Why does Safari crash? Users complain that Apple’s web browser ‘randomly’ stops working – here’s what to do if it’s bothering you
It is the default Internet browser for millions of people around the world, but many say Safari is plagued by random crashes and unexpected shutdowns.
Affected users have found that the popular browser frequently crashes and recovers, only to crash again.
Fans of the Apple software flocked to social media to vent their frustration, calling Safari “the most buggy, unreliable browser.”
On Apple’s support forums, some customers even threatened to stop using the company’s signature software altogether if the situation didn’t improve.
On X, formerly Twitter, a frustrated user complained that Safari is “freezing on every platform.” It’s stuck in a crash loop on my iPhone.’
MailOnline found that Safari was making some websites inaccessible, causing the screen to go blank before displaying an error message stating that a problem had occurred repeatedly.
Apple has not yet commented on the cause of the problem, but there are a few simple steps you can take to reduce the risk of a crash.
So, here is what you need to do if you are experiencing the crashing bug in Safari.
Apple users have reported that the Safari browser on iPhone and Mac quit unexpectedly and crashes ‘randomly’ (file photo)
The problem with Safari appears to have been going on for several months, but has become more common lately.
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“It was great, except Safari randomly crashed. Happened 3 times so far. Has anyone seen this yet?’
Another wrote: ‘After the 18.0.1 update, Safari kept randomly closing while browsing (crashed).
“I’ve encountered this problem before, and the same thing happens with the photos app.”
Another commenter added that they had experienced “weird page crashes” while using the browser.
The issue has also been a frequent source of complaints on the Apple Community forum, where a number of users have shared detailed descriptions of the crashes.
“Safari started quitting unexpectedly and then stopped loading,” one commenter wrote.
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One commenter complained that Safari was the “most buggy and unreliable browser,” adding that the app frequently freezes or crashes.
Another added: ‘Safari consistently crashes only on specific websites.’
The user added that they had tried several suggested solutions without success and had already lost a day’s worth of work thanks to the constant crashes.
For some Apple users, the problem had become so disruptive that they were now willing to abandon Safari completely.
One Apple user wrote: ‘The only app I’m having trouble with is Safari – and it’s almost every web page I use now.
‘It’s been going on for about nine months now and it’s beyond frustrating. I’m at the point where I’m going to download a new browser on my iPhone and stop using Safari.”
Apple has not confirmed what could be causing these problems and did not respond to MailOnline’s request for comment.
However, if the problem bothers you, there are a few simple steps that can help you.
If Safari freezes or gets stuck in a loading and crashing loop, the first thing you should do is force quit the program.
The issue seems to have been affecting Safari users for several months now. However, Apple has not yet commented on the cause of the problem and did not respond to a request for comment (file photo)
On the Apple Community forum, a Safari user complained that the browser crashed when he tried to visit a certain set of websites
One commenter complained that they had been experiencing the problem for “about nine months” and were considering giving up Safari altogether
On the iPhone, you can do this by swiping up to the App Switcher and exiting the Safari app directly.
On a Mac, press Command + Option + Escape on the keyboard to open the Force Quit Applications menu, select Safari, then click Force Quit.
Then restart your device and try restarting Safari to see if this fixed the problem.
If that doesn’t work, make sure Safari isn’t stuck with too much memory by closing as many tabs as possible and clearing the cache.
The cache consists of data stored by the browser about each website it visits, which helps the page load faster when you revisit it.
Over time, these stored page debris have grown so large that they can slow down the browser or even cause a crash.
To clear the cache on Mac, click the ‘Safari’ tab in the top left and select ‘Preferences’ from the drop-down menu.
Select the ‘Advanced’ tab and select the ‘Show development menu in menu bar’ option.
Another iPhone user noted that the app seems to close ‘randomly’, adding that the problem started after installing the updated 18.0.1
You can clear your browsing data and cache to reduce the chances of the app crashing on iPhone. To do this, navigate to the ‘Safari’ tab in the ‘Settings’ app and select ‘Clear history and website data’ (in blue)
When you close the Preferences menu, you will now see a ‘Develop’ tab in the bar at the top of the page.
Select ‘Develop’ and click ‘Empty caches’ to clear the data.
If you don’t mind losing more information, you can also clear the cache indirectly by deleting your browsing history via the ‘History’ tab.
On iPhone, simply open the Settings app, tap “Safari” and press the “Clear History and Website Data” option.
If you’ve done all that and are still having problems, the last resort is to make sure that both your browser and your device are updated to the latest version.
An outdated browser and an up-to-date operating system may have some incompatibility issues that can cause the crashing problem.
To make sure both are updated on your Mac, open the System Settings app, select General, then click Software Update.
If new software is available, you can see it here and then select “Update Now” or “Restart Now” to install it.