Who can see Safari and Chrome tabs on your Apple Mac?

As you open tabs in browsers on your Apple Mac, do you realise that other people might be able to see them? Yes, it is true and it is an important issue that you need to be aware of.

This is actually a feature that has been designed into Safari and Chrome and it not a bug. In some ways it is very useful and a great feature. However, it does have privacy implications under some circumstances. The feature, or problem depending on your viewpoint, is that Safari tabs that are open on your Mac, iPhone or iPad are visible and accessible on all your other Apple devices. Chrome does the same thing and if browser tabs are open on one device they can be seen on all devices, Mac, PC or mobile.

Sync browsing history

Both Safari and Chrome sync their browsing history so when a tab with a website or web page is opened on one device, it is synced to them all. The advantage of this is that you can start browsing the web on your Mac, iPhone, iPad, PC or Android phone when you are out and away from your home or office.

Then when you return to your Mac or other device, you can open Safari or Chrome and see the tabs that are open on those other devices. They can be opened with a click of the mouse or tap of the finger. This is a great feature.

Potential privacy issues

A potential privacy issue results from this and while you are sitting at your Mac browsing the web, someone else in your home, such as your partner or children, may be using your iPad. An iPad is often shared in the home and if it is signed into your account, anyone can see the tabs you have open or recently viewed, and load the pages with a tap of the finger. You might be viewing a website that you don't want others to see.

Of course, this works the other way around and you can sit on the sofa with your iPhone or iPad and see what websites your partner or kids are accessing on the Mac, providing they are all signed into the same Apple account.

If you are the only person in your home that uses the Mac, iPhone and iPad, it isn’t a problem. It is also OK if you and the iPhone or iPad user are signed into different iCloud accounts. It is only when the Mac and iPhone and iPad are signed into the same iCloud account that they can see each other’s activity.

Chrome has its own sync service that shows what is open in other Chrome instances elsewhere, provided they are all signed into the same Google account.

View Safari tabs open elsewhere

To see what tabs are open elsewhere, open Safari, go to the View menu and select Show Tab Overview. Alternatively, press Shift_Command+\.

The tabs that are open, and therefore visible on your iPhone or iPad, are displayed as thumbnail images. To switch to another tab, just click a thumbnail.

Notice that below the thumbnails is a list of tabs that are open on the a MacBook Air, iPhone and iPad. These can be clicked to open them. Which is useful for continuing a browsing session on your Mac, or for spying on what your kids or partner are doing on the iPad.

To access this on an iPhone or iPad, press the tabs button and swipe up the screen. Remember that if you are browsing the web on your Mac, your kids or partner can see the Safari tabs open using a shared family iPad for example. One tap and whatever you are viewing appears on the iPad.

Stop syncing Safari

To stop Safari tabs from being broadcast from your Mac to your iPhone and iPad, go to the Apple menu in the top left corner of the screen and select System Preferences. Open iCloud and clear the tick next to Safari to stop syncing.

There is no right or wrong setting with iCloud syncing of Safari tabs. Some people will find it a very useful feature, but others may not and this is particularly true if you have a family and shared devices like an iPad. It is up to you. Just be aware of how it works and what the implications are.

See what Chrome tabs are open

In Chrome, just open the menu and select History. It lists all websites that have recently been viewed by each device you use Chrome on, such as the Mac, PC, iPhone, Android phone or iPad. Select a URL to open that site.

In Chrome, go to the menu and click History, History to open the browsing history on a new tab. Sites can then be selected and deleted.

More privacy issues

This is actually just the tip of the iceberg and there is so much more that is unknowingly shared with an iPad or computer that it used by families. People pick up the iPad, log in to websites, go through the checkout and enter credit cards. I know everyone's login details and credit card numbers, and where they've shopped. That's another issue though. Beware of shared devices!