user folder, library folder.

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Safari, Apple’s go-to browser for its macOS and iOS devices, comes with a handy feature called the Top Sites. The Top Sites feature displays a list of your most visited websites on Safari’s homepage. It’s not only an aesthetically pleasing feature, but it also allows for quick access to your favorite sites.

Here’s how you can manage the Top Sites feature in Safari.

1. Show or Hide Top Sites If you want to show Top Sites, make sure that the setting is enabled in Safari preferences. Open Safari, go to Safari > Preferences, and click on the General tab. Under “New windows open with,” select “Top Sites.” If you don’t want to use Top Sites, you can switch back to showing a traditional homepage instead by selecting “Homepage” under “New windows open with.”

2. Edit and Rearrange Top Sites To rearrange Top Sites, hover your cursor over a site’s thumbnail, click and hold, and then drag it to a new location. If you want to delete a site from Top Sites, hover over the site’s thumbnail and click the “x” that appears in the top-left corner. If you want to add a website to Top Sites, visit the site, click the plus sign (+) icon in the top-right corner of the Safari window, and then select “Add to Top Sites.”

3. Pinning and Unpinning Top Sites You can also pin Top Sites to keep them at the top of your list. Hover over a site’s thumbnail and click the “Pin” icon that appears in the top-left corner to pin it. To unpin a site, hover over its thumbnail and click the “Pin” icon again.

4. Adjust the Number of Sites Shown By default, Safari shows 12 Top Sites on its homepage. However, you can increase or decrease the number of sites shown. Go to Safari > Preferences > General and adjust the “Top Sites shows” setting to your preference.

5. Clear Top Sites If you want to clear your Top Sites history to start fresh, go to Safari > Clear History and select “Top Sites” from the dropdown list of options.

In conclusion, Safari’s Top Sites feature is a time-saver for frequent web surfers. You can edit, rearrange, pin/unpin, adjust the number of sites, and clear Top Sites as per your convenience. Knowing how to manage the Top Sites feature can make your browsing experience more streamlined and efficient.

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How to manage Safari’s Top Sites

One of Safari 5’s more useful features is Top Sites, which displays snapshots of the sites you visit most often on a showy, pseudo-three-dimensional wall worthy of The Architect .

But what if you want to prevent some sites from appearing in Top Sites, add sites that you rarely visit but still enjoy, or place some sites in specific slots so they’re easy to find? Fortunately, we have answers, and we won’t even make you decide between helping a loved one or saving humanity to learn them.

To make sure we’re all on the same page, Top Sites appears by default every time you start Safari. You can also open it manually from the small, tic-tac-toe-like icon in the left of Safari’s bookmarks bar.

Step 1: Add a site to Top Sites

The main way to add a site to Safari’s Top Sites is from the Bookmarks -> Add Bookmark menu. In the sheet that appears, click the drop-down bookmarks menu, scroll to the top to pick Top Sites as your link’s destination, and click OK. Your new link will take its place in the top-left slot of your Top Sites grid.

Of course, the other way to add links to Top Sites is to just use Safari. Apple designed Top Sites to keep track of the sites you browse and continually update with the ones you visit most.

Step 2: Manage your Top Sites

If you decide you want to keep a site handy in Top Sites regardless of how often you visit it, or you just want some sites to stay in specific slots in Top Sites, you can hit the Edit button in the lower left. Some new controls will appear over each Website snapshot in Top Sites: a close button and a push pin.

If you want a site to always remain available in Top Sites, click its corresponding push pin or click and drag its snapshot to a preferred slot. The pushpin will glow blue, signifying that the site will forever occupy that place until you decide otherwise, regardless of whether your browsing habits change down the road.

While in this editing mode, you may also want to give the Small, Medium, and Large buttons a try on the lower right side. By default, Top Sites uses a four-by-three grid (the Medium option), giving you 12 total slots for keeping your favorite and frequently-visited sites just a click away. If that view is too intimidating, or you simply don’t visit that many sites in Safari, the Large view slims down to six slots but maximizes the space, giving you a much larger snapshot of each site. The Small view (my personal favorite) gives you a six-by-four grid; a 24-slot dashboard of your personal slice of the Web.

Step 3: Delete a Top Site

For sites that you prefer to not see in Top Sites, click the close button to vote it off the proverbial island. The snapshot will disappear and Safari will make room to add your next most-visited site.

Be careful, though. If you banish a site this way from Top Sites, it will not return unless you say otherwise by deliberately visiting it and adding it to Top Sites with the manual bookmark process described above.

Author: David Chartier , Contributor

David has been covering Apple and how to get the most out of its products since 2005. Now a freelance tech writer, he runs Finer Things in Tech, jots down thoughts at DavidChartier.com, occasionally starts outlining the great American tech novel, and might still get to snowboard Breckenridge one more time.

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• 16 secrets of Google Drive
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How-To Geek

How to hide frequently visited sites and top sites in safari.

The Safari web browser likes showing the websites you frequently visit when you open it.

Quick Links

Disable frequently visited sites on an iphone or ipad, disable top sites on a mac.

The Safari web browser likes showing the websites you frequently visit when you open it. On an iPhone or iPad, it shows "frequently visited sites." On a Mac, it shows your "top sites." You can disable this to prevent your browser from advertising the websites you frequently visit.

This feature is customizable. You're free to remove any websites you don't want appearing here and continue using it. On iOS, you can disable it entirely. On a Mac, you can tweak it to prevent your personal information from appearing.

As of iOS 9, it's now possible to disable the "Frequently Visited Sites" feature, preventing any frequently visited sites from appearing on the new tab page in Safari on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. Only icons for your favorites will appear on Safari's new tab page.

To do this, open the Settings app, select the "Safari" category, and disable the "Frequently Visited Sites" option under the General options.

To instead just remove one or more frequently visited websites while leaving the feature enabled, open Safari's new tab page and look at the icons for your frequently visited sites. Long-press an icon and tap Delete to remove it. Safari won't show it on this page anymore, no matter how much you visit it.

The Safari web browser on Mac OS X has a similar feature. It will open to a "Top Sites" view with thumbnail previews of the websites you frequently visit when you launch Safari or open a new tab.

There's no actual way to completely hide the top sites from the interface on a Mac as there is on iOS. However, you can prevent them from appearing unless someone seeks them out, or tweak your top sites so that a specific list of websites always appears there.

The simplest option is simply clicking the star icon at the top-right of the favorites page screen. Safari will always open showing your favorite websites, and won't show top sites unless someone clicks that option. The favorites page will always contain an icon that takes you to the top sites. If you're just worried about someone seeing your top sites from over your shoulder, this will work fine.

You could also click the Safari menu and select Preferences. For "New windows open with" and "New tabs open with", select an option other than favorites -- for example, your home page or a blank page. Someone will have to click History > Show top sites to access the favorites page, and then click the top sites icon on the favorites page to access them.

Safari's top sites page is always a 4x3 grid of 12 thumbnails. You can add websites to it, remove websites from it, and lock websites in place. Lock twelve thumbnails in place and no other websites will automatically appear here.

To manually add a website to your top sites list, visit it, click the share button on Safari's toolbar, select "Add bookmarks," and tell Safari to add the page to "Top sites."

You can then visit the top sites view. Hover your mouse cursor over a top site and click the pin icon to lock the top site in place. If a website you don't want to see appears there, click the x button instead to remove it from the page.

By removing top sites you don't want to see, adding ones you do want to see, and then locking every single one in place, you can customize your list of top sites and prevent other websites from appearing here. Someone would have to start removing top sites to see other ones -- and, if that's a problem you're worried about, you should just be clearing your Safari browser history.

Many web browsers have features like this one. Ultimately, if you're worried about people seeing the websites you're visiting, you should be clearing your web browser's history and private data regularly. But you may just want to hide those sites a little bit, preventing people from seeing the websites you visit every time you open a new tab in your browser or just getting those frequently visited sites out of your way so you can focus on your favorite websites -- the websites you actually want to see every time you open your browser's new tab page.

Rumor: iOS 18 to add new ‘Web Eraser’ and page summarization features to Safari

Apple is reportedly planning big updates to Safari as part of iOS 18 and macOS 15 later this year. According to a report on Tuesday, the changes will include a new AI-powered tool called “Intelligent Search” with page summarization, a “Web Eraser” feature, and more.

iOS 18: New Safari features

The report, which comes from Marko Zivkovic at Apple Insider , cautions that “exact implementation” of these features “remains fuzzy.” We’d treat these claims with skepticism for the time being.

According to Zivkovic, Apple is planning a redesigned controls menu for Safari’s address bar that “consolidates old and new page control tools” in a central location. One of the new tools is reportedly something called “Intelligent Search.”

This feature, which is not enabled by default in test builds of Safari 18, can be activated from the new menu in the address bar. From there, the tool will “identify topics and key phrases within a webpage” and generate a summary of the page. The report speculates that Apple is “striving to deliver text summarization alongside Safari 18 later this year,” but again, the specific details are “fuzzy.”

Arc from The Browser Company  also combines a variety of AI features with web browsing, including page summarization options.

Safari 18 in iOS 18 and macOS 15 will also reportedly include something called “Web Eraser.” This feature is “designed to allow users to remove, or erase, specific portions of web pages,” according to Zivkovic.

Using the Web Eraser feature, users could choose to remove certain elements from a webpage like ads, images, and more. It’s a functionality already offered by certain third-party ad blockers, but Apple is apparently working on its own first-party implementation for iOS 18 and macOS 15.

Notably, any changes you make to a webpage would apply each time you visited that page. “This means that Safari will remember the changes even after the original tab or window has been closed,” Zivkovic says.

When visiting a web page with previously erased content, Safari will inform the user that the page has been modified to reflect their desired changes. The browser will also give the user the option to revert changes and restore the webpage to its initial, unaltered state.

9to5Mac’s Take

Apple implementing what is essentially a built-in ad blocker to Safari could be disastrous for ad-supported online publications like the one you’re reading right now.

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How to Recover Lost Safari Bookmarks

Tom Nelson is an engineer, programmer, network manager, and computer network and systems designer who has written for Other World Computing,and others. Tom is also president of Coyote Moon, Inc., a Macintosh and Windows consulting firm.

What to Know

• Restart Safari and see if bookmarks return.
• Or, tap iCloud > Account Settings > Advanced > Restore Bookmarks . Choose the bookmarks to restore and tap Done .
• Or, connect your Time Machine backup drive and use the Migration Assistant . Select the relevant backup and desired bookmarks.

You can easily restore missing bookmarks using the Apple iCloud service or Time Machine. Here's how.

How to Recover Safari Bookmarks with iCloud

There are a number of steps you can try to restore your lost Safari bookmarks. We list them below:

This method assumes you have iCloud turned on and you're using it to sync data across devices or to the cloud.

If you don’t have iCloud set up on your Mac, you can follow the instructions in our Setting up an iCloud Account on Your Mac guide. Be sure to select Safari as one of the items to sync via iCloud.

Restart Safari and/or your device and see if the bookmarks reappear. If they don't, continue on.

Go to icloud.com and log in with your credentials.

Open the drop-down menu next to your name in the top-right corner and choose Account Settings .

Scroll to the Advanced section and select Restore Bookmarks .

Choose the bookmarks you want to restore, then select Done .

Restart Safari if needed, then check to see if your bookmarks are back.

How to Restore Safari Bookmarks with Time Machine

Another common method of restoring Safari’s bookmarks utilizes Time Machine . This built-in backup feature comes with all Mac computers and lets you automatically back up all of your files to an external hard drive. You can use those backups to restore your missing Safari bookmarks and more.

Connect your Time Machine backup drive to your Mac and turn it on. Then turn on your Mac.

Open Utilities > Applications > Migration Assistant .

Select the option to transfer from a Mac, Time Machine backup, or startup disk . Then select Continue .

Select your Time Machine backup, then press Continue .

If you're asked to choose from a list of backups organized by date and time, choose one and select Continue .

Select the files you want to transfer, then hit Continue to begin the process.

Once the transfer finishes, restart your computer and log in.

The transfer process could take several hours to finish depending on the amount of information you're restoring.

Why Did Your Bookmarks Disappear?

One possible reason is a corrupted preference file, or .plist file, that Safari refused to load when it launched. Preference files store rules that tell your apps how they should work. They can become corrupted or broken over time thanks to app crashes, sudden power outages, hard drive corruption, and more.

Problems with .plist files are one of the Mac's Achilles' heels. They seem to be a weak point in how applications are structured. Thankfully, they're easily replaced, causing at most a bit of inconvenience.

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Apple Releases Safari 14 for Mac Ahead of macOS Big Sur Launch

macOS Big Sur didn't launch alongside iOS 14, iPadOS 14, tvOS 14, and watchOS 7 today, with the update coming later this fall, but Apple did release the Safari 14 update for macOS Catalina and macOS Mojave users.

Safari 14.0 introduces new features, even faster performance, and improved security. - New tab bar design shows more tabs on screen and displays favicons by default - Customizable start page allows you to set a background image and add new sections - Privacy Report shows cross-site trackers that are being blocked by Intelligent Tracking Prevention - Removes support for Adobe Flash for improved security Some features may not be available for all regions, or on all Apple devices. For detailed information on the security content of this update, please visit: https://support.apple.com/kb/HT201222

The new Safari 14 update can be downloaded by opening up System Preferences and choosing the Software Update option.

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Safari User Guide

• Change your homepage
• Import bookmarks, history, and passwords
• Make Safari your default web browser
• Go to websites
• Find what you’re looking for
• Bookmark webpages that you want to revisit
• See your favorite websites
• Use tabs for webpages
• Pin frequently visited websites
• Play web videos
• Mute audio in tabs
• Pay with Apple Pay
• Autofill credit card info
• Autofill contact info
• Keep a Reading List
• Hide ads when reading articles
• Translate a webpage
• Download items from the web
• Share or post webpages
• Add passes to Wallet
• Save part or all of a webpage
• Print or create a PDF of a webpage
• Customize a start page
• Customize the Safari window
• Customize settings per website
• Zoom in on webpages
• Get extensions
• Manage cookies and website data
• Block pop-ups
• Clear your browsing history
• Browse privately
• Autofill user name and password info
• Prevent cross-site tracking
• View a Privacy Report
• Change Safari preferences
• Keyboard and other shortcuts
• Troubleshooting

Use Private Browsing in Safari on Mac

When you browse privately , the details of your browsing aren’t saved, and the websites you visit aren’t shared with your other devices.

Open Safari for me

Browse privately one time

When you use a private window:

Browsing initiated in one tab is isolated from browsing initiated in another tab, so websites you visit can’t track your browsing across multiple sessions.

Webpages you visit and your AutoFill information aren’t saved.

Your open webpages aren’t stored in iCloud, so they aren’t shown when you view all your open tabs from other devices.

Your recent searches aren’t included in the results list when you use the Smart Search field.

Items you download aren’t included in the downloads list. (The items do remain on your computer.)

If you use Handoff , private windows aren’t passed to your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or other Mac computers.

Changes to your cookies and website data aren’t saved.

Websites can’t modify information stored on your device, so services normally available at such sites may work differently until you use a non-private window.

Note: None of the above applies in non-private Safari windows you may have open.

Always browse privately

Click the “Safari opens with” pop-up menu, then choose “A new private window.”

Stop browsing privately

Delete any items you downloaded while using private windows.

Close any other private windows that are still open, to prevent other people from using the Back and Forward buttons to see pages you visited in them.

Besides using private windows, you can manage cookies and data stored by all websites and prevent cross-site tracking .

If you forget to use a private window, you can clear your browsing history .

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Authorities Reveal How Missing Surfers from U.S. and Australia Found at Bottom of Well in Mexico Died

Brothers Jake Robinson, 30, Callum Robinson, 33, and Jack Carter Rhoad, 30, were last seen on April 27 before being discovered dead

All they wanted was to surf. 

Now, two brothers from Australia and their friend from the U.S. who all traveled to Mexico in April for a fun getaway are dead, and authorities have revealed why.

Australian brothers Jake Robinson, 30, of Victoria, Callum Robinson, 33, of San Diego, and American Jack Carter Rhoad, 30, also of San Diego, were last seen on April 27 while they were surfing and camping along the Mexican coast, south of Ensenada.

They were reported missing after they failed to show up at the accommodations they had booked in Rosarito, Debra Robinson, the brothers’ mother, posted on Facebook, the Associated Press reports.

Authorities searching for the men found three bodies at the bottom of a well 50 feet deep in a desolate section of Santo Tomas, Baja California, FBI San Diego said in a statement Friday, NBC San Diego reports.

callum10robinson/Instagram

All three had suffered gunshot wounds.

At a press conference Sunday, Baja California’s chief state prosecutor María Elena Andrade Ramírez said they believe the three men were killed for their truck, because the killers wanted the tires, the Associated Press reports.

She said she believes the killers spotted the tents the three surfers had set up, saw the truck and wanted to steal the tires, the AP reports.

“When (the surfers) came up and caught them, surely, they resisted,” she said.

The men were likely killed when they fought off the robbers, she said.

Their relatives identified the bodies, which were found about four miles from where they were killed, Ramirez said on Sunday.

A fourth body was found in the well, she said.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE 's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

The thieves allegedly covered the well with boards. “It was literally almost impossible to find it,” Andrade Ramírez said.

Authorities worked for two hours to get the bodies out of the well, she said, the AP reports. Police are questioning three people they believe may be connected to the crime, she said.

“A working team (of investigators) is at the site where they were last seen, where tents and other evidence was found that could be linked to these three people we have under investigation,” Andrade Ramírez said. “There is a lot of important information that we can’t make public.”

Later on Sunday, surfers honored the slain men by forming a circle floating on their boards in the ocean in a “paddle-out” ceremony, the AP reports.

AP Photo/Karen Castaneda

Baja California is one of Mexico’s most violent states, the BBC reports. 

Callam moved to the U.S. to pursue his dream of becoming a professional lacrosse player, his parents, Deborah and Martin Robinson, said, the BBC reports.

Jake was taking “the trip of a lifetime” before starting a new job as a doctor in Australia, they said, the BBC reports.

“Callum and Jake are beautiful human beings,” they said. “We love them so much and this breaks our heart.”

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how to get frequently visited websites to show?

What’s the trick? I’ve not been able to get them to show on iPhone , Mac or iPad safari…. C/S is no help. Is this still an option? I see it as shown in my pic below , but can’t get them to show. Any ideas anyone? I have the option enabled.

Posted on Jul 15, 2023 12:56 PM

Posted on Jul 16, 2023 2:11 PM

Hey mrchntmarine,

Welcome to Apple Support Communities. The information below may help.

When "Frequently Visited" is enabled and you open a new tab, Safari should go straight to the websites you visit most. For more information, click here: Customize your Safari settings on iPhone .

Here's the information on how to customize a start page in Safari: Customize a start page in Safari on Mac .

If you're wanting this information to be shared across all your Apple devices, make sure they are signed in using the same Apple ID, and in Settings > [your name] > iCloud > under "Apps using iCloud" locate Safari. you may have to tap "Show All" to locate it.

Also make sure all the devices are up-to-date. Below are articles that will help.

Update your iPhone or iPad

Update macOS on Mac

If the steps above do not help. Turn "Frequently Visited" setting off on all devices and then toggle it back on. Refreshing the setting may help resolve your issue.

On your Mac, you can pin frequently listed websites in Safari by following the steps below.

1. In the Safari app   on your Mac, drag the tab with the website you want to pin to the left side of the tab bar.

2. When the tab shrinks and displays the website’s icon, or the pin   appears, drop the tab in place.

3. You can also Control-click a tab, then choose Pin Tab.

Similar questions

• Delete visited website Hello, how can i delete a single visited website so it wont show in the address suggestions in safari when i type something? i dont want to erase all history Thank you 86 1
• Show web sites I don't know what happened. All of a sudden I can't my preferred web sites to show up. Can I unhide them or do I have to reenter each one (not a serious problem - there are only about 20). 95 1
• Safari top sites I have been unable to figure out how to add and pin websites in my top site on my safari start page. The "Customize the start page in Safari on Mac" only tells me how to add frequently visited to my start page, not how to customize it, namely how to specify what websites I want on my start page, and pin the ones I want to keep. 1562 3

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Jul 16, 2023 2:11 PM in response to mrchntmarine

Jul 17, 2023 9:02 AM in response to mrchntmarine

Hello mrchntmarine,

Since you continue to experience that behavior, we'll want to see if that persists after booting your Mac into safe mode using the applicable steps below:

Start up in safe mode

Find out whether you're using a Mac with Apple silicon , then follow the appropriate steps.

If you're using a Mac with Apple silicon

1. Shut down your Mac.

2. Press and hold the power button on your Mac. As you continue to hold the power button, your Mac turns on and loads  startup options . When you see Options, release the power button.

3. Select your startup disk. It's named Macintosh HD, unless you changed its name.

4. Press and hold the Shift key, then click the “Continue in Safe Mode” button below your startup disk.

5. Log in to your Mac. You might be asked to log in again.

If you're using an Intel-based Mac

If you're not using a Mac with Apple silicon, you're using an Intel-based Mac.

1. Turn on or restart your Mac, then immediately press and hold the Shift key as your Mac starts up.

2. Release the key when you see the login window, then log in to your Mac. 

3. You might be asked to log in again. On either the first or second login window, you should see ”Safe Boot” in the upper-right corner of the window. If you can't start up in safe mode, make sure that your Mac isn't using a  firmware password .

You can also find those steps in this resource: Use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support

It can take a few extra minutes to boot into safe mode. Your screen may flash or flicker while in safe mode. Those behaviors are expected. Testing in safe mode runs a check on your disk, removes some cached files, and can help isolate conflicts with startup items. Once you've tested that behavior in safe mode, you can restart to leave safe mode.

Let us know your results, and we'll keep moving forward from there.

Jul 17, 2023 12:19 PM in response to chuckbl

Apologies - in the opening thread above, Mac should not be listed as they show on my MacBook Pro - Safari. They do not show on Safari iPad Pro 11 inch 3rd gen - 16.5.1 (c) iOS or Safari on iPhone 13 pro running 16.5.1 (c)....

Jul 18, 2023 8:19 AM in response to mrchntmarine

mrchntmarine,

As the issue still persists it may help to try reaching out to Apple Support again for a further investigation into the issue.

This page can help to start the support request: Get Support

Jul 18, 2023 8:38 AM in response to Eric_G1

I’ve called a number of times and even opened a case. They can’t figure it out or determine why it doesn’t work so I thought I’d try here if any experienced users could help me get it working as it’s intended to.

Jul 24, 2023 11:05 AM in response to Eric_G1

Called apple again today for the fun of it. Talked to a Senior Advisor re: they issue. They couldn't make it work and did not know why it wasn't/isnt working as designed.... Oh well. Did a lot of trouble shooting shot of a wipe and restore / set up as new.

May 5, 2024 6:39 AM in response to mrchntmarine

Still trying to get this to work - anymore ideas? I’ve recently uploaded more files to apple support engineers and had a call or 2 with support. They told me to turn on Use Start Page Across All Devices.

Frequently Visited still not working.

not sure what that has to do with it anyway - I done anywhere in the support documentation that that has to be enabled for it to work.

Jul 16, 2023 7:16 PM in response to Sheree_P

thank you. None of that works is why I posted here.

under no. 3 is what one is suppose to do and does not work…..

iPad Safari - enable Frequently Visited Sites option

Jul 16, 2023 7:23 PM in response to Sheree_P

Suppose to be on main screen when enabled. Mine don’t show…..

Google pays Apple top dollar to be the default Safari search engine

• Google paid Apple a hefty $20 billion in 2022 to keep its search engine as the default on Safari.
• The US Department of Justice views Google as a bully for paying huge sums to other browsers to maintain dominance.
• Google's market share of 86.99% and its status as the default search engine on iPhones make it challenging for competitors like Microsoft's Bing to compete.

A ton of information about Apple and Google's supposed dealings came to light in November last year, when revelations from an antitrust lawsuit rocked the Mountain View, California-based company for allegedly running a monopoly over the search engine market. At the time, it was reported that Google pays the likes of Apple's Safari and Mozilla's Firefox a hefty sum for maintaining its search engine as the default one. Reportedly, in 2021, the search giant paid Apple a 36 percent cut of revenue that it generated from being the default search engine on Safari, and wrote checks upward of $26.3 billion to Firefox, Safari, and other browsers.

Google's landmark antitrust lawsuit explained

Now, new information revealed in court documents on Tuesday, April 30, via Bloomberg , help us move away from vague sums to a concrete figure that Google paid Apple in 2022. A whopping $20 billion .

That huge sum is one of the reasons why the US Department of Justice thinks that Google is a bully, saying that Google pays other browsers so much money to maintain its default browser spot that other search engines, like Microsoft's Bing, have no chance to compete. To put that into context, Google remittance to Apple in 2020 constituted 17.5% of the Cupertino, California-based tech giant's operating income. In 2022, Apple's operating income was roughly $119.437 billion , and Google's $20 billion payment to the iPhone-maker makes up roughly 16.75% of it.

Why fight when you've already been crowned the winner?

Google Search holds 86.99% of the global search engine market share , and it's been that way for a while now. However, Apple's iPhones are very popular, especially in North America, with a 55.13% market share . Ensuring that the majority of smartphone users use Google Search for their needs serves as a goldmine for Google's revenue via ads. The Android phone market largely defaults to Google anyway, so the tech giant has less to worry about on that front.

Microsoft, which operates the Bing search engine, has seen a recent rise in prominence, likely due to Copilot and Bing AI. However, it still doesn't threaten Google Search in any way. Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft has tried to sway Apple in its favor, suggests Bloomberg , offering the iPhone-maker as much as 90% of its ad revenue to switch to Bing as the default browser on Safari to no avail. You can read more about Microsoft's reported pitch to Apple, which includes hiding the Bing brand, via Bloomberg's report .

If you own an iPhone and want to change your default Safari search engine, head to the Settings app, then scroll down and tap on Safari . Under Search , tap on Search Engine and select the desired one.

Israeli forces seize Rafah border crossing, choking off vital aid

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Stormy Daniels offers unflattering testimony about sex with Trump

Porn star Stormy Daniels described her 2006 encounter with Donald Trump in unflattering terms at his criminal trial on Tuesday, testifying she tried not to think about the sex while it took place and feared it would become public.

Biden administration plans to reclassify marijuana, easing restrictions nationwide

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration will take a historic step toward easing federal restrictions on cannabis, with plans to announce an interim rule soon reclassifying the drug for the first time since the Controlled Substances Act was enacted more than 50 years ago, four sources with knowledge of the decision said.

The Drug Enforcement Administration is expected to approve an opinion by the Department of Health and Human Services that marijuana should be reclassified from the strictest Schedule I to the less stringent Schedule III. It would be the first time that the U.S. government has acknowledged its potential medical benefits and begun studying them in earnest.

Attorney General Merrick Garland submitted the rescheduling proposal to the White House Office of Management and Budget on Tuesday afternoon, a source familiar with the situation confirmed.

Any reclassification is still months from going into effect. After the proposal is published in the Federal Register, there will be a 60-day public comment period. The proposal will then be reviewed by an administrative law judge, who could decide to hold a hearing before the rule is approved.

What rescheduling means

Since 1971, marijuana has been in the same category as heroin, methamphetamines and LSD. Each substance under the Schedule I classification is defined as a drug with no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Schedule III substances include Tylenol with codeine, steroids and testosterone.

By rescheduling cannabis, the drug would be studied and researched to identify concrete medical benefits, opening the door for pharmaceutical companies to get involved with the sale and distribution of medical marijuana in states where it is legal.

For the $34 billion cannabis industry, the move would also eliminate significant tax burdens for businesses in states where the drug is legal, notably getting rid of the IRS' code Section 280E, which prohibits legal cannabis companies from deducting what would otherwise be ordinary business expenses.

The Justice Department’s rescheduling decision could also help shrink the black market, which has thrived despite legalization in states like New York and California and has undercut legal markets, which are fiercely regulated and highly taxed.

Years in the making

President Joe Biden directed the Department of Health and Human Services in October 2022 to review marijuana’s classification. Federal scientists concluded that there is credible evidence that cannabis provides medical benefits and that it poses lower health risks than other controlled substances.

Biden even made history in his State of the Union address this year, for the first time referring to marijuana from the dais in the House chamber and making note of the federal review process. “No one should be jailed for using or possessing marijuana,” he said.

When Biden was vice president in the Obama administration, the White House opposed any legalization of marijuana, saying it would “pose significant health and safety risks to all Americans.”

Jim Cole, who was deputy attorney general in the Obama administration, wrote the famous Cole Memo in 2013 , paving the way for the modern marijuana market. The memo scaled back federal intervention in states that had legalized marijuana as long as they implemented “strong and effective regulatory and enforcement systems to control the cultivation, distribution, sale and possession of marijuana.”

Cole, who is now a member of the National Cannabis Roundtable, said in an interview this week that reclassifying marijuana to Schedule III would “open up the ability to actually test it and put it in a laboratory without all of the restrictive measures” of a Schedule I drug.

Kevin Sabet, president and CEO of Smart Approaches to Marijuana and a former Obama administration adviser, said the decision to reclassify marijuana is "the result of a politicized process," arguing that it "will be devastating for America’s kids, who will be bombarded with attractive advertising and promotion of kid-friendly pot products."

"The only winner here is the marijuana industry, who will receive a new tax break and thus widen their profit margins," Sabet said. “Reclassifying marijuana as a Schedule III drug sends the message that marijuana is less addictive and dangerous now than ever before. In reality, today’s highly potent, super strength marijuana is more addictive and linked with psychosis and other mental illnesses, IQ loss and other problems.”

Researchers have raised concerns about high-potency marijuana and cannabis-induced psychiatric disorders, particularly among young men.

Some challenges ahead

Once the DEA formally makes its announcement, the marijuana industry would see an immediate benefit. But with the DEA’s proposed rule change comes a public review period that could lead to a challenge, and perhaps even a change, to the rescheduling proposal.

Once the public comment period has concluded and the Office of Management and Budget reviews the decision, Congress would also be able to overturn the rule under the Congressional Review Act, which gives it the power to weigh in on rules issued by federal agencies. Democrats control the Senate with a 51-seat majority, and for an overturn under the CRA to succeed, two-thirds of the House and the Senate would be needed to support it, meaning the marijuana rescheduling would most likely survive.

Though cannabis remains a divisive topic on Capitol Hill, there has been growing support on a bipartisan basis for marijuana reforms, largely driven by the electorate. Nearly 6 in 10 Americans say marijuana should be legal for medical and recreational purposes, according to a Pew Research poll last month. Cannabis is legal in 24 states for recreational use.

Congress is considering its own bills

Congress is considering its own measures that would make it easier for legal marijuana businesses to thrive and allow for more small and minority-owned shops to flood the marketplace.

The SAFER Banking Act , for example, which would grant legal marijuana businesses access to traditional banking and financial services, could pass both chambers by the end of the year.

Lawmakers are also considering the HOPE Act , another bipartisan bill that would provide states and local governments with resources to automatically expunge criminal records for petty, nonviolent cannabis offenses.

There is also a Democratic-only effort to remove cannabis entirely from the Controlled Substances Act, empowering states to create their own cannabis laws and prioritize restorative and economic justice for those affected by the “war on drugs.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., praised the administration for its move, saying it amounts to "finally recognizing that restrictive and draconian cannabis laws need to change to catch up to what science and the majority of Americans have said loud and clear."

At the same time, he said he is "strongly committed" to moving forward with both the SAFER Banking Act and the Democratic bill to remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act entirely. “Congress must do everything we can to end the federal prohibition on cannabis and address longstanding harms caused by the War on Drugs," he said in a statement.

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., also praised the administration’s move but cautioned that “we still have a long way to go.”

Booker called on Congress in a statement to "follow the lead of states around the country and legalize cannabis for adult-use and create a comprehensive taxation and regulatory scheme."

“Thousands of people remain in prisons around the country for marijuana-related crimes. Thousands of people continue to bear the devastating collateral consequences that come with a criminal record,” he said. “Legal marijuana businesses, especially those in communities hardest hit by the War on Drugs, still have to navigate a convoluted patchwork of state laws and regulatory schemes. I hope that my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, especially those who represent constituents benefitting from medical or adult-use programs, join me to pass federal legislation to fix these problems.”

But there is weariness among lawmakers who remember the last time Congress made law surrounding the drug.

The Republican-led Senate legalized hemp production in the 2018 farm bill, a decision that led to synthetic and exotic cannabinoids’ being sold over the counter, often without regulation, particularly in states where marijuana isn’t legal.

It’s a gray area that has drawn pushback from both sides of the aisle, most recently with the rise of Delta-8 , a synthetic tetrahydrocannabinol product that uses chemicals — some of them harmful — to convert hemp-derived CBD into Delta-8 THC.

Julie Tsirkin is a correspondent covering Capitol Hill.

Monica Alba is a White House correspondent for NBC News.