Computers, Laptops & Tablets > Apple How to Close All Tabs in Safari on the iPhone or iPad Long-press the Tab icon or delete your Safari cache By Daniel Nations Daniel Nations Writer University of Texas at Arlington Daniel Nations has been a tech journalist since 1994. His work has appeared in Computer Currents, The Examiner, and other publications. He is a developer who has published apps in the Apple App Store, Google Play marketplace and Amazon Appstore; he also has worked as a data analyst and DB administrator. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on December 14, 2020 Apple iPad Macs Trending Videos Close this video player What To Know To close tabs normally: Press and hold the two-stacked-square Tab button. The menu will open. Press Close all # Tabs.To close unresponsive tabs: Go to Settings > Safari > Clear History and Website Data > Confirm. This article explains how to close all of your tabs in the Safari browser for iPhone and iPad. These instructions work for iOS 12, iOS 11, and iOS 10. How to Close All Tabs in the Safari Browser Use the Tab menu to close all open tabs simultaneously. Tap and hold the Tab button, which looks like two stacked squares. When you tap it, the button opens a new window, but when you keep your finger pressed on it, the Tabs menu appears. The Tabs menu includes an option to close all open tabs, except for the page you're currently viewing. Use this method to open a private tab to launch a private browsing session. How to Close All Tabs Without Opening the Safari Browser When you cannot open Safari to close all the open tabs on your iPhone or iPad, clear the Safari cache of website data. This approach is the sledgehammer way to close tabs and should only be done when you cannot close tabs through the web browser. Clearing this data erases all the cookies stored on your device, which means you will need to log back in to websites that ordinarily keep you logged in between visits. From in the iPhone or iPad Settings app, browse to the Safari section and select Clear History and Website Data. Confirm your selection in the pop-up screen. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit