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How To Stop Frequently Visited Sites From Showing On iPhone

By Author Turner Tomlinson

Posted on Last updated:

The Safari browser on iPhone has a valuable feature that displays your most frequently visited web pages each time you open a new window or tab. However, not everyone needs or wants this functionality. So, if you prefer not to use the feature, how can you disable it?

If you don’t use Safari’s Frequently Visited feature or just prefer a blank start page, turn off the feature from the app’s ‘Customize Start Page’ list. However, if you share your iPhone and want to keep the browsing history private, erasing your browser’s history is a better option.

While removing the frequently visited sites from your iPhone devices, you can also apply the setting across your iCloud-connected devices. This prevents other people with access to Safari on your Mac, iPad, or iPhone from seeing the sites you visit the most. Let’s take a closer look at the full process and how to complete it with various browsers.

How Do You Get Rid of the Frequently Visited Feature on Your iPhone?

iPhone X

The “Frequently Visited” feature in the Safari app on iPhone displays the websites you visit most often through the browser. Getting rid of the Frequently Visited feature helps keep your browsing history private.

It’s essential to note that Frequently Visited is different from Safari’s bookmarks. Any site you’ve bookmarked will remain even if you disable the Frequently Visited sites feature.

How to Hide Frequently Visited From the Safari Start Page

Follow the steps below to hide Frequently Visited on your iPhoneiPhone (on Amazon):

  1. Open the Safari app.
  2. If you don’t have any tabs open in Safari on your iPhone, you should be taken directly to the home page.
  3. If the Safari web browser doesn’t open a new tab, tap the tabs icon that appears in the lower right corner.
  4. Tap the Plus (+) icon on the lower left corner to open a new tab.
  5. To create a new tab while others are already open, press and hold the tabs button on the toolbar until a menu appears, then choose New Tab from the list.
  6. Navigate to the bottom of the new tab and click Edit.
  7. From the Customize Start Page screen, disable the Frequently Visited option.
  8. After closing the start page customization settings, the Frequently Visited section should be removed.

Your most-visited pages should appear again if you open the start page customization settings and toggle Frequently Visited back on.

Clear ‘Frequently Visited’ From Safari’s History

The primary drawback of the first option above is that it just hides your history of frequently visited websites rather than erasing it entirely. Therefore, deleting your Safari history is the best option if you don’t want other people to be able to see these sites while they’re using your iPhone.

To clear your iPhone’s Safari history:

  1. Open the Safari browser on your iPhone.
  2. Tap the book icon.
  3. Tap the clock symbol.
  4. Click Clear.

When using an iPad, tap the sidebar icon and select History, then tap Clear.

An alert will notify you that clearing the history on one of your iPad or iPhones also clears it on any other devices connected to the same iCloud account. Clearing the history will also remove other browsing data and cookies from the current device only.

To erase all of your Safari browsing history and get rid of the Frequently Visited from the start page, select All Time from the drop-down menu.

Deleting Frequently Visited Sites in Chrome on Your iPhone

Chrome Browser on the phone

Google Chrome is available on the App Store for Apple mobile devices such as the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch with iOS 12 and up.

On an iPhone, Chrome usually displays your most visited sites underneath the search bar on a new tab. Follow the steps below to delete your most frequently visited sites on Chrome:

  1. Open the Google Chrome browser on your iPhone.
  2. Open a new tab.
  3. Tap and hold the icon of the site you need to remove.
  4. Select Remove.

This process will remove the website’s icon from your frequently visited site section.

How Do You Turn Off Frequently Visited Sites in Safari iOS 15?

Turning off Frequently Visited sites in Safari iOS is slightly different. It involves the steps below:

  1. Open the Safari app on your iPhone.
  2. Open a new Safari tab.
  3. Scroll down to the bottom of the Start Page.
  4. Tap the Edit button.
  5. Navigate through the list of Customize Start Page settings.
  6. Locate the Frequently Visited option.
  7. Toggle it off.

Alternative Options for Deleting Frequently Visited Websites and Safari Data on Your iPhone

There are alternative ways to clear Safari history and Frequently Visited sites from iPhone. Known as iPhone data or iOS data erase tools, these third-party options help permanently clear browsing data. Most are available as free downloads, while others require a one-time purchase.

Some of the leading third-party options include:

You can get started with any of these tools the same way you would with iTunes. Pick the one that best fits your needs, download it to a computer, and then connect your iPhone to the computer.

Explore online reviews written by others who have used the tools to find the right third-party app for you.