Ahead of the release of macOS Big Sur, Apple has released the Safari 14 update for macOS Catalina and macOS Mojave users, bringing with it a number of new features and improvements.

safari start wallpaper
One of the most dramatic changes is the overhauled Start Page, which now includes a browsing privacy report, iCloud tabs, Siri suggestions, and more. It also features several customizable options, such as the ability to choose your own Start Page wallpaper.

The new Safari 14 update can be downloaded by opening up System Preferences and choosing the Software Update option. Once the update is installed, you can choose your own Start Page wallpaper by following the steps below.

  1. Launch Safari 14 on your Mac.
  2. Click the Settings icon in the bottom-right corner of the Start Page.
    safari

  3. Click the checkbox next to the Background Image option if it isn't already ticked.
    safari

  4. Choose one of the wallpapers from the gallery carousel. Alternately, click the plus (+) button to open a file browser dialog and select another image on your Mac.
    safari

As well as a new Start Page, Safari 14 brings improved performance and a new tab bar design that provides tab previews so you can see what you have open at a glance. For more on the security content in Safari 14, check out Apple's release notes.

Related Roundup: macOS Big Sur
Tag: Safari
Related Forums: macOS Mojave, macOS Catalina, macOS Big Sur

Top Rated Comments

insomniac86 Avatar
insomniac86
11 months ago

taking away top sites was worst move ever. I hate safari now.
I think you will find Frequently visited is the Top Sites renamed.
At least for me it's a mirror image of what my Top Sites was.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
travelsheep Avatar
travelsheep
11 months ago
People at BING design-team were like "first they will laugh, then they will ignore, then they will adapt..."
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Tech198 Avatar
Tech198
11 months ago
i never used top sites .....
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
apparatchik Avatar
apparatchik
11 months ago
Since installing Safari 14.0 Ive been hit with out of Application memory alerts... with Safari using 56 GB of memory.. with barely 4 tabs opened. Seems to me there’s a serious memory leak issue going on, the RAM/Swap used skyrockets with time regardless of tabs, etc...
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
coolfactor Avatar
coolfactor
11 months ago
I honestly can't fathom why a Start Page is so loved. Do people actually use it? I guess I've had mine set to "no page" for so long and I'm used to manually going to sites that I want to go to, I've disconnected from this reality. o_O


Since installing Safari 14.0 Ive been hit with out of Application memory alerts... with Safari using 56 GB of memory.. with barely 4 tabs opened. Seems to me there’s a serious memory leak issue going on, the RAM/Swap used skyrockets with time regardless of tabs, etc...
I use Safari all day long (as a website developer) and have not noticed any memory issues. It likely depends on the sites that you're visiting. It's possible that those sites have some code issues that could be fixed within them.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
insomniac86 Avatar
insomniac86
11 months ago

I kinda use top sites as a replacement for bookmarks. I don’t use bookmarks as it takes ages to organize it properly. Top sites was just bookmarks but without having to do anything for it. I haven’t upgraded yet, but I hopefully they’ll release Safari 14.1 with top sites.
Ekk, that's not a good way of using it.
Top Sites would be purged every time you clear your browser history.
Bookmarks will stay forever.

I also fail to see your logic with this statement "I don’t use bookmarks as it takes ages to organize it properly"
Top sites doesn't allow you to organise them anyway. So why don't you just save your top sites under the Favourites section? It literally doesn't take anytime to organise. You just pop them all in and it will list them the same way as Top sites did.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments

Top Stories

safari macos icon banner

How to Clear Safari Reading List

Monday March 8, 2021 3:53 pm PST by
In Apple's Safari browser for iOS and Mac, the built-in Reading List feature is a great way to save web pages that you want to read at a later time. Pages added to your Reading List are synced over iCloud to any other devices logged in to your Apple account, and Safari also includes an option that lets you to access pages in your Reading List even when you're offline. But how do you remove...
Read Full Article
safari icon

How to Stop Websites From Asking For Your Location in Safari

Thursday February 4, 2021 6:05 pm PST by
Quite often when browsing the web in Safari, you'll see pop-ups asking you for permission for websites to use data about you, such as your location. There can be good reasons for this – if you're searching for local information such as the nearest grocery store or restaurant, then it makes sense for you to share your location data to get the most relevant results for your area. On the other ...
Read Full Article
safari chrome ios

How to Import Your Safari Bookmarks to Chrome

Monday March 22, 2021 9:05 am PDT by
Apple's native desktop browser is Safari, but just because it comes pre-installed on every Mac doesn't mean you have to use it. Chrome is actually more popular than Safari by far, and if you're new to Mac, it might already be your preferred browser. If you've tried out Safari and decided you want to switch to Google's equivalent, you can easily import any bookmarks you've used in Apple's...
Read Full Article
m1 mac family

How to Record Your Mac's Screen

Tuesday May 18, 2021 3:41 pm PDT by
If you've ever wanted to record a video of your Mac's screen but don't know quite how to do so, then you've come to the right place. Keep reading to learn how you can record any Mac desktop activity in just a few simple steps. Recording the activity on your Mac's screen can be useful for a number of reasons. For example, if you want to teach someone how to perform a particular function on...
Read Full Article
safari macos icon banner

How to Check iCloud Keychain Password Security

Tuesday May 11, 2021 5:29 pm PDT by
Using iCloud Keychain, Apple's Safari browser stores and syncs all the passwords you use for different websites and apps through iCloud. And in iOS 14 and later, Apple provides security recommendations that warn you if a password you're using is putting your accounts at risk. Safari securely monitors your saved passwords using strong cryptographic techniques, and regularly checks derivations ...
Read Full Article
mac app store iphone ipad apps

How to Uninstall iPhone and iPad Apps on an M1 Mac

Tuesday May 18, 2021 3:43 pm PDT by
If you own a Mac powered by Apple silicon, you can download and install iOS and iPadOS apps from the Mac App Store in macOS Big Sur. But how do you uninstall them? Keep reading to learn how. Apple's M1 Macs, which are the first to be powered by an Apple-designed Arm-based chip, are able to run iOS and iPadOS apps because of the common architecture between the different operating systems....
Read Full Article
Siri Remote 2 how to scrub Feature copy

Apple TV: How to Scrub Through Video Using the New Siri Remote (2nd Gen)

Sunday May 23, 2021 8:14 am PDT by
With the new Apple TV 4K now in customers' hands, some users are reporting issues when trying to control video with the redesigned Siri Remote. Specifically, some users are complaining that using the circular gesture on the new clickpad ring to fast-forward or rewind paused video isn't working as expected. Rather than scrubbing through video continually in the direction of the gesture, the...
Read Full Article • 153 comments
siri remote 2 clickpad settings feature

Apple TV: How to Customize the Clickpad on the New Siri Remote (2nd Gen)

Monday May 24, 2021 7:18 am PDT by
Apple's second-generation redesigned Siri Remote features a touch-sensitive clickpad that can be used to navigate menus as well as fast-forward and rewind video. When you first start using the Siri Remote, touch surface tracking is on by default, but if you can't get on with the sensitivity or you're just not comfortable using touch controls on a remote, you can always customize it or turn...
Read Full Article • 29 comments
Instagram Feature 2

How to Hide Like and View Counts on Instagram Posts

Wednesday May 26, 2021 8:05 am PDT by
Instagram has added new options on the platform that allow users to hide the number of like and view counts of other people's posts, as well as the same counts on their own posts. The new options have been introduced to "depressurize people's experience" on the platform, the Facebook-owned social media company said. Instagram has been testing out the options in several countries since 2019,...
Read Full Article • 33 comments
mozilla firefox banner

How to Clear Cookies in Firefox on Mac and iOS

Monday April 19, 2021 11:24 am PDT by
Whenever you browse the web in Firefox, the browser stores website data including cookies so that it doesn't have to do so again each time you revisit a site. In theory this should speed up your browsing experience, but there are some scenarios where you might want to clear the cache and start anew. Keep reading to learn how it's done on Mac, iPhone, and iPad. There are a couple of...
Read Full Article