How to Recover Safari History on Mac

Updated to macOS Data Recovery Tips by Robert on Apr 26, 2023 | Approved by Jennifer Allen

Have you ever experienced needing some visited websites or information from your Safari browser but you already deleted them? There are just some moments when you already tidied everything up then you can no longer take things back since it’s already gone. Yes, it is a good habit to clear your Safari browsing history and website data to free up some space but sometimes you just really wish you can recover Safari browser and session history.

Good thing there are two ways that you can recover Safari history on Mac. Let me show you these two easy methods of doing so. Just see the steps below on how to recover Safari history.

Method #1. Recover Deleted/Lost Safari History on Mac via Tool

Safari history recovery tool - iBeesoft has a Data Recovery option to retrieve deleted Safari history. Restore options are not limited to this scenario but it also includes recover deleted files on Mac, external disk, RAW drive. Unformat SD card, hard disk/volume, USB drive etc.

iBeesoft Data Recovery for Mac is developed with advanced technology where it can support 500 file types and 100+ devices. It also has 2 scanning modes, Quick Scan and Deep Scan, so it can help you get things done more efficiently. It is user-friendly and it also allows you to preview the files prior to recovery. It also has an awesome feature where you can continue the scan where you left off so you won't start over by importing and exporting scan results.

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How to recover Safari history on Mac? It’s very simple. Just three easy steps and you are good to go!

Step 1. Choose the type of file you want to recover.

Download and install the best Mac data recovery software. You can choose multiple file types that you want to recover or scan which includes your Safari history. It is all selected by default so if you want to narrow down the list to scan, you can always have the unwanted files unchecked. Once that all file types are selected, you can now click on the "Start" button to perform Safari history recovery.

Step 2. Select the location to scan.

You will find your Mac disk on the next screen, including your external drives to scan. Choose the right directory where you lost the files. Click on "Scan" afterward to allow the software to scan and recover Safari history.

Step 3. Preview files and start Safari history recovery.

Depending on how many file types and the type of scan you chose, the recovery process may take some minutes to complete. Once the scanning process is completed, you can always sort the files out by file type and the result will be shown on the right side of the screen. You can pick the items you need to recover then click on the "Recover" button to start the process.

Note: If you are recovering the files from an external drive, make sure to have the recovered files saved on your Mac to prevent it to be lost again. Quick Scan is the default setting for this tool so if the lost files are not found through this, I suggest you try the Deep Scan through this process will take a longer time to complete.

Method #2. Recover Deleted Safari History on Mac via Time Machine.

Have you ever wanted to travel back in time especially when you need to recover those deleted Safari browsing history? There is actually a way for you to do it within your Mac. Mac has a backup service called Time Machine. It is a simple approach that we can use if you are great at doing backups. This may be the easiest way for you to recover deleted history. This method will not work if you do not have the Time Machine backup done on your Mac since this method uses a backup file to restore the lost or deleted files.

Let’s say you already have Time Machine ready and you already had a previous backup, hopefully, it’s a recent one, follow the steps below to recover your Safari’s deleted browsing history.

1. Close your safari.

2. Connect your Mac and the backup drive for Time Machine if not yet done.

3. Open Finder then Select the “Go” menu then select "Go to Folder" and enter this path: ~/Library/Safari/ then click on Go.

4. Click on the file "History.db" after reaching the ~/Library/Safari/ path. On the upper right corner pull down the menu for Time Machine then click on "Enter Time Machine".

5. Go through the history of Time Machine within the directory ~/Library/Safari/. Once you find the date and time for your lost Safari browsing history click the button "Restore" from Time Machine.

6. After a successful Time Machine recovery, you can now access the newly restored version of your lost Safari browsing history.

7. Re-open Safari from your Mac and you can now access your Safari history. Simply select History then Show All History to find the details that you want to access.

So, I hope this answer your question "how do I recover Safari history?". Again you can use the default recovery software or tool from Mac which is Time Machine, and the other one is from iBeesoft, the Data Recovery Software for Mac. Always remember to backup your files regardless of the situation since you’ll never know when you’ll be needing it.