stop safari from going to another webpage when scrolling to the end of a webpage

Question

stop safari from going to another webpage when scrolling to the end of a webpage

This is about scrolling while using Safari on my MacBook Pro. Latest OS.

When I am on a webpage that has an end where you can't scroll any further, I will often trigger the browser pulling up from the bottom of my screen a page in what I think is my browser history. Please teach me how to stop the browser from doing this.

This is similar to the trackpad feature where you can swipe left or right with three or four fingers to go backward or forward in your browser history. But it happens when I am scrolling down the page, when I hit the bottom of the page. I am moving up/down, not left/right.

This can even happen with Twitter which usually has an endless scroll. There are times when Twitter pauses the feed (or when you reach the end of someone's tweets) and the browser will think you've reached the end. You will of course try to scroll further too see if there is more and instead of drawing out more content, the browser will pull up a page from your browser history, from the bottom of the screen. So as you continue to scroll, you're pulling up the other webpage.

It's super annoying since I of course don't want to go to some other page and when I try to go back, I've lost where I was on the page I wanted to be on.

Please tell me how to turn off this feature.

MacBook Pro Apple Silicon

Posted on Jan 31, 2023 7:52 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Paul Oldewurtel Author

Level 1

27 points

Feb 6, 2023 6:46 PM in response to WinsC1

I think I figured it out. It happened again just now while I was browsing, but this time it happened when I was scrolling back up to the top of a page. Instead of just stopping, I saw that the browser was letting me push through to another page. I messed with it a bit and realized it was cycling through familiar websites and in a particular order.

I had recently updated a part of my Start Page in Safari, which helped me make the connection. When I create a new tab, my browser shows my Start Page and on that Start Page I had chosen Show Reading List. Somehow, the pages I visit the most got added to this Reading List on their own. I thought it was just bookmarks or Safari trying to be helpful. It would change every once in a while, so I spent some time choosing what I wanted there. I ended up with seven webpages "bookmarked" there. (Not sure how you add to this area, but you can right-click and choose Remove Item.) And these seven pages were the ones I was scrolling through.

When I uncheck Show Reading List, those bookmarks go away and the scrolling feature stops. Now all I have to do is make turn those bookmarks into Favorites and then check Show Favorites so that I still get what I want without triggering that Reading List feature.

How is there no documentation about this feature?

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Answer 2

WinsC1

Community Specialist

Feb 2, 2023 3:56 PM in response to Paul Oldewurtel

Hey Oldewurtel,

That would not be expected behavior for Safari. We'd recommend trying the steps in this article as they may help resolve the issue: If Safari on Mac doesn't open a webpage or isn’t working as expected - Apple Support

"Reload the page

To reload a page, choose View > Reload Page, or press Command-R. If you can't reload, make sure that you're connected to the internet.

If you still can't reload:

Press Command-Q to quit Safari. If Safari doesn't quit, press Option-Command-Esc to force Safari to quit.
Open Safari again and try to load the page. When Safari opens, if it automatically opens pages that you don't want to open, quit Safari again, then press and hold the Shift key while opening Safari.

Check Safari extensions

If you installed any Safari extensions, make sure that they are up to date.

You can also try turning extensions off. From the menu bar in Safari, choose Safari > Settings (or Preferences). Click Extensions, then deselect the checkbox for each extension to turn it off. Learn more about Safari extensions.

Check Safari settings

The webpage might not be compatible with one or more browser settings, which you can turn on or off as needed. From the menu bar in Safari, choose Safari > Settings (or Preferences). Then click Websites, Privacy, or Security to access these settings:

Websites settings. These settings can be configured for specific websites.
Privacy settings. These settings apply to all websites.
Security settings. These settings apply to all websites.

Test with a private window

A website can store cookies, caches, and other data on your Mac, and issues with that data can affect your use of the website. To prevent the website from using that data, view it in a private window. From the menu bar in Safari, choose File > New Private Window, or press Shift-Command-N.

If that works, use the following steps to remove the website's data, including its caches and cookies. The website can then create new data as needed. If it's a website that you sign in to, make sure that you know your sign-in information before continuing.

Choose Safari > Settings (or Preferences), then click Privacy.
Click Manage Website Data.
Select the affected website from the list shown.
Click Remove.
Click Done.
Open the website again in a non-private browser window."

Thanks!

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stop safari from going to another webpage when scrolling to the end of a webpage

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