Safari search on the iPhone: Apple removes potential privacy problem
With the first beta of iOS 18.4, Apple brought the search history of Safari users to the fore. This was a rather bad idea.
Safari from Apple: Questionable changes to the iOS user interface.
(Image: Apple)
Users who already have the beta version of iOS 18.4 on their iPhone were surprised when they opened Apple's standard browser Safari: When activating a new tab, the most recent search terms were automatically displayed along with a scrollable list. Apple apparently thought this was useful, but many users found it unpleasant because it could potentially contain sensitive data. However, Apple has since changed its mind – at least apparently.
What were you looking for?
Apparently, Apple thought it would be useful to provide users with a quick overview of their previous searches. These can currently only be found via the history integrated in the browser, which is quite tedious to click through. Otherwise, there is a freely configurable start page for new tabs, which includes favorites, privacy report, reading list and closed tabs. The pro argument for the new search overview: it makes it easy to find important queries again. You can also use the privacy mode ("Private browsing") for particularly sensitive searches, in which nothing is saved. After all, an iPhone is locked by default so that strangers cannot simply look into Safari.
However, the fact that users hand over their device to other people while it is open, who then use Safari, for example, speaks against this: – embarrassing searches are immediately noticed. In addition, Apple did not initially provide an option to switch off the search overview: It simply always appeared.
Apple learns and changes, but the default remains
However, Apple has now responded to all the criticism: The "nice feature" with the "slight" privacy issue has been mitigated in iOS 18.4 beta 4, which was released this week. Since then, there has been a switch in the Safari settings that can be used to determine whether previous searches are displayed or not.
However, the default setting is still on. Users who do not like the feature should therefore take a trip to the Safari settings after updating to iOS 18.4, the final version of which is due in April.
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