touching a link by mistake auto new instance of safari

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RayJ2046 Author

Level 1

4 points

touching a link by mistake auto new instance of safari

New recently, when my finger touches a link inadvertently, a new instance of safari starts for that link. I find this incredibly annoying as I have to now change safari windows to get back to all the tabs I’ve been working with. And doubly annoying extra effort to destroy the new instance. In response to this I disabled Multiple Apps and Gestures in the settings to try to counter this new behavior but does not help me. It feels like this is a bug because on some links I get a dialog query for my preference of opening. On the problematic links I get no dialog and therefore no option to negate the action. How can I disable popping a new instance of safari for the inadvertent touch of a link? Thank you

iPad, iPadOS 14

Posted on Jan 16, 2021 4:25 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

jdo_apple

Community Specialist

Jan 19, 2021 8:24 AM in response to RayJ2046

Hi RayJ2046,

Thank you for giving us the chance to assist you with your iPad. You can count on us to do our best to assist you or get you pointed in the right direction.

We understand that you are experiencing issues with Safari. We'd like to start by setting your expectations.

Touching a link, even if by mistake, will either cause the browser to show the destination or open a new tab, depending on how the link is created.

If you feel like the issue is software-related, we recommend updating your iPad if you haven’t. While it isn't inherently assured that an update will resolve the issue, updating to the latest version of iPadOS for your device can help isolate potential software issues. Kindly secure a backup and update.

How to back up your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch

Update your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

If you need further assistance, kindly provide us with more details.

Are you experiencing a similar issue when using a different browser?

Are you experiencing the issue when visiting a specific site?

Providing us with more details can help us be in a better position to assist you.

Take care!

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Answer 2

Brian_P7

Community Specialist

Jan 20, 2021 10:27 AM in response to RayJ2046

RayJ2046,

We appreciate you keeping us posted. As we've mentioned in our previous response, a link will either show the destination or open a new tab. This behavior depends on how the link is created.

You have the option to disable "Open New Tabs in Background" under Settings > Safari. Disabling this feature may help show you the new tabs immediately.

You can use the article below as a reference.

Use tabs in Safari on iPad

Cheers!

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Answer 3

Jan 23, 2021 2:49 AM in response to RayJ2046

You may find this article to be helpful in understanding some of the frequent difficulties encountered by users new to iPadOS Safari - along with some of Safari’s more esoteric features and quirks:

iPadOS - Safari - Lost Windows, Lost Tabs… - Apple Community

Insofar as possible, I hope to have distilled most of the frequent problems reported here - and documented procedures, strategies [and where needed] some useful workarounds.

I that you find this to be helpful in resolving any issues that you may be experiencing.

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Answer 4

RayJ2046 Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 19, 2021 1:15 PM in response to jdo_apple

Hi, thanks for the reply. I have a 5th gen iPad SW version 14.3. My main problem is that the unwanted link touch begins a new safari window apart from the one I had been working in. That gives me several additional steps of work to dismiss the unwanted safari session and get me back to my original place. This is new behavior as far as I’m concerned. If the new link generated a new tab within my current window, it would not irk me so much as I can easily dismiss the unwanted tab with 1 touch. Thanks for your help.

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Answer 5

RayJ2046 Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 23, 2021 2:37 AM in response to RayJ2046

I disabled "Open New Tabs in Background" as suggested but did not solve my problem as the new tab is in a new Safari instance all by itself, My current work gone to the background. I have so far failed to learn how to dismiss this new safari window with a single easy gesture like I can an unwanted tab.

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Answer 6

RayJ2046 Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 23, 2021 3:18 AM in response to jdo_apple

My problem description is distilled enough for any engineer that understands processes. To direct me to that diatribe on every problem from A to Z shows me Apples disregard for it’s users. I’ll be waiting for Apple to roll out it’s next problem fixes.

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Answer 7

RayJ2046 Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 26, 2021 2:20 PM in response to jdo_apple

Just so there’s no hard feelings, I’ll report my solution. It came after I enabled slide-over windows.

On the next occurrence of the inadvertent link touch, the link spawned a slide-over window which I learned to dismiss with 1 upstroke gesture. That was all I was after. Another fortunate by-product of this experience is I learned how to display all running apps without clicking the button twice. Lastly, I’m curious as to the difference between the link window generation types, and now I’m sure I’ll figure that out too.

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touching a link by mistake auto new instance of safari

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