Safari Private Browsing

[Lynsey]

I have an Iphone 5c on ios7.0.4.

I have been using safari as my search and browser as I had to delete my google app as had run out of space on my phone.

I use private browsing but over the past couple of days I have noticed that all of a sudden whilst I'm on a website, the screen will have a history list displayed. It shows the last few searches I've done in the search box, but not actual sites I've visited. At the too of this page it says 'history' in the centre and 'done' on the right. It doesn't look like the history page within safari, in that it doesn't say 'bookmarks' etc at the top left. So I don't know where this page is coming from.

When I hit 'done' it just disappears, and when I go to 'history' there is nothing there, as per private browsing.

I just find this really strange. Has anyone else had this issue or have any idea what's happening?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[J. A.]

Welcome to iPhoneForums, Lynsey!

When Safari is in Private Mode, it shouldn't remember your search history. Did you search for the sites before enabling Private Mode? This would explain the history.

Is it possible for you to post a screenshot? Your search history can be hidden/concealed with an app like Skitch. At the moment, I can't imagine what you're describing. It looks different on my device, which runs iOS 8.3. A few things changed with the new software.

 

[Lynsey]

Welcome to iPhoneForums, Lynsey!

When Safari is in Private Mode, it shouldn't remember your search history. Did you search for the sites before enabling Private Mode? This would explain the history.

Is it possible for you to post a screenshot? Your search history can be hidden/concealed with an app like Skitch. At the moment, I can't imagine what you're describing. It looks different on my device, which runs iOS 8.3. A few things changed with the new software.

Many thanks for your reply.
I definitely was still in private browsing because I could see this was checked.
I've put private off and taken a screenshot of what the normal
History page is like on 7.0.4 - I didn't get a chance to screenshot the one I saw.
The list that came up on my phone is the same as this except all it has is the 'history' and 'done' options at the top, and no 'private' or 'clear' options at the bottom. Only the pages visited.
I also noticed it only shows what I've searched for, not the pages I then went on to visit, whereas the normal history page shows everything.

 

[J. A.]

Many thanks for your reply.
I definitely was still in private browsing because I could see this was checked.
I've put private off and taken a screenshot of what the normal
History page is like on 7.0.4 - I didn't get a chance to screenshot the one I saw.
The list that came up on my phone is the same as this except all it has is the 'history' and 'done' options at the top, and no 'private' or 'clear' options at the bottom. Only the pages visited.
I also noticed it only shows what I've searched for, not the pages I then went on to visit, whereas the normal history page shows everything.

Did you try clearing history and cookies in Settings, browse and search via Private Mode and look at your history afterwards?

 

[Lynsey]

Thanks for your reply. I've cleared both and did as you described, and there's nothing in the history list, but there was nothing before anyway.
The history list that came up on my screen, that I'm confused about, wasn't the same as the usual list, like the one I attached. It looked similar, but as I said, there were slight differences in the layout, and it just appeared without me going into check history. And when I clicked 'done' it disappeared and when I checked the history section there was nothing there.
It's almost as if there's something in the background saving my searches and it just pops up randomly! It's happened twice in the last few days, and I've been using safari for about a month now. Never used it before.
Can I just add, there's no reason that this bothers me particularly, but it just strikes me as being very strange behaviour from my phone.

 

[J. A.]

Sorry, I can't imagine what you're describing. If it happens again, please take a screenshot.

In the meantime, try a reset. If there's a glitch in your iPhone's software, this might help getting rid of it.
To reset, press and hold Home and Power button simultaneously until the Apple logo appears. Let go of both, your device will power up on it's own.

This kind of reset won't change settings or remove anything from your device. If your iPhone is acting weird, it's a good idea to try this first.

Hope that helps.

 

[Lynsey]

It must be a glitch, I've tried a reset. Fingers crossed. May be because I'm not on latest software, but I need to clear out all my pics to free up memory!
Thanks for your help!

 

[J. A.]

You're welcome.

You won't need to remove all of your images when you update using iTunes. Also, as you'll update from an iOS 7 version to 8.3, it's better to do this via iTunes. After updating, reset your device once more, using the method I mentioned above.

 

[bear7962]

It's not a glitch. I also have it. Here's why I do.
I have Google designated as my search engine. When I go into Safari and enter the private mode I will then type the name of where I want to go. Because I am using Google I get a brief Google search history but it seems to be less history and more suggestions from what's on my iPhone I will take a pic. Safari doesn't remember, it doesn't do auto fill and because I am not logged into Google, it isn't in my regular Google history.

 

[bear7962]

The most frequent use for me is my local paper which limits me to 10 articles per month but never coodinates correctly with my paid account. Instead of fighting it, I use this anonymous route. So anyway, I only typed m in the title bar and this is what showed.

 

[bear7962]

But it's not in my history. That what I think you are seeing.

 

[Lynsey]

Thanks for this, but no it's not that. It's actually a page that appears without me
even typing anything - I will go into safari in the morning and it is on this page - has happened twice. It says 'history' and 'done' at the top. Same as actually history page but doesn't have bookmark option or anything else like that. It's strange!!

 

[bear7962]

Hmm. Can you take a screen shot?