Safari

An easy way to seamlessly play Safari videos in the background

Jeff Benjamin ∙ June 1, 2012

Web Background Video Playback is a relatively new tweak by iOS developer Steven Troughton-Smith. The aim of the tweak is to allow video content to continue playing in Safari while it is running in the background. This is especially helpful when you're listening to video content, and seeing the video isn't necessary; for example, when watching a music video, podcast, etc.

This tweak is also handy in the cases where you wish to send a quick tweet or text message, but don't want to completely interrupt the video playback. I've noticed that it even plays nice with video that's streaming to a television via AirPlay.

Take a look at our video demonstration of Web Background Video Playback for more details...

Can’t watch YouTube videos in Mobile Safari on your jailbroken iPhone? We have a fix for that

Sébastien Page ∙ May 26, 2012

Every once in a while we get an email or a tweet from a reader who claims not being able to play YouTube videos in Mobile Safari, and asking for a fix. The answer I give is always the same: you probably installed a jailbreak tweak (likely ProTube) that conflicts with Safari and prevents you from watching YouTube videos in the browser.

Today, thanks to iDB reader J. Louis, we get to the bottom of this problem and find the real cause and the easy solution to fix it...

Swipe Safari brings OS X Lion inspired functionality to Mobile Safari

Jeff Benjamin ∙ May 18, 2012

Meet the brand new Safari. No, Apple hasn't made any upgrades to Safari themselves, but you can gain a significantly better Safari browser right now by installing Swipe Safari – a new jailbreak tweak that just touched down on Cydia's BigBoss repo.

Swipe Safari promises to bring OS X Lion's Safari navigation to the small screen, along with a host of other improved options and abilities.

The question is, is it worth its $1.50 asking price? Take a look at our video walkthrough inside and judge for yourselves...

These two tweaks make it easier to delete contacts and history items

Jeff Benjamin ∙ May 17, 2012

For some strange reason Apple has made deleting contacts an overly difficult task; they've likewise made deleting individual Safari history items impossible.

Perhaps these hurdles and restrictions exists by design, but that doesn't change the fact that they're both incredibly annoying.

If you happen to be jailbroken, two tweaks — OneByOne Safari and OneByOne Contacts — seek to address this lingering issue within iOS. Full video walkthrough inside...

How to use bookmarklets to adjust font sizes in mobile Safari

Cody Lee ∙ May 13, 2012

For the most part, mobile Safari serves its purpose as the default web browser in iOS. But it's definitely not feature-packed. And to get more options, you typically have to either install a third party browser, or add a jailbreak tweak.

But OSXDaily points to a cool trick that makes adding a new feature to Safari as easy as creating a couple of bookmarklets. Have you ever wanted to quickly change the font size of a website on your iPhone or iPad? Well, here's how...

iOS 5.1.1 includes fix for dangerous Safari URL spoofing vulnerability

Cody Lee ∙ May 7, 2012

Earlier today, Apple released a new version of its mobile software: iOS 5.1.1. The update includes a number of bug fixes, and also apparently contains a patch for the dangerous URL spoofing vulnerability in mobile Safari.

We told you about the exploit, discovered by the folks at Major Security, back in March of this year. It allows web pages to spoof URLs in Safari's address bar, leading users to believe they're on a different website...

FTC to fine Google millions of dollars over Safari breach

Cody Lee ∙ May 5, 2012

Last month, the Federal Trade Commission was said to be investigating claims that Google was illegally bypassing privacy settings in Safari. The Mountain View company was caught using a loophole in the browser to allow it to track users' online activities without their consent.

If confirmed, the FTC was expected to slap Google with a hefty fine. And it certainly looks like that will hold true, as Bloomberg is out with a new report claiming that the Trade Commission is about to slap the company with reparations worth millions of dollars...

FTC looking to fine Google for bypassing Safari users’ privacy

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 17, 2012

Following a report that claimed Google had been overriding Safari users' privacy settings to set tracking code in order to collect web browsing habits, a newspaper story this morning asserts that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is taking a long, hard look at the search giant's practice.

The FTC is said to be “deep into an investigation” of Google’s tactics of bypassing Apple’s security settings on both the desktop and iOS versions of Safari.

Apparently, they are looking to fine Google and the financial sanctions could be "sizable", according to the obligatory people familiar with the matter.

Apple to add Baidu as default iOS search engine option in China

Cody Lee ∙ March 26, 2012

If Apple's multiple mapping firm acquisitions and recent iPhoto makeover haven't convinced you that the company is trying to distance itself from Google as much as possible, maybe this will.

Sina Tech is reporting that it has learned that Apple is looking to add Baidu, China's market-leading internet search company, as a default search engine option in iOS. So long Google...

Safari exploit that allows URL spoofing discovered in iOS 5.1

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

Although iOS is considered to be one of the safest mobile operating systems on the market, it's not perfect. This is something that those of us in the jailbreak community know all too well.

With that in mind, it's not terribly surprising that another security bug has recently been discovered in Apple's software. Reports are surfacing today that an exploit has been found inside mobile Safari...

New in iOS 5.1: Go to this address

Sébastien Page ∙ March 12, 2012

Ever since iOS 5.1 was released last week, we started looking for new features that would have been quietly added to the iPhone or iPad. Two major ones were quickly found, both related to the data settings of your iPhone.

The first one unofficially turns your AT&T iPhone 4S into a 4G device, and the second one brings back the 3G toggle in the settings of your iPhone, assuming you are not using AT&T.

And now, a subtle new feature has surfaced to...

How much Google pays Apple to get its search onto iOS devices

Oliver Haslam ∙ March 10, 2012

While it's true that users can switch between Google, Bing and Yahoo when deciding which search engine to use in Safari on iOS, it's debatable as to whether anyone does actually change it. We're going to put our money on the percentage being on the low side!

That's why being the default search option on iOS is so important. If you're the one chosen out of the box, then the chances are you'll be the one that gets the vast majority of hits from users. Right now, that default choice is Google, and they pay handsomely for the privilege according to Macquarie analyst Ben Schachter.

Just how handsomely, you ask?