Clear Or Turn Off AutoFill In Safari On A Shared iPad or iPhone [iOS Tips]

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AutoFill Settings

One of the more useful features of modern browsing, the AutoFill function started on the desktop, then made its way to the iPhone and iPad a while ago. It lets your iOS device hold all the form data, populating the oft-repeated fields with your personal info like your name and address. That way, you don’t have to type it all in all the time, which is brilliant on a mobile device with a small touch-keyboard.

When you share a device, like I do with my iPad at home, you may not want to share this personal data. Until a proper multi-user experience comes to iOS, the best way to get around this is to clear out your personal info, and then turn off AutoFill. Here’s how.

Turn on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch and launch the Settings app with a tap. Tap on the Safari button in the left-hand pane, and then tap on AutoFill, the second item in the list on the right.

Tap the Clear All button at the very bottom, first, to clear out any lingering data that might be on the device. You’ll need to confirm the deletion when a badge pops up to make sure you really want to do this. Then, tap the toggle buttons next to Use Contact Info and Names and Passwords, setting these to OFF.

And that’s it. Simple, right? If you want a middle-of-the-road approach, just disable Names and Passwords, leaving Contact Info ON, and you’ll have the benefit of AutoFill without the security risk of your iPhone storing sensitive passwords to web sites.

While this preference is disabled by default, you never know if someone has messed about with them when you weren’t looking, so it’s worth a quick peek to make sure you’re not saving data that you’d rather not.

Got an iOS tip of your own? Need help troubleshooting your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad? Drop me a line or leave a comment below.

Via: OS X Daily

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