by Tom Nelson
Safari is the most popular web browser for the Mac, and why not; it’s fast, easy to use, and it comes with every Mac. These eight tricks (sixteen, if you count the tip included with each trick) can make you more productive, make it easier to work with Safari, or just make you scratch your head, wondering why Apple included that feature.
If you’re ready to explore a few new tricks, let’s get started.
Privacy Settings for a Website
Starting with Safari 11 and macOS High Sierra, Safari gained a number of security and privacy protections that can make surfing the web both safer and faster. These settings are normally available on a website-by-website basis, and are stored in Safari preferences, under the Websites button in the toolbar.
Accessing this part of the Safari preferences lets you see and change the privacy settings for each website you’ve visited and altered the privacy settings from the default state.
But it’s not the quickest way to make changes to a site you’re visiting; a much faster method can be found directly in the browser’s menu bar:
Select Safari, Settings for This Website.
A sheet will drop down from the browser’s URL bar, displaying the list of privacy settings for the current page.
You can alter the privacy settings on a page-by-page basis using Settings for This Website. Screen shot © Coyote Moon, Inc.
You can alter the settings directly within the pane by placing checkmarks on each setting you wish to enable, or use popup menus to select from multiple options for each listed item.
You can choose to:
- Use Readers when available
- Enable content blockers
- Set the page zoom level
- Set Auto-Play levels
- Adjust popup window settings (macOS Mojave and later)
As well as control the use of:
- Camera
- Microphone
- Location
Tip: You can also access the privacy sheet for the currently loaded website by right-clicking in the URL field and selecting Settings for This Website in the popup menu. Note: The menu item is only available if the URL field hasn’t been previously selected.
