Use Safari in iOS 8

Master Apple’s web browser on your iOS device

Recently closed tabs

A very handy new feature in iOS 8’s Safari is the ability to quickly reopen recently closed tabs.

By tapping the tabs button at the bottom right of your Safari window, and then tapping and holding the plus symbol, you’ll get a list of your recently closed tabs. Simply tap on the one you want to reopen to get it back.

Enhanced private browsing

Private Browsing is a bit different in iOS 8’s Safari app. Now, rather than asking whether you want to close all pages or keep them, going to Private Browsing Mode (tap the Tabs icon and then ‘Private’) will open a new window for you to start a fresh in.

Private Browsing tabs have dark grey bars on the top and the bottom to help you identify when you’re using the Private Browsing mode. When you’re done browsing privately (there are many reasons you might want to do so, as described here), tap Private again to be taken back to the Tabs window for your non-Private pages.

Private search with DuckDuckGo

Apple has added the ability to use DuckDuckGo as your search engine of choice in Safari to help those of you wishing to keep their data to themselves browse the web without being tracked. Go to Settings → Safari → Search Engine and choose DuckDuckGo in iOS 8’s Settings menu.

Add your credit card

We got a little bit excited about this feature. It’s particularly great for internet shoppers. Now, if you’re using Safari in iOS 8 and you need to type in your card details, you’ll be able to tap a button on the keyboard that reads Scan Credit Card. You’ll be asked to give Safari access to your camera, and then you’ll need to position your card within the frame provided. After a second or two, Safari will read the number on your card and type it straight into the field within the web page. It’s a huge time saver.

Request

Mobile sites should be great. They’ve been designed to make using them on your iOS device easier. However, on some occasions, you may find that the mobile site of a particular website you’re visiting is lacking a feature you know is present on the desktop site. In Safari in iOS 8, you can easily visit the desktop site of a website you’re visiting by tapping on the URL bar and then swiping down to reveal the ‘Request Desktop Site’ option. Tap that to get to the desktop version of the website.