Safari Gains Enhanced Privacy Features and Web App Dock Support

Although Safari may not be the most thrilling aspect of macOS, Apple is still investing in its web browser. The newest edition boasts several practical enhancements, such as enhanced privacy controls, encryption capabilities, and the option to generate “apps” from any webpage.

The best feature might be the new web apps. This puts the website in the dock on macOS, just like any other app, and opens it with a simple interface that helps hide the fact that you’re just using a web page in a browser. If this sounds similar, it’s because it’s just like Shortcuts in Google Chrome, which can also place a link with a favicon in the dock and open a site in a simple window without the usual browser controls. This helps blur the line between desktop and web apps that have been part of Chrome’s entire offering, especially since it evolved into Chrome OS.

However, the most significant improvements to Safari are privacy protection in addition to macOS in iOS 17 and iPadOS 17. Private Browsing now blocks more trackers and your fingerprints from sites so they can’t identify you. You can also now lock your private browsing sessions behind your fingerprint so you can step away from your computer without worrying about someone sneaking up on you when you’re buying a gift or having to lock your session.

MacOS and iPadOS profiles also allow you to separate browsing by topic or context. So, for example, you can keep all work tabs in a separate Safari window with their own cookies, extensions and favorites. Then you can quickly switch back to your personal profile and pick up where you left off when looking for vintage camera deals on eBay.

Finally, users can share passwords or password combinations through iCloud Keychain with end-to-end encryption. The latest version of Safari will be available later this year as part of macOS Sonoma, which will be released as a beta version next month, as well as iPad OS 17 and iOS17.