macOS Safari Not Responding — What It Means & How to Fix It

What Does This Error Mean?

Safari not responding on Mac usually means the browser has run out of memory, a web page has crashed the rendering engine, or the Safari process has frozen. This happens more on Macs with less RAM or when many tabs are open for a long time. You can almost always fix it by force-quitting Safari and restarting it. You will not lose your tabs if you have Safari's Reopen All Windows from Last Session feature enabled.

Affected Models

MacBook Air (all models)
MacBook Pro (all models)
iMac (all models)
Mac mini (all models)
Mac Pro (all models)

Common Causes

Specific web page with heavy JavaScript or a memory leak causing Safari to stop responding
Too many open tabs consuming all available RAM
Outdated Safari or macOS version with a known stability bug
Corrupted Safari preferences or browser cache causing crashes
A Safari extension conflicting with a web page and causing the process to hang

How to Fix It

Force-quit Safari. Press Command + Option + Escape to open the Force Quit window. Select Safari and click Force Quit. Wait 10 seconds, then reopen Safari.

When Safari restarts, it will offer to reopen your previous tabs. Click 'Restore' to get them all back.
Clear Safari's website data and cache. Open Safari > Settings (or Preferences) > Privacy > Manage Website Data > Remove All. Also go to the Develop menu > Empty Caches.

If you do not see the Develop menu, enable it in Safari Settings > Advanced > Show features for web developers.
Disable Safari extensions temporarily. Go to Safari Settings > Extensions and turn off all extensions. Restart Safari and test. If it stays stable, re-enable extensions one by one to find the problem one.

A poorly written extension can hang the entire Safari process, especially on specific websites.
Update Safari and macOS. Go to System Preferences (or System Settings) > Software Update. Install any pending macOS updates, which include Safari updates.

Apple regularly releases Safari stability fixes as part of macOS security updates.
Reset Safari's preferences if it keeps freezing. Close Safari, open Terminal, and type: defaults delete com.apple.Safari. This resets all Safari settings to default. Reopen Safari and reconfigure your preferences.

This removes saved passwords only from Safari — they are still in your Keychain. Your bookmarks are not affected.

When to Call a Professional

Safari not responding is almost always a software issue you can fix yourself. Apple Support is available at support.apple.com or at any Apple Store Genius Bar if you need hands-on help.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will I lose all my open tabs when I force-quit Safari?

No, if Safari is set to reopen windows from your last session. After force-quitting and reopening Safari, you will see a notification to restore your previous windows and tabs. Click Restore All and your tabs will come back. You can also set History > Reopen All Windows from Last Session manually.

Why does Safari freeze on one specific website but not others?

Some websites run heavy JavaScript, cryptocurrency mining scripts, or poorly coded animations that can freeze the browser. If Safari always freezes on one site, that site is the problem — not your Mac. Try the site in Chrome or Firefox to see if the issue is Safari-specific or site-specific.

How many tabs should I keep open in Safari?

Each open tab uses RAM, even when you are not looking at it. On a Mac with 8 GB RAM, 20 to 30 active tabs is reasonable. On a Mac with 16 GB or more, you can comfortably keep 50+ tabs open. Pinning frequently used tabs and closing the rest is a good habit that prevents Safari from slowing down.