With every iOS update, Apple adds new features to built-in apps, such as: (Safari), the main browser for Apple devices. And in iOS 17, many new features and improvements have been added to the Safari browser to improve the online browsing experience on Apple devices.
Here are the top new Safari features in iOS 17 and how to use them:
1- Profile:
In iOS 17, Safari offers a profile feature that lets you create a private profile for work and a profile for personal or other use, keeping any browsing data associated with the work profile separate from the personal profile.
Each cookie contains browsing history, add-ons, and website data respectively. For example, you can disable cookies for one profile and keep them for another.
Profiles can be set up in Safari on iOS 17 by following these instructions:
- Open the Settings app.
- Scroll down to Safari Options and tap on it.
- Click (New Profile) New Profile.
- Choose an icon, name and background color for the profile.
- Customize favorites and tabs settings.
- Click Finish.
2- Close the private browsing window feature:
In iOS 17, private browsing windows are disabled and require a password to open and access them. If you give someone your unlocked phone and they try to open an incognito tab in Safari, they won't be able to access it without verifying Face ID, Touch ID, or entering a passcode.
This feature helps keep your browsing windows private even when others have access to your iPhone. It is enabled by default in iOS 17 but can be disabled using the following steps:
- Open the Settings app and choose Safari.
- Scroll down to Options ("Face ID" (or "Touch ID") is required to unlock Private Browsing).
- Click the toggle next to this option so that the button becomes gray to disable the feature.
3- Configure a private search engine:
In iOS 16, you can choose the default search engine to use with Safari, but in iOS 17 you can choose separate search engines for normal and private browsing, with options like Google, Yahoo, Bing, DuckDuckGo, and Ecosia.
To select a private browser, do the following:
- Open the Settings app and choose Safari.
- Click (own search engine) own search engine.
- Click one of the search engine options to choose a private browser.
4- Stop tracking URLs:
URL links in iOS 17 can remove any tracking information appended to the end of a URL, which prevents websites from tracking your browsing using URL identifiers. This feature is automatically enabled in incognito mode in iOS 17, but it can be enabled for all browsers by following these steps:
- Open the Settings app and choose Safari.
- Click Advanced.
- Click on the option (Advanced tracking and fingerprint protection).
- Activate the (browse all) option.
Enabling this option ensures that all URLs you open in Safari contain the additional tracking information that is sometimes appended to the end of deleted URLs.
5- Hide your IP address on websites:
When you surf the Internet, your service provider and the websites you usually visit can see information about your web traffic, for example B. DNS entries and IP addresses. This information can be used to identify you and build a profile of your location and browsing history over time.
So, in iOS 17, Apple introduced an option to hide trackers IP addresses and websites or only trackers when using iCloud Private Relay feature. If you choose to hide your IP address from trackers and websites, it will remain hidden and websites cannot use this information to determine your location.
In iOS 16, the iCloud Private Relay feature is primarily designed to hide the IP addresses of known trackers. So this is an evolution of that feature.