Image: Jack Wallen/ZDNET.
As you work, you open multiple tabs, then groups of tabs, and leave them open. But if you don’t need these tabs, isn’t it better to close them? They risk using valuable system resources, which could be occupied by tabs you are working with. Of course you should close them. But by opening tabs after tabs, you have even forgotten their existence.
This is why Apple offers a new feature in version 17 of Safari, in macOS Sonoma, which allows you to configure the automatic closing of unused tabs after a certain time.
A tailor-made functionality
The positive point of this functionality is that it is not “all or nothing”, as Apple’s presentation suggests. If you configure Safari to automatically close your tabs, not all of them will be closed after a while without exception. Only tabs not used for a certain time – which you have decided in advance – will be closed.
Let’s imagine you have two tabs open, ZDNet and Amazon. You check the ZDNet tab every day, but you haven’t been to the Amazon tab in a week. If you have configured tabs to automatically close after a week, the Amazon tab will be closed, but the ZDNet tab will remain open. Indeed, you used it during the week, unlike the Amazon tab.
To configure this useful feature, follow the steps below.
Before you start
To use this feature, you need a Mac with macOS Sonoma and Safari 17.
1. Go to Safari settings
Open Safari, then go to the menu bar and select Settings. You can also press the keys Cmd And , to open the browser settings.
Screenshot by Jack Wallen/ZDNET.
2. Enable the feature
In the settings, go to Tabs. Find the entrance Automatically close tabs. Click the drop-down list (which defaults to Manually) and select After a day, After a week Or After a month. Once you have made your choice, close the settings and enjoy your browsing.
Screenshot by Jack Wallen/ZDNET.
Thanks to this feature, no more unnecessary tabs open. A good way to save system resources, but also to find your way around and prevent prying eyes from seeing your browsing history.
Source: ZDNet.com