Home
Index

# Resetting Safari

If you use a shared or public computer, you may want to reset Safari to deter other people from seeing which webpages you’ve visited and other information about how you’ve used Safari.

Important:Plug-ins—small applications that perform specific tasks, such as playing multimedia files—are often installed to extend computers’ capabilities. Some plug-ins store information about which sites you’ve visited. Such information is not deleted when you reset Safari, so resetting Safari may not remove every trace of your browsing history.

## To reset Safari:

1. Choose Safari > Reset Safari.

2. Deselect any items you don’t want to reset:

Clear history: Clears the list of webpages you’ve viewed.

Reset Top Sites: Clears any changes you’ve made to Top Sites, such as adding or pinning sites. If you also clear your history, your Top Sites page reverts to showing the webpage previews displayed when you first installed Safari 5.

Remove all webpage preview images: Clears any thumbnail images Safari has saved of webpages you’ve viewed.

Empty the cache: Clears the webpages you’ve viewed from the temporary location on your computer where Safari stores them. The cache helps webpages load more quickly, so you may notice it takes some websites longer to open the first time you visit them after emptying the cache.

Clear the Downloads window: Clears the list of files you’ve downloaded from websites. Only the names are removed; the files themselves are still on your disk until you remove them.

Remove all cookies: Removes cookies that websites have stored on your computer.

Remove all website icons: Removes website icons, which are small graphics that help identify sites on the Internet. You see them in the Safari address field and bookmarks list, and other places. These icons are stored on your computer.

Remove saved names and passwords: Removes user names and passwords that Safari automatically fills in at websites that require them (if the AutoFill feature is turned on).

Remove other AutoFill form text: Removes some personal information, such as telephone numbers, that Safari uses to automatically fill in forms on webpages (if the AutoFill feature is turned on). Removing AutoFill information does not remove information from your address book.

Close all Safari windows: If you don’t close all Safari windows, someone could use the Back and Forward buttons to view the webpages you’ve visited.

Reset all location warnings: Clears any information websites have saved about your location.

3. Click Reset.

Resetting Safari removes all cookies, saved passwords, and saved AutoFill information, not just the ones saved during the current browsing session. Cookies saved by other applications may also be removed.

### Related Topics

What are cookies?