Safari is a reputable web browser from Apple but it can also become sluggish at some point.However, that shouldn't bother you. All you need is to play around with settings and boost its speed.
No doubt, Safari is one of the most reliable browsers in the market. However, it too experiences some drawbacks that you should learn to deal with when using it.
One of the most common problems is slowness. The good thing is that there are several approaches to boost the speed of Safari Browser as illustrated in his article.
1. Clear Browser data
Do you know that the Safari browser stores some data from websites that you access? Actually, most of the data that you access is stored as history, cache, and cookies.
Unfortunately, the stored data can slow your browser and affect how to surf the internet. The following are basic tips on how to clear browser data on safari.
If you want to delete the history
Step 1: Click on “Safari Menu” on the top right of your browser as shown below
Step 2: Scroll down to the “Clear history” option and click it
Step 3: On the page that appears, choose “All history” and click “Clear history” as shown below. You can also select the time range of history that you want to clear if not all.
If you want to delete Cookies and saved data, follow the following steps
Step 1: Click on the Safari menu and go to “Preferences”
Step 2: On the page that appears, click on “Privacy Tab” as shown below
Step 3: Scroll to the “Remove all Website Data” option and click
Step 4: Click “Remove Now” on the page that appears as shown below
If you want to remove cookies and save data one by one, go to (step 3) and click on the “details option.”
Step 5: Select websites that you wanna remove and click “Remove” and then click “Done” as shown below.
2. Close unused tabs
Safari browser gets slow if you open many tabs at the same time. It's normal for people to open several tabs, especially when searching for something on the internet. Your browser is likely to become sluggish if you open many tabs.
Sometimes it gets worse and the Safari browser “Hangs” or “Freezes” when you try to access the internet. Fortunately, you can boost the speed of the Safari browser by closing some tabs.
3. Repair Startup Disk Issue
Your Safari browser is likely to become sluggish if the start-up disk has some problem. In that case, you need to fix the problem by running First Aid of Disk Utility in macOS Recovery.
For M1 Mac
Step 1: Long press the power button to get “Startup options” on the screen
Step 2: Choose options and continue
For Intel Mac
Step 1: Long press power button “Command + R” keys to get the Apple logo
Step 3: Go to macOS and choose then macOS Utilities
Step 4: Click on “Disk Utility” and launch the app
Step 5: Choose Macintosh HD and click on “First Aid”.
Step 6: Run the startup disk repair
4. Disable or Remove Extensions and Plug-ins
It is common for people to install extensions and plug-ins on Safari browser to increase its functionality. Unfortunately, having too many extensions in your browser can slow it.
The following is a simple guide on how to disable or remove extensions on the Safari browser.
Step 1: Launch the “Safari Browser”
Step 2: Go to Click on “Safari Menu” and go to “Preferences.”
Step 3: Go to “Security Tab”
Step 4: Scroll down the page and un-check the “Allow Plug-ins” option as shown below
Step 5: Exit preferences and re-launch Safari
If you wanna remove extensions
Step 1: Launch the “Safari Browser”
Step 2: Go to Click on “Safari Menu” and go to “Preferences.”
Step 3: Choose the “Extensions Tab”, scroll down and choose those that you wanna remove, and click the “Uninstall option.”
Step 4: Confirm that you wanna remove the extension to get rid of it
5. Turn off Safari notifications
Just like other browsers, Safari also allows websites and apps to send notifications to users. However, sometimes websites tend to overdo it and slow the browser with numerous notifications.
Here’s a simple guideline on how to turn off Safari notifications and boostthe speed of your browser.
Step 1: Launch the “Safari Browser”
Step 2: Click on “Safari Menu” and go to “Preferences.”
Step 3: Go to the “Websites” page and click on “Notifications”
Step 4: Scroll on the list of websites and “Allow” or “Deny” permission to send notifications
Step 5: Go to the bottom of the page and uncheck the notification that says,“Allow websites to ask for permission to send push notification”
6. Close the antivirus program
Do you know that the antivirus program could be the reason why your Safari browser is slow? The truth is that many antiviruses occupy a big space in your computer, thus making other programs too slow.
Sometimes it becomes important to close the antivirus program to boost the speed of your browser. Alternatively, you should look for an anti-virus program that doesn't use many resources.
7. Get rid of Safari Preferences File
You’re likely to experience laggy websites, error messages, slow page loading, and a time-out issue with the Safari browser if the preferences file is corrupt. In that case, you need to delete the preferences file to solve the problem and speed up your browser.
The following is a systematic guide on how to get rid of the Safari preferences file.
Step 1: Start by pressing, “Command + Shift + G” at the same time on the keyboard to open “Go to File.”
Step 2: Type“~/Library/Preferences” and click “Go.”
Step 3: Look for “com.apple.Safari.plist” and delete it to remove the preferences file as shown below
8. Close and re-launch Safari
It’s normal for Safari browser to become slow if you use it for several hours non-stop. This is mainly because Safari could have used all the system memory.
The best way to resolve such a problem is to quit and re-starting the browser. That way, you free more resources in the system memory and the browser becomes faster.
9. Use the latest Safari version
You can never have a superfast Safari browser if it’s outdated. Therefore, it is good to check updates regularly and makes sure your browser is up-to-date. Alternatively, you can uninstall your browser and install the latest version from its official website.
The following are basic steps on how to update the Safari browser on your Mac computer even if you aren’t a tech guru.
Step 1: Click on the Apple logo on the top right of your screen and choose “System Preferences.”
Step 2: Go to “System Updates” (a gear Icon as shown below).
Step 3: Allow your computer to look for updates (You must have internet connection)
Step 4: Once you get updates (including safari updates), click on the “Upgrade Now” option and give your computer time to install updates.
Step 5: Tick the box behind “Automatically keep my Mac up to date” so that you don’t have to keep updating your Safari browser manually.
10. Reset Safari
You add more content to your Safari browser as you use it and eventually overload it. Sometimes you even tamper with its default settings or make downloads that slow the browser.
Therefore, it’s good to reset the Safari browser if you experience slow page loading when surfing the internet.
Step 1: Click on Safari (Located on the top left side of the menu bar)
Step 2: Click on “Reset Safari.”
Step 3: From the page that appears, tick items that you wanna reset as shown below
Step 4: Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click “Reset.”
Please note that you'll lose preferences, saved form data, top sites, and history if you give Safari a complete reset. Just tick the items that you are ready to lose before you click the “Reset” button.
11. Configure or Disable Auto-fill
Safari browser has a unique feature that remembers things that access regularly and stores them in the Autofill list. The browser also remembers usernames and passwords, thus making it easy for users to log in to online platforms.
What you don’t know is that the Autofill list grows over time, thus slowing the browser. Here are tips to streamline Autofill and accelerate Safari.
Step 1: Click on the “Apple Menu.”
Step 2: Go to “Preferences” and select “Autofill Tab.”
Step 3: Uncheck items to cancel Autofill as shown below. You can also click the “edit” option to get rid of an item that you don't require.
Do you think you should continue using a sluggish browser? I bet you don't like that at all. The good thing is that you can speed up your Safari browser and surf the internet stress-free.
You can use any of the above tips or combine a few to tweak the speed of your Safari browser. Additionally, you should also make sure your computer is in good condition and you have a fast and stable internet connection.
