aNewDomain.net — If you just fired up your new Apple iOS 7-based Apple iPhone or iPad, you’ll want to make sure that your device is secure. You also want peace of mind that comes with knowing that your web browsing in Safari is protected. Here’s how to enable key privacy settings in Safari. Apple iOS 7 has them all built-in. All you have to do is enable them.
How to block pop-ups in Apple iOS 7
Nothing is more annoying than pop-up ads – especially on a small screen like the one you get with your Apple iPad Mini or Apple iPhone. Most browsers have built-in pop-up blockers — and so does mobile Safari.
Go to Settings > Safari. Make sure the option to Block Pop-ups is on …
How to enable private web browsing in Safari
Private browsing for Safari is included in previous iterations of iOS. It’s a good feature to have — especially if you share your Apple iPhone or iPad with other people at home or at work. With private browsing enabled, Safari won’t keep track of pages you visit, or search history or AutoFill info. And it blocks sites from tracking your behavior.
To turn on private browsing on your Apple iOS 7-based iPad device, tap the address bar in Safari. Then hit Private. It’s at the left side above the keyboard. The process is different for the Apple iPhone. Scroll below the fold for how to set private browsing in Safari on the iPhone.
On the Apple iPad, you’ll see the following message before you enable private web browsing. It asks if you want to Close or Keep All tabs before enabling the setting.
Safari will change color to black when in private browsing mode. Now you know.
To enable private browsing on an Apple iPhone, first open Safari and tap the Show Pages icon at the lower right corner of the screen. Then hit Private.
How to enable Do Not Track (DNT), block cookies and clear browsing history in Safari
One of the tips I gave you in a previous article about overall privacy and security in iOS 7 was how to enable the DNT feature and block cookies.
To get to all of these Safari settings go to Settings > Safari.
Scroll down to Privacy & Security. In this section you turn on the Do Not Track feature and you’re able to Block Cookies from Third Parties and Advertisers here, too.
Just below those settings, find links to Clear History. This removes your browsing history in Safari. You also can set Safari to Clear Cookies and Data, which removes all stored cookies on your device and form data, too.
How to Enable the Fraudulent Website Warning
With this setting enabled, Safari will display a warning message if you’re visiting a suspected phishing site. These are sites that appear legitimate but are designed as a way to steal your personal information like account numbers, passwords and usernames. Typically phishing sites masquerade as legit sites such as banking, PayPal, or even popular social networks like Facebook.
How to enable the Smart Search Field options in Safari …
Safari has just one field for typing in URLs and doing searches. To make searching easier, you might want to enable the Smart Search Field options. To find them, go to Settings > Safari > Smart Search Field.
Here you have a couple of options to turn on or off:
- Search Engine Suggestions — Safari will ask your search engine of choice for suggestions based on what you’ve typed.
- Preload Top Hit — This allows Safari to predetermine what page to load in the background based on your bookmarks and browsing history. This will enable regularly-visited sites to load faster in the background.
For aNewDomain.net, I’m Brian Burgess.
Based in Pelican Rapids, MN, Brian Burgess led the relaunch of BYTE with Gina Smith, co-founded aNewDomain.net with Gina, John C. Dvorak and Jerry Pournelle in 2011, and serves as the editor-in-chief of GroovyPost.com. He is the How To gallery captain here at aNewDomain.net. Email him at Brian@aNewDomain.net or Brian@Groovypost.com and find him on Google + and on Twitter as @mysticgeek.
Excellent stuff, Brian.