Safari Hangs on Startup/Restart

What you’re describing sounds like Safari is choking right at the beginning of its network handshake after boot, while other apps (like Chrome) are unaffected. Since Chrome works immediately, the issue isn’t your Wi-Fi or internet connection in general—it’s something about Safari specifically. On macOS Sequoia, Safari is deeply tied into iCloud, DNS resolution, and system-level security filters, so anything that interferes with those can cause the “stuck progress bar” you’re seeing. Intego could definitely be a culprit since third-party protection suites sometimes insert themselves into Safari’s traffic path in ways Chrome bypasses.

Here's a few things you can try to narrow it down:

1. First, reboot and when Safari hangs, check if disabling Private Relay (if you have iCloud+ and it’s on) makes a difference.
2. Next, try clearing Safari’s caches (Safari → Settings → Advanced → Show Develop menu, then Develop → Empty Caches).
3. You might also want to temporarily disable Intego’s “Web Shield” or similar feature to see if Safari instantly responds—if it does, that’s your smoking gun.
4. Another common fix is flushing DNS from Terminal with `sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder`.
5. If the problem persists, testing Safari in Safe Mode (restart while holding Shift) is a good way to see if a third-party extension or background filter is at fault. Ref: Use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support