Hi team,
We have some iOS devices with a web content filtering policy applied. This disables private browsing and prevents clearing Safari history.
Is there any way to clear the browsing history or website data, either manually or remotely, without removing the policy?
Thanks!
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Hey @ryanmoore , I tried a workaround using the Shortcuts app when the said policy is enabled. You can create a shortcut that opens Safari’s “Clear History and Website Data” settings page with this URL:
prefs:root=SAFARI&path=CLEAR_HISTORY_AND_DATA
It does open the right settings page, but unfortunately, it doesn’t actually clear the history. The data still remains even after running the shortcut. I don’t have any clue on how to proceed with this issue further. Let me know if it works for you.
Nah mate, it results in the same issues as you mentioned!
Hello @ryanmoore and @sarahmiller,
Thank you for reaching out. When a Web Content Filtering policy is applied on iOS devices, private browsing is disabled, and the option to clear Safari history and website data is not available. This applies whether the policy is configured via MDM or Screen Time. As for the Shortcuts method, it only opens the settings page and cannot perform the clear action itself.
Currently, Apple does not provide a method to remotely clear Safari browsing data while the mentioned policy is enabled.
We really appreciate your understanding.
Regards,
John Cooper
Hexnode UEM
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