9 quick ways to power-up Safari today!

Learn techniques that make Apple’s web browser work better for you

Over the years, Apple has made its web browser look leaner, putting the focus on the pages you visit rather than fussy window furniture and features. But if you care about your privacy, it pays to dig a little deeper. By which we mean privacy online and others you share your devices with, especially if connected to iCloud, which syncs your browsing history — after all, iOS doesn’t provide an ideal guest user account option.

Here you’ll learn how to manage your browsing history, defend against phishing and, when a page’s structure is cluttered or text is too small, how to get a clearer view of the words and pictures you want to see when browsing.

Regarding privacy, in Safari’s preferences you’ll find ‘Prevent cross–site tracking’ and ‘Ask websites not to track me’ options. With the first of these turned on, Apple says Safari periodically deletes tracking data unless you explicitly visit the third–party content provider.

Sadly, the second setting isn’t enforceable. A website can choose to ignore your request not to be tracked, so even if it’s turned on, its effectiveness depends heavily on trust.

Sometimes there’s part of a page you’ll want to monitor. Remember macOS’s Dashboard? Perhaps the best reason to keep that turned on (in System Prefs > Mission Control) is to pin open parts of pages you’d prefer to keep an eye on.

With Dashboard turned on, visit a web page that contains something you want to pin there. Choose File > Open in Dashboard. Place the white rectangle over the area of interest and click. Drag the handles on the rectangle to tweak the exact area you need and click Add at the top right.