How to Organize Your Browsing with Safari Profiles

Step by step

1. 1 min

   Open the Profiles settings menu

   Launch Safari and navigate to the menu bar. Select Safari, then click Settings to open the preferences window. Navigate to the Profiles tab located in the top navigation bar of the settings window.

   Note: Command + ,
2. 1 min

   Create a new profile

   Click the plus (+) button at the bottom of the Profiles list. Enter a descriptive name for your new profile and assign it a color and icon to distinguish it from your main browsing window. Click Create Profile to finalize the setup.

   Note: Profiles share bookmarks and reading lists but keep history and extensions separate.
3. 1 min

   Assign extensions to profiles

   While still in the Profiles settings, select your newly created profile. Click the Extensions tab to view which content blockers or productivity tools should be active for this specific environment. Toggle the switches next to the extensions you wish to enable for this profile.

4. 30 sec

   Switch between active profiles

   Click the Safari menu in the top menu bar. Select New [Profile Name] Window to open a fresh instance of the browser assigned to that specific profile. You can also right-click the Safari icon in your Dock and select the desired profile from the context menu.

5. 30 sec

   Identify your current profile

   Look at the toolbar in your active Safari window. The profile name or icon will appear on the left side of the tab bar, indicating which workspace is currently in use. This provides a visual cue to prevent cross-contamination of browsing history.

6. 30 sec

   Remove an unnecessary profile

   Return to Safari Settings and select the Profiles tab. Select the profile you wish to delete from the list on the left sidebar. Click the minus (-) button and confirm the action to remove the profile and its associated cache and history data.

   Note: Deleting a profile will permanently erase all data associated with that specific identity.