Stop Safari showing suggestions and news as you type

Why it happens

As you type in the address bar, Safari asks Apple for Safari Suggestions, like news, websites and apps, and asks your search engine for popular searches. Both show up in the list under the address bar. With them off, that list sticks to things like your own bookmarks and history.

How to fix it

1. Open Safari and choose Safari > Settings… from the menu bar.

2. Click Search and untick Include Safari Suggestions to stop news and suggested sites.

   Safari›Settings…›Search›Include Safari Suggestions

3. On the same page, untick Include search engine suggestions to stop popular searches from appearing.

4. Close the window and type in the address bar to check. You should see far fewer suggestions.

Still not fixed?

1. Does a site start loading before you press Return? Untick Preload Top Hit in the background on the same Search page.

2. Something embarrassing still pops up? It may come from your own history. Choose History > Show All History, search for it, select it and press Delete. If you use Clear History… instead, pick a time range first, because it clears that history on every device signed in to iCloud with Safari turned on.

3. If the suggestions come back after you've unticked them, quit Safari with Command-Q and open it again. If they still show, contact Apple Support.