How to View Your Safari Browsing History on iPhone (Complete Guide)

Lost track of a website you visited earlier but forgot to bookmark? Safari on iPhone keeps a detailed record of your browsing activity that you can search and review anytime. Here’s how to access your complete Safari history and find exactly what you’re looking for.

What is Safari Browsing History?

Safari on iPhone automatically saves every website you visit, creating a searchable archive that can go back weeks or even months depending on your settings. This browsing history acts as a personal bookmark system, letting you recover websites you forgot to save, track research you’ve done, or revisit helpful articles without remembering exact URLs.

Your history is stored locally on your device and, if you have iCloud enabled, syncs across all your Apple devices signed in with the same Apple ID.

[Current as of: iOS 17 and iOS 18 - January 2025]

Why Use This Feature?

• Recover lost websites instantly: Find pages you accidentally closed or forgot to bookmark without trying to reconstruct your search terms
• Track your research: Review websites you visited during research projects or shopping comparisons, even days or weeks later
• Save time on repeat visits: Quickly return to frequently visited pages without searching or typing long URLs
• Verify your activity: Check which sites you’ve accessed recently for security or privacy awareness

Things to Consider

• Privacy implications: Anyone with access to your unlocked iPhone can view your browsing history unless you regularly clear it or use Private Browsing mode
• Storage limitations: Safari doesn’t keep history indefinitely—older entries may be automatically deleted after several weeks to save storage space, though the exact timeframe varies
• Private Browsing exclusion: Websites visited in Private Browsing mode never appear in your history, so this method won’t recover those sessions

How to View and Search Your Safari History - Step by Step

1. Open the Safari app on your iPhone—it’s the blue compass icon typically found on your home screen or in your dock.

2. Tap the book icon at the bottom of the screen (second from the right). This opens your bookmarks and history menu.

3. Tap the clock icon labeled ‘History’ at the top of the menu. You’ll now see your browsing history organized by time periods like ‘Today,’ ‘Yesterday,’ and specific dates.

4. Browse chronologically by scrolling down through the list. Tap any website to reopen it. History is grouped by date, with the most recent visits at the top.

5. Search your history instead of scrolling by tapping in the search bar at the top of the screen and typing keywords related to the website you’re looking for—this searches both page titles and URLs.

6. View filtered results as Safari filters them while you type, showing only websites that match your search terms. Tap any result to open that page immediately.

7. Access older history by tapping ‘Show More’ at the bottom of any date section, or keep scrolling down to see browsing sessions from previous days and weeks.

8. Manage your history by swiping left on any website entry and tapping ‘Delete’ to remove individual items. To clear all history at once, tap ‘Clear’ at the bottom right, then choose your time range: last hour, today, today and yesterday, or all history.

Note for iOS versions: These instructions apply to iOS 15 through iOS 18. Earlier versions may have slightly different menu layouts, but the book icon and History tab remain consistent.

You now have complete access to your Safari browsing history and can quickly find any website you’ve visited recently. Whether you’re recovering a lost page or tracking down research from last week, Safari’s searchable history makes it effortless to pick up where you left off.