Is it Still Safe to Use Safari 15.6 with my MacBook Pro(Mid 2012)?

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Is it Still Safe to Use Safari 15.6 with my MacBook Pro(Mid 2012)?

I upgraded my MacBookPro Mid 2012 (MPB) to Catalina OS (10.15.7) a while back and everything seems to be working fine. However, I have recently been getting notifications on certain websites (Gmail, most prominently) that the Safari that I am running (15.6) is out of date for these websites and may not function properly.

I tried to update Safari using Settings, but it seems that this Safari version is the best I can run with Catalina and Catalina is the most recent OS I can run.

Any thoughts here? My biggest concern is whether I am losing security protection by continuing with this older version of Safari.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Mar 10, 2025 8:16 AM

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Answer 1

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a brody

Level 10

85,472 points

Mar 10, 2025 8:29 AM in response to tpaine76

Yes and No. Apple is currently only updating the security to Safari on Ventura and higher operating systems.

For Catalina, only Firefox ESR and iCab offer current security standards.

Most other web browsers require Big Sur as their minimum operating system. Alas a 2012 Mac can't run Big Sur.

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Answer 2

a brody

Level 10

85,472 points

Mar 10, 2025 8:47 AM in response to tpaine76

No. Chrome in its most secure configuration requires Big Sur or later.

When I say only Firefox ESR and iCab offer it, that is because the change that happened with Sequoia's release. You can see that in Browsers by Mac operating system - Apple Community

And when say yes and no, I am talking primarily about the security that happens because of security by obscurity. As long as the website enhancements that offer security are server side, the issues with security are not browser based but based on what is done on the server side. Websites that depend on specific browser enhancements for security are inherantly insecure in of themselves, and become obvious because of lack of proper rendering under some web browsers but not others. This makes an obvious open door to hackers who are aware of the differences of browser compatibility and what security enhancements were added.

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