Safari iCloud Tabs shows open Safari tabs from your other Apple devices, so a page open on your iPhone can be opened on your Mac or iPad without sending yourself a link. It works through iCloud Safari syncing.
Does this affect you?
Use this for Safari on iPhone, iPad, and Mac when all devices are signed into the same iCloud account and you want open tabs to appear across them.
Turn on iCloud Tabs
Enable Safari in iCloud settings on each device.
- On iPhone or iPad, open Settings and tap your name at the top.
- Tap iCloud.
- Find Safari in the app list and turn it on.
- On Mac, open System Settings and click your name.
- Open iCloud.
- Click Show More Apps if needed, then turn on Safari.
- Confirm every device is signed into the same Apple ID. iCloud Tabs does not merge tabs between different iCloud accounts.
Give iCloud a minute after enabling Safari, especially if many tabs are already open.
Find and open a tab from another device
Once syncing is active, other devices appear inside Safari’s tab overview.
- On iPhone or iPad: Open Safari, tap the tabs button, then scroll below your local tabs. You should see sections named for your other devices. Tap a tab to open it.
- On Mac: Click the tab overview button in the Safari toolbar, or choose View > Show Tab Overview. Look below your own tabs for tabs from your other devices, then click one to open it.
The list updates automatically as tabs open and close elsewhere, though it can lag briefly.
More control
Both devices need internet
iCloud Tabs syncs through the internet, not Bluetooth. Airplane Mode, weak cellular signal, offline Wi-Fi, or a sleeping device can delay updates until the device reconnects.
Low Power Mode can slow sync
On iPhone, Low Power Mode may delay background iCloud activity. If tabs arrive late, turn Low Power Mode off in Settings > Battery or open Safari on the other device to prompt a fresh sync.
Sign out and back in only after simpler checks
If both devices use the same Apple ID, Safari iCloud sync is on, and tabs still never appear, sign out of iCloud on the affected device, restart, and sign back in. This refreshes the iCloud connection without removing bookmarks or passwords stored in iCloud Keychain.
Sources
- Apple Support – Use iCloud Tabs to see open tabs on other devices (2025)
- Apple Support – Set up iCloud on all your devices (2025)
- Apple Support – If Safari is not syncing across your devices (2025)