What Safari's home screen is and how to customize it

Safari's home screen is the page that appears when you open a new tab or window. By default, it shows your bookmarks, reading list, and Siri suggestions. You can change what appears on this page — add or remove sections, change the background image, and rearrange the layout — all from Safari's settings on your device.

The steps differ slightly depending on whether you use an iPhone, iPad, or Mac. The core idea is the same: you go into Safari settings, find the home page options, and toggle sections on or off. This guide covers all three.

Key Takeaways

  • On iPhone and iPad, open Settings, scroll to Safari, tap Home Page, and toggle each section (Favorites, Frequently Visited, Reading List, etc.) on or off.
  • On Mac, open Safari, go to Safari menu > Settings, click the General tab, and choose what appears under "Home page" and "New tabs open with".
  • You can change the background image on iPhone and iPad by tapping the edit button (pencil icon) on the home screen itself.
  • Removing sections does not delete your bookmarks or history — it only hides them from the home screen view.

Changing your home screen on iPhone and iPad

Start by opening the Settings app on your home screen. Scroll down until you see Safari — it has a blue compass icon. Tap Safari to open its settings page.

Look for the option labeled "Home Page" and tap it. You will see a list of sections that can appear on your Safari home screen: Favorites, Frequently Visited Sites, Reading List, Bookmarks, History, and Siri Suggestions. Each one has a toggle switch next to it. Tap any toggle to turn that section on or off. For example, if you do not want to see your reading list on the home screen, tap the toggle next to "Reading List" to turn it off.

After you make your changes, close Settings and open Safari. Open a new tab to see your updated home screen. If you want to change the background image, tap the edit button — a pencil icon in a circle — at the bottom right of the home screen. Tap "Edit" at the top, then tap the background preview image. You can choose a solid color, a gradient, or one of Apple's preset images.

Changing your home screen on Mac

Open Safari and click the Safari menu at the top left of your screen. Select "Settings" (or "Preferences" on older versions of macOS). A window will open with several tabs across the top.

Click the "General" tab. You will see two dropdown menus: one labeled "Home page" and another labeled "New tabs open with". The "Home page" setting controls what appears when you click the home button. The "New tabs open with" setting controls what appears when you open a new tab. Both default to "Start Page", which shows your bookmarks, history, and suggestions.

Click either dropdown and choose from the options: Start Page (the customizable home screen), Bookmarks, History, Top Sites, or a blank page. If you choose "Start Page", you can customize which sections appear by clicking the edit button (pencil icon) on the start page itself in Safari.

Adding or removing specific sections from your home screen

Once you have decided which sections to show, you can also rearrange them. On iPhone and iPad, open a new tab in Safari, tap the edit button at the bottom right, and tap "Edit" at the top. You will see all the sections you have turned on. Press and hold any section, then drag it up or down to reorder it. Tap "Done" when you finish.

On Mac, open a new tab and click the edit button (pencil icon) in the top right corner of the start page. You will see the same sections. Drag any section to move it, or click the minus sign next to a section to hide it temporarily. Click "Done" to save your changes.

Changing the background image on iPhone and iPad

Open Safari and tap a new tab. At the bottom right, you will see a pencil icon in a circle. Tap it, then tap "Edit" at the top of the screen. Now tap the background preview image — the large image or color at the top of the page.

A menu will appear with options: Color Filters, Gradient, or Image. If you choose "Image", you can scroll through Apple's built-in images or tap "Photo Library" to use one of your own photos. Select the image you want and tap "Done". Your new background will appear the next time you open a new tab.

What happens to your bookmarks and history when you hide sections

Hiding a section from your home screen does not delete anything. Your bookmarks, reading list, and browsing history all remain in Safari — they straightforward do not appear on the home screen. You can still reach them by tapping the Bookmarks button (the open book icon) at the bottom of the Safari window on iPhone and iPad, or by using the Bookmarks menu on Mac.

If you turn a section back on later, all your saved items will reappear exactly as they were. This means you can safely experiment with different layouts without losing any data.

Common mistakes and how to avoid them

The most common mistake is looking for home screen settings inside Safari itself rather than in the main Settings app. On iPhone and iPad, the home page options are always in Settings > Safari, not in Safari's own menus. On Mac, they are in Safari > Settings > General, which is easier to find.

Another mistake is confusing "Home page" with "New tabs open with". These are two separate settings. "Home page" is what appears when you click the home button (if you have one visible). "New tabs open with" is what appears when you open a new tab. You can set them to different things if you want.

If your changes do not appear right away, close Safari completely and reopen it. Sometimes the app needs to refresh to show your new settings.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use my own photo as the background on my home screen?

Yes, on iPhone and iPad. Open a new tab, tap the edit button at the bottom right, tap "Edit", then tap the background image. Choose "Image" and tap "Photo Library" to select a photo from your device. On Mac, you cannot set a custom photo background — you can only choose from Apple's preset images or solid colors.

What is the difference between Favorites and Bookmarks on the home screen?

Favorites are the sites you have pinned to appear at the top of your home screen — you choose them yourself. Bookmarks are all the sites you have saved in your bookmarks folder. Both can appear on your home screen, but Favorites are more prominent and limited in number.

If I turn off Siri Suggestions, will Siri stop working?

No. Turning off Siri Suggestions only hides them from your Safari home screen. Siri will continue to work normally everywhere else on your device. You are just removing that section from the visual layout.

Can I set different home screens for different profiles or users?

On iPhone and iPad, Safari settings explore to your entire device — there is no per-profile customization. On Mac, each user account has its own Safari settings, so different users can have different home screens.

Why do my Frequently Visited sites keep changing?

Safari automatically updates this section based on the sites you visit most often. If you want to remove a site from this list, long-press it (on iPhone and iPad) or right-click it (on Mac) and select "Remove". The section will update the next time you open a new tab.