[5 Ways] How to Check Browsing History on iPhone

Often, we need to check our browsing history to find a web page we have visited previously. The Browsing History feature in web browsers like Safari makes it effortless to do so. The browser saves the links you visited so you can revisit them anytime.

But how do you check the browsing history on your iPhone's Safari browser? Keep reading this article to find out! In this article, we will discuss how to check the browsing history on an iPhone as well as how to recover the browsing history if it gets deleted somehow.

See Full Safari History and Recover Them without Backup

Although you can easily view the recent browsing history from the Safari browser, it might not allow you to inspect the full browsing history. If you want to quickly view the full history, including the deleted ones, the FoneGeek iPhone Data Recovery will be a great option.

The program scans your iPhone to reveal the full history and lets you view them conveniently. And the best part is you can retrieve the deleted browsing history without any backup.

Key features of FoneGeek iPhone Data Recovery

• Let you view the browsing history before choosing to recover.
• Let you retrieve the permanently deleted history without backup.
• You can only select the required history to retrieve the one you need.
• Available in a wide range of iOS devices and models, even iOS 17 and iPhone 15.

First, download and install the FoneGeek iPhone Safari history viewer on your PC. After that, launch the program. You will see three options to find the history: search from an iOS device, iCloud backup, or iTunes backup. Select the one you desire.

Here is how to search the history from iOS devices:

1. After launching the program, press Recover Data from iOS Devices from the main window.
2. Attach your iPhone/iPad to the PC/Mac with a USB and wait for the device to be recognized. Now press Next.
3. In the new window, choose the type of data you desire to recover. In this case, it is Safari History. Then press Scan.
4. Once the scanning is complete, you will see the files/pages that have been retrieved. Press Recover to PC to save these on your PC. You can also use the filter "Show only deleted files" to see the web pages removed from the history.

That's it. Now, your browser history should be recovered to your computer.

Check Search History on iPhone in Settings

You can also check the search history from your iPhone's Settings menu. There, you will find the amount of storage each website consumes. It also shows the most frequently visited websites. Here is how to view the history from Settings:

1. Unlock your iPhone and visit the Settings app. Then find Safari from the list of settings.
2. Under the Safari tab, find and click on Advanced from the bottom of the display.
3. Now click on Website Data and you should see the whole list of visited websites.

Please note that you can't retrieve the specific URLs this way, as it only shows you the website link and storage uses.

Search the History on Your iPhone in Safari

This is the best option if you want to find a specific URL easily. New versions of Safari enable you to search the browsing history to find a particular result. Here is how to do so:

1. Open the Safari app on your iPhone and click the bookmarks/history option. This should reveal the book icon.
2. Click on the Book icon from the top of the screen and tap History.
3. Press the Search History search box from the history section.
4. In the search box, write the search term to find the desired result.
5. Click on the preferred result from the search result to open or view it.

See Search History on iPhone from iCloud

iCloud backs up all sorts of data on your iPhone when turned on. If your device has iCloud enabled, then you should be able to retrieve the browsing history even if it is deleted.

Please note that this process will erase all existing data to begin a recovery. Here is the step to check the history from iCloud backup:

1. Open Settings from your iPhone and go to the General option.
2. Select Reset from the next page and click Erase All Content and Settings.
3. Make use of the on-screen instructions. Under the Apps & Data screen, click Restore from iCloud Backup.
4. Now, sign in to your iCloud ID and pick the backup file with the erased Safari browsing history.
5. Once you do so, the removed data will be restored, and you can view them from the Safari browser.

View Safari History Using iTunes Backup

You can also use iTunes to back up your browsing history of the Safari browser. However, before you proceed, be cautious about retrieving browsing history from iTunes backup, as it will remove all the new data since the last backup.

Here are the steps to follow:

1. Attach your iPhone to your PC or Mac through a USB cable. Then, open the Finder app on the Mac. Suppose using a PC, open iTunes.
2. Click on the iPhone icon when it appears and press Restore Backup.
3. Now select the backup files that include the removed browsing history.
4. Finally press Restore and wait for the restoration to be initiated.

Extra Tip: How to Clear Safari Browsing History on iPhone

While keeping the browsing history is useful, sometimes it can also cause issues. For example, your browser may become slow when browsing history is accumulated. So, consider always cleaning the safari browsing regularly.

Here are the steps to follow to clean the browsing history of the Safari browser:

1. Open Safari and click the Bookmarks icon in the toolbar.
2. Press the History icon from the top left corner.
3. Select Clear and then choose how much history you want to remove from the options.

Conclusion

We hope this article helped you understand how to see search history on your iPhone's Safari browser. We have also explored the process of retrieving and viewing the deleted search history with tools like FoneGeek iPhone Data Recovery. Now, you are equipped with all the knowledge you need to inspect, retrieve, or remove your search history on your iPhone!