Safari

How to open App Store links without leaving the app you’re currently in

Joe Rossignol ∙ Updated April 16, 2018

When you tap on an app link on your iPhone or iPad using Safari or otherwise, you are automatically redirected to the App Store to make a download or learn more details. The transition is rather cumbersome, however, as it is essentially a two-step process that requires you to return to the app you were originally using via the Home screen or multitasking menu.

QuickStore 2 is a brand new jailbreak tweak that aims to solve this minor inconvenience by allowing users to launch the App Store directly from the app they are using at the time. This is achieved through a pop-up window that loads when you tap on an app link anywhere on iOS, including websites like iDownloadBlog. Details inside…

How to send iMessages from any web browser on any operating system

Joe Rossignol ∙ January 29, 2014

Following in the footsteps of successful cross-platform messaging services like BlackBerry Messenger and WhatsApp, iMessage was released in late 2011 as a way for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users to send unlimited messages between each other. Apple then went on to release Messages for OS X Mountain Lion the following year, allowing Mac users to join the conversation.

But what if you're a Windows or Linux user, or you're away on travel without access to the Mac you normally use? Worry not, as Remote Messages has been updated with support for iOS 7 and 64-bit devices. The popular jailbreak tweak developed by Beast Soft is a browser-based front end for the Messages app on iOS devices. Find out what that means ahead…

How to bring back the open tab count in mobile Safari

Jeff Benjamin ∙ January 27, 2014

SafariTabCount is a just released jailbreak tweak that displays the current number of open tabs on the new tab button in Safari. This tweak is extremely useful, because without it, you have no idea how many tabs you have open in Safari without opening the list of tabs and counting by hand.

Not too long ago, we had iOS 6, and Safari for iOS 6 included the open tab count right on the new tab button. For some reason, Apple deemed this tab count disposable, and got rid of it in iOS 7.

SafariTabCount is one of those tweaks that I imagine many people will enjoy for its practicality. Check out of video walkthrough past the break for more details.

How to relocate the close button for tabs in Safari

Jeff Benjamin ∙ January 19, 2014

RightX is a jailbreak tweak for Safari that allows you to reposition the close button for Safari tabs. Once installed, it moves the 'x' button used for closing tabs from the upper left-hand corner of the tab to the upper right-hand corner. RightX is handy if you're left handed and tend to use the iPhone single-handed with your dominant hand.

Of course, there may be other usage benefits to RightX depending on the way you hold your iPhone. Have a look at our full video walkthrough inside for further details on the tweak.

How to build on suggested search queries in Safari

Jeff Benjamin ∙ January 18, 2014

One of the worst things about Safari's autocomplete for search is that you can't build on a query like you can do with Google Chrome. Once you select a suggested query in Safari's omni-box, it auto submits the search.

While suggested queries are definitely a helpful service, the way that Safari goes about the implementation isn't very efficient. A recently revamped jailbreak tweak called Platinum seeks to improve Safari's search capabilities. Have a look at our full video walkthrough inside to see what I mean.

How to use a Safari bookmarklet to send websites to 1Password for iOS

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 12, 2018

Despite Apple's pretty handy password-saving and syncing feature in iOS Safari, I myself continue to prefer AgileBits' 1Password for iOS and OS X (our own Jeff is a recent convert, too). The reason is simple: 1Password allows me to save and sync just about any piece of information rather than just passwords and credit cards.

There's just one slight annoyance: to take advantage of 1Password's auto-fill feature for usernames and passwords, I must open a website in its built-in browser.

I generally tend to avoid the embedded web view in third-party apps and instead spend most of my mobile web browsing time in Safari. From now on, whenever you want to visit a website that requires a login, you can use this handy Safari bookmarklet to send the current tab to 1Password.

Though far from perfect, this removes some of the friction when visiting websites that require logins and auto-fill information kept in 1Password...

You can now get iDownloadBlog push notifications on your Mac

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated April 24, 2017

With the release of OS X Mavericks, Apple has introduced a way for readers to be alerted via push notification every time a new article is published on one of their favorite sites. Today, I am happy to announce that iDownloadBlog is able to deliver these push notifications to your Mac.

Showing as a banner in the upper-right corner of your Mac, these push notifications will allow you to instantly know when a new article is published on iDB, even if Safari isn't currently running.

Here is how you can subscribe:

Google agrees to pay $17 million to 37 U.S. states in Safari tracking settlement

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Google's nefarious overriding of both desktop and iOS Safari users' privacy settings in order to better track their web browsing activity backfired after the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in April 2012 took a long, hard look at the practice and decided to fine the search giant.

Google has previously agreed to pay $22.5 million fine to the government, with a judge approving the record-setting penalty. And now, the Internet giant will pay 37 U.S. states a cool $17 million to settle the Safari probe case...

Apple working on fixes for Mavericks Mail, iBooks, Safari and Remote Desktop Client issues

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 12, 2018

Apple's free Mavericks update contains a set of compelling headline features and nice-to-haves, like tapping the ambient light sensor to detect motion in order to prevent system sleep.

But as any Mac owner could tell you, each major OS X release brings with it inevitable early adopter issues in the form of bugs and various software-related issues and hiccups. Mavericks is no exception.

Though definitely more stable and less susceptible to teething issues than perhaps any OS X release thus far, Mavericks affects your productivity by introducing unreliable performance with Gmail accounts in Mail. Other stock apps suffer from typical 1.0 release issues, but rest assured that Apple is hard at work squashing these pesky bugs as we speak...

Enhance Safari’s tab button with this jailbreak tweak

Jeff Benjamin ∙ October 25, 2013

Sometimes it's hard to get a firm grasp on the naming conventions used for releases on the Cydia store, and this jailbreak tweak — entitled Clota – is the latest such one. I'm definitely not sure what's behind the name, but the tweak works well enough.

Clota allows users to add two new tap based gestures to the new tab button found in the Safari browser. A double tap on the new tab button will close all open tabs sans the current tab. A triple tap, on the other hand, will close all tabs. Check inside for our video walkthrough showcasing how it works.

Is iCloud Keychain available in my country?

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 25, 2013

With Tuesday's free release of OS X Mavericks, Apple users can now opt to have their Safari web passwords securely synchronized across their iOS devices and Macs through the power of iCloud. The useful feature dubbed iCloud Keychain made a brief appearance in iOS 7 betas before being pulled from iOS 7 Gold Master, only to re-surface in iOS 7.0.3. What you probably don't know is that iCloud Keychain isn't necessarily supported everywhere so Apple's published a handy list detailing iCloud Keychain availability by country...

Flash Player is finally sandboxed in Safari on Mavericks, says Adobe

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 12, 2018

Yours truly long stopped using the standalone Flash Player so you could imagine I'm fairly puzzled that folks to this date continue to rely on Adobe's plug-in. I know, if you're into Flash games/apps and other Flash-authored content, there's no escaping Adobe's multimedia run-time.

Among the reasons I keep Flash miles away from my Macs: the instability, resource hoginess and excessive proneness to malware and other types of vulnerabilities and malicious attacks.

With this week’s release of Safari in OS X Mavericks, the Flash Player will now be protected by a new operating system feature called App Sandbox, Adobe announced Thursday...