Do you want to know how to remove the ‘Frequently Visited’ area from your iPhone’s Safari? Follow these simple steps for a clutter-free browsing experience:
- Launch the Safari app on your iPhone.
- Open a new tab and navigate to the Start Page.
- Scroll down to the ‘Edit’ icon and tap it.
- Find and disable the ‘Frequently Visited’ toggle option.
By following these steps, you can instantly hide the ‘Frequently Visited’ sites from your Safari Start Page, making your surfing experience more personalized to your preferences.
Our explanation continues below with additional information on how to delete frequently visited websites on iPhone, as well as screenshots of the methods.
See this video on how to remove frequently visited on iPhone 13 for more information on this issue.
How to Turn Off Favorite Websites in iPhone Safari
This section’s processes were carried out using an iPhone 13 running the iOS 16 operating system.
Step 1: Open the Safari Web browser on your iPhone.
Step 2: Open a new browser tab.
Step 3: Tap the Edit button at the bottom of the screen.
Step 4: Tap the button to the right of Frequently Visited to turn it off.
After you’ve completed our methods for eliminating frequently visited websites on iPhone, those websites should no longer appear on the browser’s new tab page.
If you don’t see the above option, your iOS version may be outdated. The section that follows will go over another way to make this change using older versions of the operating system.
Another option you might want to change is the automatic uninstalling of specific apps. This is covered in further depth in our piece on how to stop the iPhone from uninstalling apps.
How to Prevent Frequently Visited Websites from Appearing on New iPhone Safari Tabs Using the Legacy Method
The following steps were performed on an iPhone 6 Plus running iOS 9.3. If you have a newer version of iOS, such as iOS 15, you can remove the Frequently Visited section from your Safari new tab page by following the steps indicated above.
Please bear in mind that these instructions were prepared for the default Safari Web browser and may differ if you are using a different version of iOS or an other browser, such as Chrome or Dolphin.
Do you not want to see your favorites on your MacBook as well? This guide will show you how to delete favorites on Mac.
Step 1: Go to the Settings menu.
Step 2: Scroll to the bottom and select Safari.
Step 3: Toggle the Frequently Visited Sites switch to the right.
You have disabled the feature if there is no green shade surrounding the button.
You can change the appearance of your new tab screen by hiding particular sites now that you know how to hide frequently visited sites on iPhone.
If you want to keep the Frequently Visited Sites feature but remove one specific site that keeps displaying there, open a new tab in Safari, then tap and hold on the site you want to delete, and then select the Delete option.
More detailed instructions for removing specific frequently visited sites can be found by clicking here.
Answers to Questions
How do I uninstall frequently used apps from my iPhone 2022?
If you have a newer iPhone model, such as the iPhone 13 or iPhone 14, or if your iPhone is running the iOS 16 operating system, you can erase the Frequently Visited area by following the steps below:
- Open Safari.
- Open a new tab.
- Scroll to the bottom and choose Edit.
- Uncheck the Frequently Visited box.
You should now be able to return to the Safari Start page without viewing any of your recently visited Web pages.
How can I stop Safari from showing frequently visited websites?
You can remove the section of the Safari new tab window that displays your frequently visited web pages.
Simply open Safari > Open a new tab > Scroll to the bottom and choose Edit > Disable Frequently Visited.
If you later find you used this option more than you thought and want it back, you can restore the iPhone Frequently Visited area by going back to the same menu and re-enabling the Frequently Visited section.
Why am I unable to delete regularly visited websites from my iPhone?
Screen Time may be to blame if you scroll down on the new tab or start page in Safari and are unable to open the Edit menu or disable this feature.
Try disabling the passcode in Settings > Screen Time, then returning to the edit menu and disabling the Frequently Visited section.
If it doesn’t work, try resetting your iPhone by simultaneously holding down the Volume Up and Power buttons and sliding the slider to the right.
What else can I remove from the Safari Home screen?
While this method has focused on deleting frequently visited websites on iPhone, the final option that we get to allows you to alter a few other items as well. Among these options are the following:
- Popular
- Favorites
- Shared with You
- Siri Suggestions
- Reading List
- Privacy Report
- Apple’s iCloud Tabs
You can also alter the background image that appears on the start page.
The Safari browser on your device is very useful, and many of the features and options that are accessible in the desktop version are also available in the mobile version.
Related: How to Favorite a Website in Safari on iPhone 13
Video About Frequently Visited
How to Remove the Frequently Visited Section from Safari on iPhone
- Open the Safari program.
- Open a new tab.
- Scroll down and click on the Edit button.
- Turn off the Frequently Visited option.
Conclusion
Having rapid access to your favorite or most frequently visited Web pages can help you navigate your browser more easily.
However, if you don’t want other people using your phone to see your frequently visited sites, or if the ones displayed aren’t beneficial to you, you might be wondering how to remove them.
Fortunately, there is an iPhone setting that you may utilize to remove the Frequently Visited section from your iPhone’s Safari browser.
When you start a new tab in your iPhone’s Safari Web browser, a screen with icons for several websites appears.
The symbols at the top of the screen are your iPhone’s Favorite bookmarks, while the icons at the bottom are your frequently visited websites.
Both icon sets in these regions are completely customisable, and you can even remove the frequently visited sites entirely if you like.
Our post on how to remove often visited sites on iPhone should have directed you to the setting that controls whether such frequently visited sites are displayed or not.
Matthew Burleigh has been writing technology how-to articles and tutorials for over a decade. He has extensive experience in information technology both in small business and as a consultant.
His articles have appeared on dozens of websites and been read millions of times.
He covers many different topics concerning technology, but focuses primarily on smartphones, consumer software, and consumer electronics.
You can read his full bio here.