Safari shows more tabs open than actually open.

Question

Level 1

9 points

Safari shows more tabs open than actually open.

I noticed the other day while doing some browser clean up something unusual. I have two tabs open but it shows I have thirteen on the browser history page.

Has anyone encountered this before? If so how did you resolve the issue. I did a few things to try to resolve this on my own.

Factory reset with new Apple ID
Visited Genius Bar to have it looked at. They found no hardware issues and suspected it might be book marks causing the issue. I’ve since been able to verify that book marks are not the problem.

My phone has never been jail broken and has no unusual apps installed on it.

Any ideas?

iPhone 14 Pro Max, iOS 17

Posted on Jan 15, 2024 5:22 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

6x6

Level 6

14,756 points

Jan 15, 2024 5:38 PM in response to Opeth1

Same here: I have no tabs opened in Safari (just the start page) yet it tells me I have 2 tabs opened when trying to clear the history.

Please notify Apple of this issue with iOS: Product Feedback - Apple.

Reply

Answer 2

Jan 16, 2024 5:06 PM in response to Opeth1

Same exact issue happened to me today. Had 6 actual tabs open, went to clear my browsing history, and safari said I had 19 open tabs. I was super confused and kind of worried if I was hacked.

I checked my other Apple devices connected to iCloud but they didn’t have any open tabs. That was the only other thing I could think of that could have inflated my number. But I don’t know now, maybe it’s a new bug? I submitted feedback to Apple but I wonder if others are having this same issue.

Reply

Answer 3

Opeth1 Author

Level 1

9 points

Jan 16, 2024 5:23 PM in response to daviegravy

I noticed this evening that if I clear it out it will read one tab then within ten minutes read thirteen tabs. It will do this whether I use safari or not which is weird.

I’m a bit weirded out by this but the Apple tech didn’t think it was hacking/virus related. He felt it much more likely to be a software issue. I suppose that there are three of us with the same issue makes malfeasance less likely as well.

I also submitted a feedback.

Reply

Answer 4

Gabie64

Level 1

12 points

Mar 15, 2024 1:03 PM in response to Opeth1

Were you able to resolve this issue and if so how did you do it?

Reply

Answer 5

May 11, 2024 11:29 AM in response to Opeth1

I don’t have safari linked to my iCloud and I still have the same issues. I have never had my tabs go higher than 6, but I also clear my history daily.

I guess it’s better to know I’m not hacked with no answer why instead of wondering if I was hacked.

Reply

Answer 6

Opeth1 Author

Level 1

9 points

Mar 15, 2024 3:51 PM in response to Gabie64

I have not been able to resolve the issue. I have however come to believe it’s related to iCloud tabs. I have read some material that suggests this is a more common problem than I expected.

Reply

Safari shows more tabs open than actually open.

Similar questions