6 Safari Tips for Mac I Use Often (And You Should Too)

Safari is arguably the best performing web browser for Mac users (and iPhone and iPad for that matter), and while I also use other web browsers as well, I continuously return to Safari and Safari Technology Preview as my default browser of choice. Aside from fantastic performance, Safari has many great tricks up its sleeve that make using the browser particularly great, and here I’m going to share five of my favorite and most-used Safari tips for Mac.

While we’re focused on Safari for Mac here, each of these tips is also available for Safari on iPhone and iPad. So if you get accustomed to using these on one of your Mac, or other Apple devices, you’ll be happy to know they are universal across the ecosystem (though sometimes accessing the features can be slightly different).

1: Reader Mode

Reader Mode clears out distractions and focuses on only the page content of any webpage, which makes reading long articles and longer form content so much easier. Plus, Reader Mode is customizable, so you can adjust it to further suit your preferences.

• From any webpage, article, etc, click on the Reader button in the URL address bar (it looks like lines stacked atop each other) and choose “Show Reader”

2: Summarize

A subset and variation of Reader mode is the handy AI “Summarize” feature, which will helpfully summarize an entire article so that you can quickly grok an article. I use Summarize sometimes in lieu of reading an article, and other times to determine if it’s worth reading an article.

• Enter Reader mode, then click on the “Summarize” option in the menu, or at the top of the screen to initiate the Apple Intelligence AI summary of the current article

3: Language Translation

Ever visit a webpage that’s not in your native language? Safari’s Translate feature works exceptionally well and can make a website or webpage written in a foreign language immediately usable.

• When visiting a webpage in a foreign language, look for the translate button in the URL/Address bar and click “Translate to English” to immediately translate the webpage

This works with a broad range of languages, and the translation is near instant, and accurate.

4: Open Last Closed Tab

Ever accidentally closed a browser tab? Of course you have, happens to all of us! Fortunately you can immediately open that last tab (or window) quickly with this feature.

• From the “History” menu, choose “Open Last Closed Tab” to immediately re-open and restore the last browser tab you had open

5: Open All Windows from Last Session

If there’s ever a situation where I accidentally quit Safari, Safari crashes, the Mac crashes, if I have to force quit Safari (which is curiously broken in Golden Gate betas), or any other situation where I have to abandon a Safari browsing session, the “Open All Windows from Last Session” feature returns me to where I was quickly and easily. This is a feature I use often, it’s incredibly helpful.

• When you wish to restore your prior browsing session, go to the “History” menu, and choose “Open All Windows from Last Session”

This has saved me so many times, particularly while beta testing operating systems and Safari versions, that I rely on it consistently. A total lifesaver and productivity trick, letting you return to your prior browsing session quickly!

6: Picture-in-Picture Mode for Videos

Picture-in-Picture mode lets you take a video out of the embedded web page video player, and lets it float around on your screen. This is super useful for listening/watching podcasts, live sports, recaps, movies, and just about any other video, while you’re multitasking.

• Right-click on any video playing in Safari, and choose “Enter Picture-in-Picture” (note on YouTube and some other sites, you have to right-click twice to access the Safari options)

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These are just a handful of Safari tricks that I use frequently and that I couldn’t do without. My colleague Jamie recently covered one of his favorite Safari tips which is “Hide Distracting Items”, and that deserves an honorable mention here too. But what about you?

What do you think of this list of useful Safari tricks and tips for Mac? Do you have any others you rely on or would like to share? Share with us in the comments!