Apple releases Safari 12 for owners of macOS Sierra & High Sierra

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AppleInsiderAppleInsider
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in macOS
Apple on Monday launched Safari 12 for its two most recent Mac operating systems, Sierra and High Sierra, primarily improving security and privacy.

Apple Safari


The updated browser, for example, blocks social media buttons or embedded content from tracking cross-site browsing without permission, and makes it harder for advertisers to identify individual Macs. It will also suggest strong passwords when creating or updating an account, and can flag reused ones.

Extensions are a particular focus, since the update ends support for legacy items that haven't been reviewed by Apple, along with "most" NPAPI (Netscape Plugin Application Programming Interface) plugins. The software will further disable extensions that are hurting performance.

Other security-related touches include the option to block or allow popups on a per-site basis, and miscellaneous vulnerability fixes.

Finally users can now see a website's icon in each tab, making it less confusing to switch.

The updated browser is available through the Software Update tool at the Mac App Store. Safari 12 will come pre-installed with macOS Mojave, which arrives Sept. 24. That upgrade will include features like Stacks, enhanced Quick Look functions, and Mac ports of iOS apps including Home, News, Stocks, and Voice Memos.



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  • Reply 1 of 33
    bonobobbonobob Posts: 399member
    Yep, it disabled my AdBlock extension. And sure enough, I started getting ads. So I reenabled it. Safari was kind enough to shoot me over to a page of Safari Extensions on the App Store, but I don't know anything about any of them. It sure would be nice if some site like, I dunno, say AppleInsider, did a comparison and review of them.
    dysamoriaajlminicoffeechristopher126pulseimagesbaconstangpropodlostkiwiSpamSandwich
     9Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 2 of 33
    Eric_WVGGeric_wvgg Posts: 975member
    Developer-wise, there's support for some new credential fields in <input> tags. Not much else, possibly the most boring Safari release ever.

    https://developer.apple.com/safari/whats-new/
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 3 of 33
    dysamoriadysamoria Posts: 3,430member
    Why does Apple's content blocking API have such a low maximum number of filters?
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 4 of 33
    ciacia Posts: 275member
    RES in Safari no longer works.  It was already limping along before, but this Safari update and extension changes has officially killed it.
    freediverx
     1Like 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 5 of 33
    christopher126christopher126 Posts: 4,366member
    Am I to understand Apple's goal is to make all devices appear to be anonymous? 

    If so, I applaud this approach. 
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 6 of 33
    SpamSandwichspamsandwich Posts: 33,407member
    bonobob said:
    Yep, it disabled my AdBlock extension. And sure enough, I started getting ads. So I reenabled it. Safari was kind enough to shoot me over to a page of Safari Extensions on the App Store, but I don't know anything about any of them. It sure would be nice if some site like, I dunno, say AppleInsider, did a comparison and review of them.
    Yep, Apple screwed everyone who didn't update to the latest macOS, no matter what is our reason. Looks like I may have to switch to Google's Chrome browser unless I can figure out how to reinstall blockers.
    edited September 2018
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  • Reply 7 of 33
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    I didn’t realize I was a High Sierra “owner” like the headline states. Did Apple change its licensing agreement? If I own it can I sell it?
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 8 of 33
    pulseimagespulseimages Posts: 691member
    Guess I won’t be adding this update then. 
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 9 of 33
    jdwjdw Posts: 1,472member
    Ditto what others have said about Apple disabling AdBlock.  Safari dares to claim it takes up too much CPU!  As if the Ads it blocks somehow don't slow-down and mar my browsing experience!  And to top it off, System Preferences now flags me with a red circle (and in iCloud) to enable 2FA.  It won't let me dismiss the warning either.  And they claim to be so caring and loving over it being "for my security."  

    What the heck, Apple?
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 10 of 33
    kevin keekevin kee Posts: 1,289member
    Apple's reason is quite reasonable. Until AdBlock fix its memory consumption, we have to rely on other Ads block extension or possibly Safari's own built-in ad blocker.
    lostkiwiVitalyK
     2Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 11 of 33
    tyler82tyler82 Posts: 1,116member
    Wow, new Safari is really clunky with adblock turned on, to the point of it being unusable. Guess I'll have to use Firefox until a fix is in.
    edited September 2018
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  • Reply 12 of 33
    mdossmdoss Posts: 40member
    Yeah - it disabled uBlock Origin, AdBlock Plus, Ghostery etc., saying it will slow down performance.

    I am now bombarded by ads on any page I visit!  And there are no updates to any of these extensions. Problem is, I am one of the few who prefers Safari to other browsers, and am now forced to either have ads or use some other browser.

    And I do not understand what SpamSandwich is saying - I am on the latest and greatest updates to the OS and all other apps; so, what do you mean by being penalised for not updating to the latest OS?

    Cheers
    freediverx
     1Like 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 13 of 33
    fred1fred1 Posts: 1,156member
    lkrupp said:
    I didn’t realize I was a High Sierra “owner” like the headline states. Did Apple change its licensing agreement? If I own it can I sell it?
    Sure you can. Along with your music from the iTunes Store and your Kindle books.  Highest bidder, of course. 
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 14 of 33
    Eric_WVGGeric_wvgg Posts: 975member
    “Legacy” extensions can apparently be reinstalled withe a bit of developer mode fiddling. 

    > Download the extension, change the file extension from .safariextz to zip. Extract files.

    > Click "Show Extension Builder" in Develop menu. On the lower left corner there is a plus button. Click it. Then choose the "Add Extension".

    > When you get asked to, open the folder where the extracted files of your extension are. Then click "Run" in the upper right corner of Extension Builder.

    I don’t have Safari 12 yet so can’t say. But please don’t conflate Apple moving to a more secure extension platform as some kind of political or anti-blocker move; when AdBlock or Ghostery sees their extensions rejected from the store, that’s the time to start complaining. 
    edited September 2018
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  • Reply 15 of 33
    scotarttscotartt Posts: 2unconfirmed, member
    is there any way to customise the third party cookie handling on a site by site basis in safari 12?

    I have a couple of work websites where I need to have the "prevent cross site tracking" item unchecked for them to work. 

    The thing is I don't want this permanently off for all websites, I just want to be able to whitelist a couple of domains.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 16 of 33
    lorin schultzlorin schultz Posts: 2,771member
    scotartt said:
    is there any way to customise the third party cookie handling on a site by site basis in safari 12?

    I have a couple of work websites where I need to have the "prevent cross site tracking" item unchecked for them to work. 

    The thing is I don't want this permanently off for all websites, I just want to be able to whitelist a couple of domains.
    THIS!!!

    The Sports Network uses a third party for user authentication, so blocking third-party cookies prevents it from working. I'd enable it, but the only choice is to allow ALL third-party cookies, rather than just those associated with TSN. I don't want to do that, so I live without the TSN app.
    scotartt
     1Like 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 17 of 33
    lorin schultzlorin schultz Posts: 2,771member
    Some time ago AdBlock prompted me to get rid of the extension I was using and install the AdBlock app on my Mac instead. Would this change to Safari perhaps have been the impetus for that?

    Is anyone using the AdBlock Mac app with Safari 12, or does the Safari update disable the app, too?
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 18 of 33
    scotarttscotartt Posts: 2unconfirmed, member
    lorin schultz said:
    scotartt said:
    is there any way to customise the third party cookie handling on a site by site basis in safari 12?

    I have a couple of work websites where I need to have the "prevent cross site tracking" item unchecked for them to work. 

    The thing is I don't want this permanently off for all websites, I just want to be able to whitelist a couple of domains.
    THIS!!!

    The Sports Network uses a third party for user authentication, so blocking third-party cookies prevents it from working. I'd enable it, but the only choice is to allow ALL third-party cookies, rather than just those associated with TSN. I don't want to do that, so I live without the TSN app.
    yeah, but for me, because it's a work web site, I have to be able to access. so I have to turn the setting off globally because I can find no information if there's a whitelist feature hidden away somewhere.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 19 of 33
    maciekskontaktmaciekskontakt Posts: 1,169member
    Who cares? The only time Safari is used is when some Apple app forces it and starts it instead of default browser. Firefox did great job in that department years ago with major improvement this year. Chrome sucks more because it is resource hog and bases business on adds. Why one would use niche browser?
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 20 of 33
    sphericspheric Posts: 2,747member
    I reënabled uBlock Origin, and it works fine. 

    Unfortunately, it outright killed the other extensions I use:

    Detox
    Facebook Cleaner
    Image Reveal
    JavaScript Blacklist
    Media Center
    NoMoreiTunes

    And the Mac App Store has a total of FORTY-NINE extensions. Hooray. 
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
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