How To Open Links In The Background When Using Safari
by Dom Esposito
September 13, 2012
Whether you’re new to iOS, or just want to pick up some useful tips and tricks, we're here to help. This is iOS Advice.
Safari on an iPhone or iPod touch has always been limited by its lack of browser tabs. There’s obviously not much room on a mobile device's screen to support tabs, but it’s still an important feature that Safari is missing.
You can always tap and hold on a link and select “Open in New Page,” but this will open another page and take you away from what you’re reading.
The good news is, there’s a simple solution in the Settings app that will allow you to open links behind the page you’re currently viewing. When you’re finished with one page, you can then open the other you’ve already loaded in the background.
To enable this feature in Safari, watch the video or follow the steps below:
Step 1: Go into the Settings app on your device.
Step 2: Next, scroll down to Safari and tap on it.
Step 3: Under the “General” section at the top, tap on the row labeled “Open Links.”
Step 4: On the next screen, select “In Background,” then exit out of the Settings app.
The next time you’re browsing the Web in Safari and see a link you’d like to save for later, tap and hold on it to display a revised menu containing an “Open in Background” button. When you tap on that button, the link will be opened behind the page you're currently viewing.
Now that you’ve learned how to open links in the background within Safari, if there’s something else you’d like to see on iOS Advice, please let us know. Send us an email with your question or comment and we might feature your suggestion in a future article. If you need a little more advice, check out our other helpful tutorials.