iOS 9 Safari clear history, save cookies

OK...

iPhone 5s

upgraded to iOS 9 without issue.


Safari issue


Prior to iOS 9 there was an option in Safari to clear browsing history from within the app itself.

This would clear the browsing history but leave the browser cookies untouched. This allowed website/forum logins to remain in place so when I was able to re-open the webpage and not have to re-enter my name/password each time.


Now with iOS 9, the option to 'clear history' in the Safari app clears the history AS well as clearing the cookies/logins.


Admittedly, the passwords are saved on the phone and can be entered relatively quickly...but I didn't have to do this prior to the iOS 9 upgrade.


Is there no longer a way to just clear the browsing history and leaving the cookies/logins intact?

iPhone 5s, iOS 9

Posted on Sep 16, 2015 9:08 PM

Reply
54 replies

Oct 14, 2015 10:24 AM in response to vtrandall

People here don't seem to understand the problem we're brining up here so let me describe it again.


If you want to delete your browsing history, and browsing history only, you can no longer do this with iOS9. Period.


If you go into Safari either in iOS9 or even on your desktop and go to clear history you are told "Cookies and Website data will be cleared..."


What this means is that if you are logged into any website, you will be immeditealy logged off as that Cookie is wiped out.


This does NOT mean that you've lost the login/password information that you may have saved in your Keychain. But because the Cookie was wiped out, you will have to log into each and every site that you visit.


Since the birth of the internet and Netscape Version 1.0, you have been able to delete browsing history, cookies, cache, etc SEPERATELY. This is the way it has been for 20 years. Apple, in its infinite wisdom, has decided to eliminate the user's ability to decide what they want deleted. Now you're only option is to wipe everything out - history, cache, cookies - the whole nine yards.


The question and point of this entire thread is to figure out WHY Apple did this and WHEN/IF they will ever revert back to the old way of doing things.


You go into Chrome to delete history and you're given a bunch of checkboxes for what you want to delete and what you want to keep.


that's the issue at hand here.

Oct 20, 2015 11:56 AM in response to vtrandall

I don't know where I found it (somewhere here at discussions.apple), but you do not need your Safari to stay in the 'private mode'.

Turn Private Browsing on or off on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support

BTW in the latest Safari (iOS 9 and iPad) the two boxes are on the top right.


I am a brandnew user of any Apple device, and my Windows and Android devices don't have this behavior. It bugged me for days, so I did a search, and it looks like this solved my problem.

Nov 25, 2015 4:36 PM in response to rdstoll

Unreal how Apple believes in lack pf Choice..

its not just in this area.. It all over their products..


its Apple way or the Highway... arrogant and stubborn....

while giving a choice would make their products so much more use friendly and Flexible


it is absolutely mind boggling how this decisions are made.


idiosyncratic and dogmatic.... apples punch line should not be " think outside of the box" they should change it to " take it or leave it "


its going ti hurt you in the long run Apple... Wake up .

Dec 3, 2015 4:33 PM in response to vtrandall

The problem I'm having is after I clear my web history and then I visit "secure websites" like my banks or financial websites, I have to go through extra steps to reconfirm my identity this is a pain because some of the bills we pay are registered to another phone number and then we have to text the security codes back and forth this is ridiculous, clearing your web history should not delete the cookies.

Dec 10, 2015 7:52 PM in response to rdstoll

I am having the same problem so I chatted with Apple and the person I spoke to had no idea what I was even talking about. He told me there must have been a problem with the IOS 9 download on my iPad Air and told me to save all my iPad data in iTunes and clear my iPad and reload it and it should work fine. i did all that and I still have the same problem. I was also hoping that the IOS 9.02 would help....but it didn't. It drives me crazy!

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iOS 9 Safari clear history, save cookies

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