Safari can keep many tabs open, which is useful until every search, recipe, article, and shopping page becomes one long pile. The tab grid, bulk close tools, Tab Groups, recently closed tabs, iCloud Tabs, extensions, and automatic closing settings help bring it back under control.
These steps apply to Safari on iOS 15 or later. Tab Groups also require iOS 15 or later.
Does This Affect You?
Use this if you have too many open Safari tabs, cannot find the page you need, or want separate groups for work, travel, research, and personal browsing.
View and Close Tabs
- Open Safari.
- Tap the tabs button with two overlapping squares.
- Scroll through the tab grid and tap a page to open it.
- Close one tab with its X button or by swiping it away.
- To close many tabs, touch and hold the tabs button or new tab button and choose the close-all-tabs option shown for your iOS version.
The tab grid includes search, so typing a word from the page title or site can filter the open tabs.
Use Tab Groups
- Open the tab grid.
- Tap the current tab group label at the bottom, such as X Tabs.
- Choose New Empty Tab Group or New Tab Group from X Tabs.
- Name the group.
- Switch groups later from the same tab group menu.
Each group keeps its own set of tabs, so a trip-planning group does not mix with your normal browsing tabs.
More Safari Tab Tools
Reopen Recently Closed Tabs
Touch and hold the plus button in Safari to see recently closed tabs, then tap one to restore it.
iCloud Tabs
If Safari is enabled in iCloud, the tab grid can show tabs open on your Mac, iPad, or other Apple devices signed into the same account.
Extensions
Open Settings > Safari > Extensions to manage installed Safari extensions such as content blockers or password manager tools.
Auto-Close Old Tabs
Go to Settings > Safari > Close Tabs and choose After One Day, After One Week, or After One Month if you do not want tabs to remain open forever.
Sources
- Apple Support: Manage tabs in Safari on iPhone
- Apple Support: Organize tabs with Tab Groups in Safari
- Apple Support: Use Safari extensions on iPhone