As recently as 2017, there was an option in Safari (Preferences-->General-->"Safari Opens with" (pulldown) "A new private window".
This allowed the user to open windows in private browsing mode by default.
The option no longer appears
How do I enable private browsing as default for all new windows and tabs?
Safari Version 11.1 (12605.1.33.1.3)
macOS Sierra (10.12.1)
See this article Set your homepage in Safari on Mac - Apple Support
In search engine field type the desired search engine and follow the steps in the article to set private browsing and it would be saved permanently and when ever you open the safari browser private browsing window will only open .
Note : you have to click on drop down arrows to select the options .See this article also macOS Sierra: General System Preferences
Yeah ! if you uncheck the box of close windows when quitting the app the safari preferences window toggle you can send a bug report through a link https://developer.apple.com/bug-reporting/
And also a product feed back Feedback - macOS - Apple
Hey! That works! It's also totally insane!
Why would Apple require me to sacrifice opening windows in private mode to enable apps to reopen closed windows on application restart? That makes NO SENSE AT ALL. I could see a switch in Safari that says, "Don't reopen private windows on Safari restart" - but to globally restrict reopening windows based on a Safari element, or conversely, prevent default opening of browsing windows based on a global application restart condition is total nonsense.
Thanks for the BUG work around. I never would have figured that out (and I'm curious how you knew!) Now I'm faced with a different problem: How do I get applications to reopen windows when restarted, but preserve a Safari default condition of private browsing?
What I can't figure out is how the two are even related. How did you find out they were?
This has to qualify as one of the more bizarre inconsistencies I've ever seen in MacOS. (Even more so than the system having to wake hard drives that aren't being accessed!)
Does not address the conflict between
System Preferences => General => Close Windows when quitting an app
and
Safari => Preferences => General =>Safari opens with... a new private window.
In fact, if you open both the system preferences => General and Safari Preferences => General page and click on the System Preferences => General => Close Windows when quitting an app
checkbox, you can see the Safari => Preferences page toggle.
This appears to be a BUG.
I'm running Safari 11.1 in Mac OS 11.13.4 and the option still exists?
Try going to System Preferences/General and check the box 'Close windows when quitting an app'. Then check Safari/Preferences/General again.
Reported this as a bug: # 39526441
Thanks again, Eric.
You are welcome. I haven't been able to figure out a workaround.
I didn't have the Safari opens with option in Safari/Preferences/General and I was experimenting trying to get it added. That was what finally worked.
How did you ever figure out that System preferences for reopening app windows would have any bearing on the issue? That's a bit like finding out that pepper on your eggs affects cloud formations!
Hit and miss, trail by error testing.
That is... astounding.
I ***NEVER*** would have made the connection.
Enable Safari Private Browsing as Default
