Browsing privately
When you browse the web, Safari stores information about the websites you visit, including the content and any user names, passwords, and credit card numbers you enter. Other people who use your computer can view that information. If you don’t want this information stored, use private browsing.
Private browsing is always turned off when you open Safari, even if it was on when you last quit Safari.
To turn on private browsing:
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Choose Action menu > Private Browsing. (The Action menu is near the upper-right corner of the Safari window, and looks like a gear.)
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When you see a confirmation message, click OK.
To turn off private browsing:
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Choose Action menu > Private Browsing to remove the checkmark. (The Action menu is near the upper-right corner of the Safari window, and looks like a gear.)
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Close any windows you’ve used to view private information.
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If you don’t close the windows, other users can view those pages using the Back and Forward buttons.
If you forgot to turn on private browsing:
After you finish browsing, choose Action menu > Reset Safari. (The Action menu is near the upper-right corner of the Safari window, and looks like a gear.)
When private browsing is on, webpages are not added to the history list, the Downloads window is cleared, information isn’t saved for AutoFill, and searches are not added to the pop-up menu in the search field. Any websites that store databases on your computer can’t modify the databases, so services normally available at such sites may be partially or completely unavailable until you turn off private browsing.
Any changes made to cookies during private browsing are discarded when when you turn off private browsing.
Important:Private browsing only removes the names of items you’ve downloaded from the Downloads window. To get rid of the items themselves, you must delete them.