Apple has included the *suggestions* feature in the Safari browser. This feature tries to display predictions about search queries, however, it is a function independent of suggested words and phrases. While this feature is enabled, Safari displays various suggestions, offering previews of interactive content for iTunes media, news, Wikipedia articles, weather forecasts, sports scores, App Store apps, and even nearby locations. This may seem like a useful feature, but unfortunately this is rarely the case. It’s often can’t accurately predict and can be annoying, as the content suggestions feature takes longer to load than saying simple words and phrase suggestions. It also consumes additional resources that may affect Safari’s performance.
The feature is available on macOS and iOS platforms. Fortunately, it is simply to disable this feature on both devices. Although some users report that ‘suggestions’ is a useful feature, others are disappointed and claim that it simply hinders the daily browsing experience. The actual value of this feature depends on your browsing habits and objectives. Therefore, we recommend that you try it first. If you find it low-use or annoying, follow the steps below to turn off Safari suggestions on your Mac or iPhone/iPad devices.
As mentioned, if you don’t want the feature, disabling Safari suggestions is quick and easy. Start Safari, click the menu bar at the top of the screen, and then select Preferences. Alternatively, use the Command and Comma keyboard shortcut (,) to access Safari preferences. Choose the Search tab from the menu at the top of the window. There are several features on the Search tab, such as “Include Search Engine Suggestions,” “Include Safari Suggestions,” “Enable Quick Find on Web Site,” “Preload First Shot in The Background,” and “Show Favorites.” The feature of interest is ‘Smart Search Field: Include Safari Suggestions’. Remove the check mark from the check box to turn off Safari suggestions. You can also remove the check mark from the check box next to “Include search engine suggestions” so that suggestions do not appear when you enter the search query. Once you have turned the desired features on or off, close the Preferences window and the settings will be saved and applied automatically. To make sure you’ve disabled Safari Suggestions, type a query in the URL field and check for pop-up suggestions. For example, you can enter the name of a famous person, a popular movie, or a location. If you’ve disabled Safari Suggestions, none of these queries will show interactive content.
Disable Safari suggestions on Apple mobile devices
Disabling suggestions on iOS devices is also easy, but you can’t do so through the Safari app. To turn off Safari suggestions, go to your iPhone/iPad settings and scroll down until you find Safari. Tap on it to access Preferences. Find the Search category. Below it, you should find similar options to the Safari for Mac feature (detailed above), such as “Search Engine Suggestions,” “Safari Suggestions,” “Quick Search on The Website,” and “Preload First Shot.” If you want to turn off Safari Suggestions, just turn off Safari Suggestions. Also consider search engine suggestions, however, if you turn off this feature, it will turn off autocomplete search queries in your mobile website’s browser. When you have finished editing, you do not need to ‘save’ or other buttons – just exit Settings and all settings will be saved automatically and applied to your browser. To make sure you’ve disabled the suggestions correctly, open the Safari mobile browser and start typing your query in the URL field and look for pop-up suggestions. For example, you might start typing the name of a famous person, a popular movie, or a place. If you’ve disabled Safari Suggestions, none of these queries will show interactive content.
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