How to make Safari close old tabs automatically on an iPhone

2 min read · 4 steps · Updated 4 October 2026

Device

iPhone

Shown on

iOS 26.5 (iPhone 17)

App

Settings

Path

Settings › Apps › Safari › Close Tabs

Real screenshots

4 of 4 steps

Checked

October 2026

Sources

1 official, linked below

Safari keeps every tab you open until you close it, and after a few months there can be hundreds. One setting lets Safari tidy up for you.

The screenshots show iOS 26.5 on an iPhone 17. On older versions the rows have the same names, with a slightly different look.

Step by step

1. 

   Open Settings and tap Apps

   Apps is near the bottom of the main Settings list. On iOS 17 and earlier, Safari is in the main list itself.

   Done

2. 

   Tap Safari

   The apps are in alphabetical order, so Safari is under S.

   Done

3. 

   Scroll to Tabs and tap Close Tabs

   It is the last row of the Tabs group. The note below says: allow Safari to automatically close tabs that haven't recently been viewed.

   Done

4. 

   Choose a time

   There are four choices: Manually, After One Day, After One Week and After One Month. The tick shows the active one.

   Done

Good to know

Safari can also close all tabs of a Tab Group at once, and reopen a recently closed tab. Apple describes both in the user guide page named below.

In short: Settings, Apps, Safari, Close Tabs, choose a time.