Why is Safari crashing? Users complain Apple's browser stops working

by · Mail Online

It is the default internet browser for millions of people around the world, but many say that Safari is being plagued by random crashes and unexpected quitting.

Affected users have found that the popular browser frequently crashes and recovers, only to crash again.

Fans of the Apple software flocked to social media to vent their frustration, branding Safari 'the most buggy unreliable browser'.

On Apple's support forums, some customers even threatened to quit using the company's signature software altogether if the situation was not improved. 

On X, formerly Twitter, one frustrated user complained that Safari 'freezes on every platform. It's stuck in a crash loop on my iPhone'.

MailOnline found Safari made some websites inaccessible, turning the screen blank before an error message arrived saying 'a problem repeatedly occurred'. 

Apple has yet to comment on what could be causing the issue but there are a few simple steps to take which could reduce the risk of a crash.

So, here's what to do if you're affected by the Safari crashing bug.

Apple users have reported that the Safari browser on iPhone and Mac has been unexpectedly quitting and crashing 'randomly' (file photo)

The issue with Safari appears to have been ongoing for several months but has recently become more common.

On X, on Safari user wrote: 'I was a Chrome user for 10+ years but a couple of weeks ago I switched to Safari.

'It's been great, except for Safari randomly crashing. Has happened 3 times so far. Anyone else seen this?'

Another wrote: 'After the 18.0.1 update, Safari has continued to randomly shut down while browsing (crashing).

'I have encountered this issue many times, and the same is happening with the photos app.'

Another one commenter added that they had experienced 'weird page crashes' while using the browser.

The issue has also been a frequent source of complaint on the Apple Community forum where a number of users have shared detailed descriptions of the crashes.

'Safari started quitting unexpectedly and then won't load,' one commenter wrote.

On X, one commenter said they had experienced a number of seemingly random crashes since changing from Chrome to Safari 
One commenter complained that Safari was the 'most buggy and unreliable browser', adding that they found the app frequently freezes or crashes 

Another added: 'Safari is crashing consistently on specific websites only.' 

The user added that they had tried multiple suggested solutions with no success and had already lost a day's worth of work thanks to the constant crashing.

For some Apple users, the issue had become so disruptive that they were now prepared to abandon Safari completely.

One Apple user wrote: 'The only app I experience issues with is Safari - and it's almost every webpage I use now.

'It's been going on for about 9 months now and is beyond frustrating. I'm to the point of downloading a new browser on my iPhone and not using Safari anymore.'

Apple hasn't confirmed what might be causing these issues and did not respond to MailOnline's request for comment.

However, if you are being affected by the problem there are a couple of simple steps that might help.

If Safari is freezing or is stuck in a loop of loading and crashing, the first thing to do is force quit the application.

The issue appears to have been affecting Safari users for a number of months. However, Apple has yet to comment on what might be causing the issue and did not respond to request for comment (file photo) 
On the Apple Community forum, one Safari user complained that the browser would crash whenever they attempted to visit a certain set of websites
One commenter complained that they had been affected by the issue for 'about 9 months' and were considering giving up on Safari altogether 

On iPhone, you can do this by swiping up to the App Switcher and quitting the Safari app directly. 

On Mac, press Command + Option + Escape on the keyboard to bring up the 'Force Quit Applications' menu, select Safari, and then click 'Force Quit'.

Next, restart your device and try to boot up Safari again to see if this has resolved the issue.

If that doesn't work, make sure that Safari isn't bogged down by too much memory by closing as many tabs as possible and clearing the cache.

The cache is data stored by the browser about each website it visits which helps load the page quicker when you visit again.

Over time, these saved page remnants built up to the point they can slow the browser down or even trigger a crash.

To clear the cache on Mac, click the 'Safari' tab at the top left and select 'Preferences' from the drop-down menu.

Select the 'Advanced' tab and select the option which says 'Show Develop menu in menu bar'.

Another iPhone user remarked that the app appears to 'randomly' shut down, adding that the issue began after installing the 18.0.1 updated
You can clear your browsing data and cache to help limit the chances of the app crashing on iPhone. To do this, navigate to the 'Safari' tab on the 'Settings' app and select 'Clear History and Website Data' (in blue)

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When you close the Preferences menu there will now be a 'Develop' tab from the bar at the top of the page. 

Select 'Develop' and click on 'Empty Caches' to clear the data.

If you don't mind losing more information you can also clear the cache indirectly by deleting your browsing history through the 'History' tab.

On iPhone, simply open the Settings app, tap 'Safari' and press the option marked 'Clear History and Website Data'.

If you have done all that and are still having problems, the final resort is ensuring both your browser and your device are updated to the latest version.

An out-of-date browser and an up-to-date operating system could have some incompatibilities that may be creating the crashing issue.

To make sure both are updated on Mac, open the 'System Settings' app, select 'General' and then click on 'Software Update'.

If there is any new software available you will be able to see it here and you can then select 'Update Now' or 'Restart Now' to install it.