How to block trackers in Safari and improve your privacy

Internet browsing has become so commonplace that we often forget the amount of data we leave behind. Safari, Apple's browserIt has incorporated very powerful features for blocking trackers for years.to reduce ad tracking and better protect your information, on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

If you're worried that websites, advertisers, and even some apps They know too much about you, so you'll want to make the most of these options. Let's see, step by step and in great detail, how to block trackers in SafariHow to configure privacy, what features like blocked private browsing, the privacy report, or fingerprint protection mean, and what else you can do if you want to take protection a step further, for example by using Ghostery Dawn.

Private browsing in Safari and tracker blocking

When you turn on private browsing in Safari, the browser behaves differently than normal browsing. In this mode, the pages you visit, your search history, and autofill data are not saved., such as forms or logins, once you close the private tabs.

In addition to that, Safari doesn't just hide the history within the device: It also blocks known trackers from loading and cleans certain identifiers in URLs These are used to recognize specific users as they browse. So, even if a website tries to track you across different sites, it will have a harder time linking all your visits.

As an extra security measure, Apple has introduced the so-called locked private browsing feature in its latest versions. This feature allows private windows to remain protected when you are not using them.so that no one can snoop on what you had open without your permission.

In practice, this means that, when your iPhone, iPad, or Mac locks, goes to sleep, or you stop actively using SafariThe private windows are visually "closed," even though they are still there, and only you can see them again with your unlocking method.

Private browsing blocked: how it works and on which devices it is available

Blocked private browsing is available from iOS 17 iPadOS 17 and Safari 17 on macOS Monterey, macOS Ventura, and macOS SonomaIf your device does not display the option, you most likely need to update to the latest system version.

On iPhone and iPad, the behavior is very clear: Private windows lock when Safari is no longer in the foreground, you switch from private to normal mode, or your device locks up.When you return, you'll see them blurred or covered until you use Face ID, Touch ID, or the passcode.

On the Mac, the logic is similar, but adapted to the desktop. Private windows are locked when Safari ceases to be the active window for a while.When you lock your Mac, it goes to sleep, or the screensaver starts, your private tabs are hidden until you authenticate again.

There is also a very useful manual option in macOS: From the menu bar, you can go to “Window > Lock all private windows”With just one click, you can protect all your private tabs, ideal if you get up from your computer and don't want to leave anything in view.

It is worth knowing, however, that Private windows are not blocked if no page is loaded. They also remain unlocked while you're playing audio or video, so you don't have to interrupt playback or constantly interrupt your Touch ID or password.

How to enable private browsing on iPhone and iPad

To control when your private tabs are locked on iOS or iPadOS, you have a specific option in the system settings. It's very easy to set up and lets you decide if you want to add an extra layer of privacy. to private browsing mode.

1. Open the Settings app from the iPhone or iPad.
2. Scroll down and tap safari.
3. Inside the section "Privacy & Security"Locate the option “Require Face ID (or Touch ID) to unlock private browsing”.
4. Activate it if you want private windows to be automatically locked; Deactivate it if you prefer that they not be protected with biometrics or a code..

Once activated, every time you return to the private tabs view after a lock or app switch, Safari will ask you to identify yourself before displaying its content.This way, even if someone picks up your unlocked phone, they won't be able to easily see what you were looking at in private mode.

How to enable private tab lock in Safari for Mac

On macOS, the configuration is done from within the browser itself. The goal is to ensure that no one can open your private windows without your fingerprint or password., something especially useful in portable shared or in an office environment.

1. Open Safari on your Mac.
2. In the top bar, click "Safari" and select “Settings” (or “Preferences”, depending on the version).
3. Go to the tab "Privacy".
4. Next to “Private Browsing”, select the option “Require Touch ID to view locked tabs”.

If at any point you no longer want this block, simply Uncheck the box and private windows will stop asking for authenticationHowever, you do give up some interesting protection against prying eyes when you're away from your computer.

Hide your IP address and block trackers in Safari

Your IP address is, in practice, your online registrationEach connected device has one, either fixed or dynamic, and with it your connection, your approximate location and, combined with other data, your activity on the network can be identified.

Safari offers several specific features for prevent trackers and some websites from using your IP address for tracking purposesIn recent versions, you can hide your IP address from trackers so they see a generic IP address or one processed through Apple services, instead of your real IP address, or complement it with a VPN.

On Mac, the typical steps To reinforce this aspect of privacy, the following are used:

• Open Safari and go to the “Safari” menu at the topThen click on “Preferences” or “Settings”.
• Go to the tab "Privacy", where you will find several boxes related to tracking and cookies.
• Activate options such as “Prevent cross-site tracking”, which limits a website from sharing browsing data with others.
• check the option “Hide your IP address from trackers”so that advertising and analytics systems have much more trouble tying you to a specific location.
• Consider whether you want to block cookies or restrict them to a more balanced level, depending on your tolerance for entering data every time you enter a site.

On iPhone and iPad, the basic settings are also found in the Settings app, within Safari. From there you can activate cross-site tracking blocking, hide your IP address, and manage what data websites store. on your device, all with just a couple of taps.

Block cross-site tracking and manage cookies

Much of the tracking on the web is done through cookies and third-party scripts that are loaded on almost every page. Safari includes a feature called “Prevent cross-site tracking” (or “Prevent cross-site tracking”) which is precisely responsible for cutting off that flow of data.

On Mac You can be sure To confirm it is active, follow these steps:

1. Open Safari and go to “Safari > Settings” or “Preferences”.
2. Go to the tab "Privacy".
3. Check the box “Prevent cross-site tracking”.

On iPhone or iPad, the process is similar but from the system:

1. Sign in Settings> Safari.
2. In the section "Privacy & Security", activate “Prevent cross-site tracking”.

With this, Safari blocks cookies and scripts that try to track you from one website to another. to create a profile of your tastes, visits, and purchases. Furthermore, by reducing the load of unnecessary trackers, some pages even load slightly faster.

The next front is the cookies themselves. Cookies are used to remember your preferences, logged-in sessions, or shopping carts.But they are also used for analytics and advertising. From the same privacy settings on your Mac, you can choose between blocking all cookies (the most extreme option, but also the most problematic for the functioning of many websites) or allowing only cookies from sites you have visited.

On iOS and iPadOS, you can enable “Block all cookies” in Settings > Safari, although It's only advisable to do this if you know that certain sites will stop working properly.Further down, in “Manage website data”, you will see a list of websites that have left cookies and saved data, and you can delete them one by one or all at once.

Safari Privacy Report: Which Trackers Are Being Blocked

One of the interesting improvements in Safari since versions like 14 is the privacy reportThis tool shows you, in a very visual way, how many trackers have been blocked and from which sites they come.

When you sail, Safari's Intelligent Tracking Prevention system analyzes cookies and other tracking mechanisms that try to use the websites. Following a series of rules, it decides which cookies can be read, which are restricted, and which are automatically deleted after a certain time.

Thanks to this system, Many advertising and analytics trackers become completely inoperative.It's transparent to you. You don't have to disable banners or scripts one by one: Safari takes care of it in the background.

If you want to see what's been happening, on iPhone or iPad you can tap the button aA from the address bar and select “Privacy Report”There you'll see:

• A count of How many trackers have been blocked during the last 30 days?.
• Which websites have used the most crawlers on your visits.
• What has been the most frequent tracker during your browsing.

On Mac you can also access a similar report from the privacy icon or browser options. It's a good way to become aware of the extent to which they try to follow you. even on seemingly harmless websites, and adjust your browsing habits if you deem it necessary.

Manually clear trackers and cookies

Although Safari blocks much of the tracking automatically, You can always go a step further and manually clean up trackers and cookiesThis allows you to remove any residual data left in the browser.

On Mac, under “Privacy > Manage Website Data” you will see a list of all domains that have stored cookies or local data. You can select them one by one and click on “Delete” if you want to get rid of only those that inspire the least confidence.

If you don't want to complicate things, there's the button. “Delete everything” at the bottom. This delete all trackers and saved cookiesIt's as if Safari were resetting its browsing data. However, you'll likely have to log back in to many sites and reconfigure some preferences. If needed, here's how. delete browser history on a Mac.

This section also displays third-party cookies, such as those from advertisers. These are precisely the ones that are usually used to track you from one website to anotherSo it's a good idea to sweep every now and then, especially if you notice too much personalized advertising or are concerned about privacy.

Performing these cleanings regularly not only better protects your information, but also This can make Safari run a bit smoother., by not having to manage so much old data every time you enter a site.

Private browsing mode: what it does and what it doesn't do

Safari's private mode, on both Mac and iPhone and iPad, is ideal when you don't want to leave a trace on the device itself. When you open a "private window" or activate private tabs, the browser does not save your history or cookies. once you close that window.

On a Mac, you can activate it by going to the menu “File > New private window”You'll see the interface change slightly to indicate that you're in private mode, and everything you do there will be discarded when you close the window.

On iPhone or iPad, you should:

1. Open Safari.
2. Tap the tabs button (the overlapping boxes).
3. Choosing "Private" at the bottom (or top on iPad) and tap “OK” or “Done”.

It is important to be clear, however, that Private browsing doesn't make you invisible on the InternetYour internet service provider, the network you're connected to, or the website you're visiting can still see your traffic. What this prevents is leaving a local record on your device, and in combination with tracker blocking, it significantly reduces advertising tracking.

Combined with blocked private browsing and tracking protections, This mode gives you much greater control over what is saved about your activity.This is especially appreciated on shared devices or if you simply want to separate certain everyday uses.

Advanced fingerprint protection in Safari

Beyond cookies and classic trackers, there is a much more silent tracking technique: browser fingerprinting, or fingerprintingWebsites can collect data such as your screen resolution, installed fonts, plugins, device type, operating system, IP address, and approximate location to create a near-unique profile.

The worrying thing is that, Unlike cookies, this technique does not require your consent. It's not explicit, nor can it be erased simply by clearing the history. That's why Apple has been tightening measures against fingerprinting and, in more recent versions of iOS and Safari, has introduced "Advanced Tracking and Fingerprinting Protection."

The idea is not so much to block all trackers as confuse themSafari is in charge of "to embellish" some of the data it provides to websites, using standard values ​​in APIs such as WebGL, Canvas or WebAudio, homogenizing font and resolution details, and even varying session identifiers depending on the site.

In other words, Safari lies a little to trackers to make your digital profile less unique.The less unique your fingerprint, the harder it will be for them to accurately identify you or cross-reference data between services.

On devices with recent versions of iOS (according to Apple, from iOS 17 onwards with new improvements in each iteration), you can find the advanced options within Settings > Safari > Advanced. When fingerprint protection is active for all browsing, not just for private tabsYou enjoy a much higher level of camouflage in your daily life.

Configure your search engine to increase your privacy

Another key point is the search engine you use. By default, Safari usually comes pre-configured with Google as a search engine, which relies on a large collection of data to personalize results and ads.

If you want a little more peace and quiet, you can opt for alternatives such as DuckDuckGo or StartpageThese options focus more on privacy and record less information about your searches. If you need to change it, here's how. change search engine.

On Mac the change is made like this:

1. Open Safari and go to “Settings > Search”.
2. In “Default search engine”, choose DuckDuckGo or another available option.

On iPhone and iPad, the process is similar but from the system:

1. Go to Settings > Safari > Search Engine.
2. Select your preferred option, for example DuckDuckGo.

With this, You limit some of the aggressive customization of results. and it reduces the amount of data associated with your searches, which complements the blocking of trackers on the websites you visit afterwards very well.

What about trackers in apps and extra solutions like NextDNS?

Beyond the browser, many people find that, in Settings > Privacy and security > App privacy report On iOS, countless tracking domains appear associated with banking, health, messaging, or entertainment apps.

Even if you have it disabled Cross-app tracking in “Settings > Privacy and security > Tracking”Some apps still make connections to analytics or advertising domains. This option prevents them from using your advertising identifier to track you across different apps, but It does not completely block connections to third-party services.

To further reduce this type of tracking, you can use DNS filtering solutions such as NextDNSConfigured as DNS on your device or routerNextDNS allows you to apply tracker and ad blocklists at the network level, so that Many of those domains don't even load..

However, it's important to understand that no system blocks absolutely everything. Some apps may stop working correctly if certain domains are blocked excessively.And there will always be new techniques that attempt to circumvent the filters. Therefore, the best approach is usually to combine Safari's and the system's own protections with a reasonable DNS configuration and prudent use of installed applications.

With all these settings properly configured, Safari becomes a truly robust tool for protecting your privacy: Blocking known trackers, private browsing that leaves no local trace, biometric tab blocking, IP hiding, cross-site tracking limits, fingerprinting protections, and regular cookie and data clearing.… Add to that a more respectful search engine and, if you wish, DNS filtering like NextDNS, and browsing becomes much less invasive and much more peaceful, without losing convenience in your day-to-day life.