Safari iOS 7 keeps flashing previously closed tabs upon reopen? Security Problem

This problem has happened to me 3 times TODAY, not to mention a number of times previously, and I have only owned my iPad Mini Retina for 1 month! APPLE YOU NEED TO RESPOND! APPLE YOU NEED TO FIX THIS!

This is why I own a PC, Windows coding may not be sleek, fancy, or good-looking, but at least it gives the user POWER and CONTROL over THEIR data!

Clearly this is an instance of sloppy coding where clearing history and cookies only does so superficially, and the real data remains saved unseen, at least until it flashes back up of screen for a second or two when you least want it to. It would seem to me that some smart developer needs to make an app that allows users to access saved app snapshots and delete them permanently since it doesn't seem like Apple is too concerned with providing such functionality, and by extension, are not too concerned with the privacy of their customer's data.

Speak with your wallet's folks. Perhaps Google's Android OS takes your privacy a little more seriously. Or perhaps not, I am no Android shill, maybe I'll just go back to my desktop PC where I have some CONTROL over MY data!

I am having the exact same problem with Safari but I am also having the problem on my Macbook Pro 15" that I bought last year. It is extremely frustrating and I have been to the Apple store where I talked to a genius, his advice to me... Stop holding your laptop on your lap, honey, yes he actually said that, it gets too hot. Obviously the problem continues. Help, please! Thanks

I just got off the phone with Apple Support, and they suggested going to Settings>Reset>Reset All Settings to perhaps fix the issue.

This does not delete apps or data. You will have to reenter Wi-fi password and things like that though.

I will keep you all posted as to whether this is a viable fix. If resetting the settings doesn't fix the problem of Safari flashing old snapshots when opened (as I suspect it won't as this seems to be a bug in the way IOS handles snapshots of app-states), then at least I hope resetting the settings will at least delete the old snapshots of Safari containing sensitive data, and in the future I will certainly keep sensitive data and webpage viewing restricted to my desktop PC.

But Mike, It's happening to me on my MacBook and I don't have a clue, either did the genius at the Apple store I went to. Do you by chance still have the phone number for Apple? I'm just too lazy to look it up right now, but I will if need be. Thank you.

I did the thing where you describe the problem on Apple Support website and then they give you the option to chat with a support rep online or have someone call you, and I had them call me. Then they know a little bit about the problem before they get on the line with you.

Otherwise, 1-800-MY-APPLE (1-800-692-7753).

When you talk to them point them to this thread and tell them to pass it on to the higher-ups so this can get fixed.

The lady that helped me said a tech person reads the report filed when you call for service. Make sure they realize your problem is not unique and that this thread has 60+ replies and 20k+ views, and yet no response from Apple.

The squeaky wheel gets the oil...don't be quiet and let Apple sweep this problem under the rug.

Everyone that has this problem needs to call Apple and reference this thread.

As mentioned by Karimmac in this thread a few pages back, 3rd party app developers know this is a problem.https://viaforensics.com/resources/reports/best-practices-ios-android-secure-mob ile-development/ios-avoid-cached-application-snapshots/

Again folks, call Apple, make a bug report, and give the representative you speak with the URL to this support thread/discussion. The rep I spoke with actually suggested my iPad itself may be the problem and that I may need to have it replaced by them. Obviously, with the number of views and repies in this discussion referencing the same problem, and with 3rd party app developers recognizing and pinpointing the source of the problem, this is not a hardware issue but a software issue with the IOS.

This will not get fixed if YOU do not call. Don't be lazy, it takes 5 minutes. If you want this problem fixed you need to call, because as of this present moment Apple believes this problem is rare, isolated, and possibly the result of faulty hardware. We know better.

Call them now. Do not rely on others to do the work for you. If you have the problem you need to act. Waiting until Apple possibly decides to address and fix this problem months or years down the road is not a solution. Be a part of the solution and call them. Making a tiny post in a forum full of THOUSANDS of posts does nothing unless you call them and TELL them about the post.

I can confirm that going to Settings>Reset>Reset All Settings DOES NOT prevent the momentary flashing of old webpages/tabs. I just got my iPad to flash old webpages 3 times in less than 5 minutes. Each time this happened I had closed Safari via double-tap Home button and/or cleared history and cookies (I tried several combinations of closing Safari and clearing history/cookies as a test).

HOWEVER, so far at least, after going to Settings>Reset>Reset All Settings, I HAVE NOT seen the flashing of any webpages I visted BEFORE resetting settings. So it is possible that resetting settings could clear out those old snapshots, and while the problem will remain, at least you can be more careful with viewing sensitive/embarassing webpages in the future.

I will keep you all posted on the issue and let you know if webpages I viewed BEFORE resetting settings ever reappear in a flash.

Again...call Apple.

It would't be a bad idea to pass this thread and info to diferent media. this is a serious security issue and Perhaps some news and tech media will be more interested than Apple appears to be.

I've almost never had it happen with my iPad 2.

However, there are iPad 4's at the school I go to. I sometimes accessed a sensitive email account on Safari (have since moved to gmail app, which does do proper state deletion/obfuscation...if you're away from the app for more than 5 minutes or so it will go black in the app switcher).

Does this mean that this information can be exposed and seen at any time? I was in private mode, logged out when done, and quit the app from multitasking.

Thank goodness it's summer and the iPads will be purged.

Thanks for the news. I won't go to sensitive places on Safari on other people's devices anymore. Wonder if iOS 8 or even iOS 7.1.2 (community! we need to suggest an immediate fix!) will fix this.

I see this is still an issue, although I have never seen it happen on my iPad 2.

You might want to turn on Reduce Motion in Settings > General > Accessibility as this will turn off many of the animations, and probably affect app snapshots.

Has anyone found a proper fix to this yet? I have a fully updated iPad mini, and this happened to me today whilst I was talking to some very high up figures. In this case, random old web pages (previously deleted via clearing history etc) flashed up randomly for a few seconds. This is utterly disgusting, especially since it is STILL happening on full updated iPads!

Does this behavior also occur if you delete website Data at

Settings>Safari>Advanced.Website Data>Remove all website data?

I have never experienced this behavior on any of my 3 personal ipads, I do not clear history or use private browsing modes, or delete website data, when opening safari fresh or adding a new tab I get a white screen prior to the main page or previous open tab shows.

Yep, same problem here with previous web pages flashing up when browser is opened. Private settings all in place.

i Have added google chrome browser to use instead on ipad 3 but this did exactly the same thing this morning so seems to an issue wider than just safari.

Whether pages viewed on Safari will flash on google chrome I am yet to find out.

I have no such issues with my samsung galaxy.

Still doing it despite me trying everything. How is this even possible? Why hasn't Apple fixed it yet?!

OK, so I think I have solved the problem on my iPad2, although it's a pain and should be addressed by apple as a security flaw. What I think is happening is that apple has the ipad create a temporary snapshot of an app to display, creating the illusion that the the program opened instantaneously. The iPad has 4 orientations from which to create this snapshot: 2 horizontal with your home button on the left or right, and 2 vertical with your home button on top or bottom. After trial and error I realized the old pages were flashing only when I used the ipad in an orientation different than the one I had used most recently; the ipad is accessing the last image stored in that particular orientation. So here's what has worked...

Close all apps besides safari, then open Safari and close all tabs so the browser just shows a blank page. Exit out by clicking the home button once. Then double click home to show your open apps, which should just be safari; the preview image should show a blank safari page, and if you click on the window with the safari app you should enter the browser and see no old web page flash, just the blank page. Exit by clicking home once, rotate the ipad 90 degrees, then repeat the exact same process- click home twice to bring up a preview window and then enter safari to see if it is the blank page or if safari is using an old cached image. If any orientation has an old page pop up, make sure to enter safari in that orientation and clear out the page. Once you have done this in all 4 orientations you should be fine. What a pain, right? And you have to do this whenever you want to clear out old safari images. It has worked for several weeks for me with the problem recurring, curious to know if this trick works for others as well. But seriously apple needs to just fix it on their end to avoid this hassle.