Export iPhone Safari History and Bookmarks to Mac or PC
Your iPhone stores several types of data on your iPhone for the Safari web browser:
- History, the websites you have visited.
- Bookmarks, the websites you have saved to visit again.
- Reading List, articles you have saved to read later.
While these items sync to your iCloud account, you may need to access them on your Mac or PC. You may want to transfer them easily to another web browser, or view them on a computer where you are not signed into iCloud. You may also want to recover these items from a backup (made by either iMazing or iTunes) if you've lost your iPhone and need to access this information. iMazing can help, allowing you to export each of these types of data in Excel, CSV (comma-separated values) or HTML format.
Here's how to export iPhone Safari history and bookmarks to Mac or PC.
View the datasets you can access
iMazing displays the Overview screen for the selected device. The top row shows the most commonly used datasets, such as Messages, Photos, and Music. If you do not see the Safari datasets, click More to display every dataset available for the device.
Depending on the Safari data you need, click Safari History, Safari Bookmarks, or Safari Reading List. The first time you open one of these datasets, iMazing needs a backup to access the data.
Tip: Alternatively, click Data in the left sidebar to see every dataset available for the device, including shortcuts to third-party apps such as VLC.
Choose how to load your data
iMazing needs to create a backup to extract data from your device. You can choose whether you only need access to your Safari data, or whether you want to create a full, restorable backup of the device. A partial backup uses much less storage, but both options take about the same amount of time because all files are streamed from your device to your computer during the process. iMazing cannot control which files are streamed.
Click Start to launch the operation. iMazing prompts you to enter the passcode on the device.
Backup encryption is required to access Safari History, Safari Bookmarks, and Safari Reading List. If it is not enabled, iMazing prompts you to enable it. To learn more about backup encryption, see the dedicated Backup Options in iMazing guide.
Important: The first time you back up a device with iMazing, the process may take 30 minutes or more, depending on how much data is stored on the device. USB speed (whether your device supports USB 3.1 or 2.0) and the backup location (for example, a NAS or external drive) can also affect the time it takes. Please be patient. Learn more about data access and full backup options.
For more details on backup performance, see: Understanding & fixing slow iPhone or iPad backups
If a backup of the device already exists, iMazing shows the following prompt instead. Choose whether to open the existing backup or run a subsequent backup to refresh the contents.
Tip: Subsequent backups are incremental and much faster. You can request a newer backup at any time with the Refresh button (the circular arrow) in the top toolbar.
Once iMazing finishes loading the data, it displays the selected Safari dataset in the main window.
Browse your Safari data from a backup
Browse an existing backup
You can browse your Safari data without connecting your iPhone, as long as iMazing already holds a backup of the device. iMazing can also open backups made with iTunes, Finder, or Apple Devices once you add them to iMazing.
- On the Home Screen, open the Backups section to see every backup iMazing manages.
- Select the backup you want to open. iMazing opens it so you can browse its content, no device connection is required.
- On the backup Overview, click Safari History, Safari Bookmarks, or Safari Reading List in the datasets row.
Note: When browsing from a backup, iMazing reads only the stored backup, so no new backup is created. For more on browsing and extracting data, see the Manage your backups with iMazing guide.
Browse from a previous snapshot
Each time iMazing backs up your device, it keeps a timestamped snapshot, so you can open your Safari data as it existed at an earlier date. This works like macOS Time Machine, applied to your iOS or iPadOS backups.
By default, iMazing shows the current state of your device or the latest backup. To reach an earlier state:
- Select your device or a backup from the Home Screen.
- In the upper toolbar, click the Now button to open the Snapshot List.
- Select an earlier snapshot. iMazing reloads the selected Safari dataset with the items contained in that snapshot.
A gray checkmark marks the state you are currently viewing. Select Now again to return to the current state.
Tip: For details on snapshot labels and management, see the Backup Snapshot List in iMazing guide.
Export Safari History
Select history items
Select the history items you want to export.
Tip: Use Cmd (macOS) or Ctrl (Windows) to select multiple items individually. Use Shift to select a range.
Choose a file format
Click Export, then choose a file format:
- Excel or CSV: import the file into a spreadsheet application such as Excel or Apple Numbers. The spreadsheet contains one row per history item, with the last date visited, the name of the website and its exact URL, the website that redirected to that page, and the number of visits to that page.
- HTML: open the file as a web page in any browser. Each history item appears as a link that you can click or import into another browser.
Export Safari Bookmarks
Select and export your bookmarks as in steps 4.1 and 4.2.
Tip: To import your bookmarks into Chrome, export them as an HTML file. In Chrome, click More (the three dots at the top right), then select Bookmarks and lists > Import bookmarks and settings. Click Choose file, select the file, then click Done. Chrome adds all your bookmarks.
Export your Safari Reading List
Select and export your Reading List items as in steps 4.1 and 4.2.
The Excel or CSV file contains one row per Reading List item, with the name of the page, the URL, the last date you visited the URL, and whether you have read the article.