How to remove Yahoo from Safari

Have you noticed that every time you do some research through Safari on your Apple devices, you are directed to Yahoo, instead of Google or your other favorite search engine and, therefore, would you like to understand how to solve? Well, if that is the case I would say that you have come to the right tutorial, at the right time.

With this guide of mine today, in fact, I want to explain to you just how to remove Yahoo from Safari , going to act on Mac, iPhone and iPad. For the sake of completeness of information, it will be my concern not only to show you how to get rid of it as a search engine, but also how to get rid of Yahoo if it was set as your browser’s home page.

I will also show you how to proceed if the removal of Yahoo should give you some problems, perhaps because it is linked to the use of particular extensions or, in the worst case scenario, to some malware. Now, however, let’s not waste any more time chatting and let’s get to work. I wish you happy reading and wish you a big good luck for everything!

Index

• How to remove Yahoo from Safari: Mac
  • How to remove Yahoo from Safari as a search engine
  • How to remove Yahoo from Safari as a home page
  • In case of further problems
• How to remove Yahoo from Safari: iPhone and iPad
  • How to remove Yahoo from Safari as a search engine
  • How to remove Yahoo from Safari as a home page

How to remove Yahoo from Safari: Mac

Would you like to find out how to remove Yahoo from Safari on your Mac ? Then follow the instructions on what to do next below. You won’t have to do anything particularly complex or out of your reach, don’t worry.

How to remove Yahoo from Safari as a search engine

If what you want to do is remove Yahoo from Safari as a search engine on your Mac, the first step you need to take is to start the browser, click on the Safari menu located at the top left and select the Preferences item from the latter.

In the window with the Safari settings that you now see on the screen, access the Search section by selecting the appropriate item at the top, then select the search engine you want to use instead of Yahoo (eg Google ) through the menu a Search engine drop-down .

Also decide whether to include search engine suggestions or not by checking or unchecking the Include search engine suggestions box . All changes will be applied immediately, without the need to restart the browser.

How to remove Yahoo from Safari as a home page

If, on the other hand, what you want to do is remove Yahoo from Safari as the home page , proceed as follows: click on the Safari menu located in the upper left part of the browser screen and select the Preferences item from the latter, then access the General section that you find in the window with the browser settings that has opened.

Next, delete the Yahoo URL in the Home page text field and leave it blank (if you don’t want to set any specific site as your home page) or fill it with the web address of the site you want to use as your home page (e.g. google.com ). If you want to set the current web page as your home page, click the Use current page button .

You can also decide to use the home page to open new windows and / or new panels by choosing the Home page option from the Open new windows with and Open new panels with drop-down menus . All changes will be applied immediately, without having to restart the browser.

In case of further problems

Despite having put into practice the instructions I gave you in the previous lines, you still haven’t managed to get rid of Yahoo from Safari on your Mac? I’m sorry but… don’t throw in the towel! The fault can also be attributable to other factors , external to the browser settings.

To begin with, take into account that the difficulty you are experiencing could derive from the use of some add-on installed on the browser. As a result,  uninstalling specific extensions may be the solution. To verify this and to get rid of the “offending” extensions, start the browser, select the Safari menu located at the top left, then the Preferences item in it.

In the new window that you now see on the screen, access the Extensions section by selecting the appropriate item located at the top, locate the extension you want to act on in the list on the left and disable it by removing the check mark from the box next to it. If you then want to proceed with the deletion, click on the Uninstall button on the right.

If the fact that you are unable to remove Yahoo from Safari is not attributable even to the presence of some extension or the implementation of the instructions I have already provided has not had any effect, I suggest you try resetting the browser. To do this, open Safari and follow the steps below.

• Clear history– click on the Safari menu at the top left and select Clear history in it. In the window that opens, select the item all history from the drop-down menu that you find next to the word Delete and click on the Clear history button to proceed.
• Clear website data– click on the Safari menu at the top left and select the Preferences item from the latter. Then choose the Privacy tab in the window that opens, click on the Manage website data button , click on the Remove all button and confirm the operation by pressing the Remove now button .
• Empty the cache– click on the Development menu located at the top and select the item Empty the cache in it. If you do not see the Development menu , it is because you must first enable it, by clicking on the Safari menu at the top left, then on the Preferences item , selecting the Advanced tab in the window that opens and checking the box next to the item Show Development menu in the toolbar. menu.

Then proceed with the “manual” removal of all browser configuration files. To do this, first close Safari, then go to the macOS desk, click on the Go item  at the top left, hold down the option key  (the one with the ⌥ symbol ) on the keyboard, select the Library item from the menu that appears and intervene on the Finder window displayed as shown below.

• To clear Safari settings, locate the Safari folder and move it to the trash.
• To clear the Safari cache, select the Caches folder , locate the apple.Safari folder  in it and move it to the trash.
• To clear Safari preferences, open the Preferences folder  and delete all files in it whose name begins with apple.Safari .
• To clear the Safari state, open the Saved Application State folder and delete the apple.Safari.savedState folder in it.
• To delete the cookie settings, open the Cookies folder and delete the apple.Safari.SafeBrowsing.binarycookies and Cookies.binarycookies files that you find inside.
• To delete unnecessary plugins, open the Internet Plug-Ins folder , locate the plugins you do not need in it and move them to the trash.

Once all the above operations have been completed, reopen Safari and check that there is no longer a trace of Yahoo and that the browser is working properly. If you continue to experience problems, it could be that some malware or adware is to blame . To get rid of it, you can rely on the use of special software, such as  Malwarebytes Anti-Malware  which is a famous free anti-malware thanks to which it is possible to perform scans on demand. Possibly there is also a paid version (which has costs starting from 3.33 euros / month with annual billing), which includes the real-time protection module and other additional features. For more details, you can read my  dedicated tutorial .

Alternatively, you can consider using  CleanMyMac X , one of the best known and most appreciated programs dedicated to cleaning, security and optimization of the macOS operating system. It allows, in fact, to completely eliminate the residual traces of installed programs, to reset file permissions, to remove malware and other threats and to perform many other maintenance and problem correction operations. You can download and use it for free, but it only frees up 500 MB of space. To get around this limitation and unlock other extra features, you need to purchase the paid version of the software (with prices starting from 29.95 euros / year). For more details, see my specific guide. Please note that you can also take advantage of the program by subscribing to  Setapp , a platform that for $ 9.99 / month (with a free 7-day trial) allows you to access a wide range of paid applications for macOS without having to purchase them individually, as I explained to you in detail in my specific article on the subject .

How to remove Yahoo from Safari: iPhone and iPad

Now let’s move on to the iPhone and iPad side and let’s find out how to remove Yahoo from Safari in this case. Even with regard to the mobile side, the steps to be taken are not absolutely complicated, you have my word.

How to remove Yahoo from Safari as a search engine

If you want to remove Yahoo from Safari as a search engine on your iOS / iPadOS device, first access the home screen and / or the iPhone and iPad App Library and tap the Settings icon (the wheel- shaped one gear ). In the screen that appears, then tap on the Safari item that you find by scrolling down.

At this point, tap on the Search engine item , select the search engine you intend to use to replace Safari from among those proposed in the list (eg Google ) and then touch the arrow icon to the left that you find at the top of the display, so that the changes made are applied.

If you then want to enable or disable the use of the chosen search engine to view the suggestions, go back to the iOS / iPadOS Settings section , select the Safari item and move the switch next to Search engine suggestions to ON or OFF , based on your needs and preferences.

How to remove Yahoo from Safari as a home page

Let’s start from a fixed point: Safari on iPhone and iPad does not allow you to change the home page , contrary to what is possible on Mac or in any case with other browsers for iOS / iPadOS.

In light of the foregoing, if your problem is that when you open a new panel in the browser, the page relating to Yahoo or related content appears in front of you, or in the opening page you see elements relating to the “purple search engine” , the problem could be due to the use of some extensions , which are supported by Safari for iPhone and iPad starting from iOS 15 .

So, to disable the use of extensions that could be the cause of what is described above on Safari for iPhone and iPad, proceed as follows: select the Settings icon (the one in the shape of a gear wheel ) that find on the home screen and / or in the iOS / iPadOS App Library and tap on the Safari item .

After completing the above steps, touch the Extensions wording that you find by scrolling down, select the name of the reference extensions and turn OFF the switch you find on the next screen.

Alternatively, you can define the operation of a given extension for individual websites, selecting those relating to which you are interested in going to act from the list visible in the Permissions section by “extension name” and then choosing the option Ask , Reject or Allow according to your needs.

If, after deactivating a specific extension, you no longer intend to use it, you can also proceed with the removal of the related app from the device. To do this, locate the application icon located on the home page and / or in the iOS / iPadOS App Library, make a long tap on it, select the Delete app item from the menu that appears and confirm your intentions by selecting the Delete button in response to the warning displayed. For more details, you can read my specific guide on how to uninstall iPhone app (also valid for iPad).