None declared
Mostly a question of trust: Safari collects data linked to you but declares no tracking. The sensitive items are location, user content and browsing history. In total the label lists 7 data types; 32% of private browsers we checked declare tracking.
Safari privacy in one look
- 1Collects nothing
- 2Not linked
- 3Linked
- 4Tracks you
Built only from the developer's App Store label. It describes disclosure, not tested behaviour.
Safari collects 2 data types tied to your identity but declares no tracking.
Did Safari ask for something?
Pick the permission prompt you saw. We compare it with what Safari's developer declared.
Safari lists Location on its label. Choose While Using and turn off Precise Location if the feature works without it.
Safari lists User Content on its label, linked to you. Choose Limited Access and pick only the photos you want to share.
Contacts is not on Safari's label. That can be fine: data used only on your iPhone does not have to be declared. If the data would need to leave the phone for the feature to work, ask why it is missing.
Safari declares no tracking, so a tracking prompt would contradict its label. Decline it, and consider reporting the mismatch to Apple.
Health & Fitness is not on Safari's label. That can be fine: data used only on your iPhone does not have to be declared. If the data would need to leave the phone for the feature to work, ask why it is missing.
A permission is what the app can reach on your iPhone; the label is what the developer says leaves it. They answer different questions.
What Safari collects, explained
| Data type | What it covers | Where to limit it |
|---|---|---|
| LocationSensitiveNot linked to you | Where your phone is, either precisely (street level) or approximately (city or area). | Settings › Privacy & Security › Location Services: choose Never or While Using, and turn off Precise Location if the app does not need it. |
| User ContentSensitiveLinked to you | Messages, photos, videos, audio recordings, documents and support chats you create or upload. | Settings › Privacy & Security › Photos: choose Limited Access or None; review Microphone and Files access too. |
| Browsing HistorySensitiveNot linked to you | Websites and other content you viewed that is not part of the app. | In browsers, use private tabs and clear history; Settings › Apps › Safari has Safari's own controls. |
| Search HistoryNot linked to you | Searches you run inside the app. | Look for a clear-history or private-search option in the app. |
| IdentifiersLinked to you | An account ID, screen name, customer number or a device-level ID such as the advertising identifier. | Settings › Privacy & Security › Tracking: turn off Allow Apps to Request to Track, or tap Ask App Not to Track when prompted. |
| Usage DataNot linked to you | What you tap, open and view inside the app, plus which ads you have seen. | There is no single iOS switch. Look for an analytics or personalised-ads toggle in the app's own settings. |
| DiagnosticsNot linked to you | Crash logs, launch times, hang rates and energy use. | Settings › Privacy & Security › Analytics & Improvements › Share With App Developers controls what Apple passes on; the app's own crash reporting is separate. |
What Safari's label means for you
Safari's label has 2 types under “Data Linked to You”, 5 types under “Data Not Linked to You”. A data type can appear in more than one section when it is used for different purposes — for example, identifiers used for both analytics and advertising.
Safari declares no tracking, which means the developer says it does not combine your data with other companies' data for advertising or sell it to data brokers. The data linked to you — user content and identifiers — is still tied to your identity, typically through an account, and is covered by the developer's privacy policy and retention rules.
The items that deserve the most attention are location, user content and browsing history. Location history reveals home, work and routines. Precise location deserves the most scrutiny.
A private browser should collect less than the sites it visits. Browsing History or Identifiers on its label are worth a second look. Check the default search engine, whether history syncs to an account, and whether tracker blocking is on by default.
Among the 160 private browsers in our snapshot with a label, 32% declare tracking, 39% collect data linked to you and 31% say they collect nothing. Safari lists 7 data types, more than the average of 2.1 for this group.
Utilities range from calculators to VPNs, so their labels vary more than any other category. A simple tool that collects identifiers and usage data for tracking is a sign of advertising SDKs.
Settings to check for Safari
- 1
Tracking
Settings › Privacy & Security › Tracking. If “Allow Apps to Request to Track” is off, apps cannot ask, and they are told to treat you as having declined. You can also turn it off for this app alone.
- 2
Location
Settings › Privacy & Security › Location Services › Safari. Choose While Using or Never, and switch off Precise Location if a city-level answer is enough.
- 3
Photos
Settings › Privacy & Security › Photos. Limited Access lets you pick exactly which pictures the app can see; Add Photos Only lets it save without reading your library.
- 4
Lock the app
On iOS 18 and later, touch and hold the icon and choose Require Face ID. Anyone who picks up your unlocked phone then needs your face, fingerprint or passcode to open it.
- 5
Notifications
Settings › Notifications › Safari › Show Previews: When Unlocked keeps message and account details off the Lock Screen.
Does Safari track you?
There is no “Data Used to Track You” section on Safari's label.
Lock Safari behind Face ID
- Find Safari on your Home Screen or in App Library.
- Touch and hold the icon until the quick-actions menu opens.
- Tap Require Face ID (or Require Touch ID / Require Passcode, depending on your iPhone).
- Tap Require Face ID again to confirm. Safari now asks for authentication every time it opens.
The lock is an iPhone feature, so it works whether or not Safari has a passcode of its own. It does not change what the app sends to its developer.
About Safari
| Developer | Apple Inc. |
| App Store category | Utilities |
| Latest version | 6.11, released October 2026 |
| First released | October 2021 |
| Requires | iOS 10.0 or later |
| Size | 6 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ |
| Languages | 33 (AR, CA, HR, CS, DA, NL, EN, FI…) |
| Bundle ID | com.apple.mobilesafari |
The current version shipped in October 2026, so the app is actively maintained and its label is likely current. Labels are updated by developers when practices change.
Also by Apple Inc.: Calculator, Passwords, iCloud Drive, Journal, Files, Mail.
What the label cannot tell you
- A label is self-reported. Apple publishes the developer's answers and can reject apps that misrepresent them, but it does not independently verify what Safari sends.
- It does not say where data is stored, how long it is kept, whether it is encrypted, or which companies receive it. The privacy policy covers those points.
- Optional data counts: if a feature lets you add something (a profile photo, a phone number), the type is listed even if you never use the feature.
- Data handled only on your iPhone is not 'collected', so a no-collection label is compatible with an app that reads your files locally.
- Third-party sign-in, payment processors and SDKs are supposed to be included, but a label can lag behind a new version.
The question to ask Safari's developer: Does the browser keep my history on its servers?
Safari vs similar private browsers
- Safari (this app)
- Secret Browser searching
- Gramio
- Speed VPN and Private Browser
- Puma Browser
- Private Web Browser
- Tob Browser + Private Browser
- Kahf Browser
Fewer types is not automatically safer: a cloud backup app has to collect your files to work. Compare like with like.
Look up any of our apps in seconds, or put two labels side by side.
Apps similar to Safari
All private browsers → Who tracks you? A–Z → Apps that collect location → Privacy label decoder →
Your Safari privacy checklist
Done. You have applied every control the label points to.
True or false?
- Right.Not quite.
False: there is no Data Used to Track You section on Safari's label.
- Right.Not quite.
Labels are self-reported by developers. Apple can reject or remove apps that misrepresent practices, but it does not audit each label.
- Right.Not quite.
True: Location appears on its label, in the Not Linked to You section.
- Right.Not quite.
It is collected and sent; the developer says it is de-identified rather than tied to your account or device.
- Right.Not quite.
Apple's rules require apps to work the same whether or not you allow tracking.