Safari 17 with enhanced Private Browsing out now for macOS Ventura, macOS Monterey

By Malcolm Owen

Apple has released an update for Safari, bringing it to version 17, with users of macOS Ventura and macOS Monterey able to install it without needing to update to macOS Sonoma.

Safari with Apple's Private Browsing

Timed to join the update to macOS Sonoma, the introduction of Safari 17 updates Apple's macOS web browser adds some much-needed features to the surfing tool.

The release notes mention support for Profiles, allowing browsing to be separated for topics and tasks like "Work" and "Personal." Profiles have their own history, cookies, extensions, Tab Groups, and favorites lists.

A new enhanced Private Browsing locks the windows when they're not used, stops known trackers from loading, and can remove identifying tracking elements from URLs.

Search has also been streamlined to make it faster, offer more relevant results, and to make it easier to read.

Multiple tab selections allow users to select multiple tabs at once, so they can be moved around the tab bar or created into a Tab Group.

The update is available through System Settings in macOS Ventura or System Preferences in macOS Monterey, under General then Software Update. The download weighs in at 165.7MB.