Safari keeps excluding Google from my browser history

[unfunfionn]

In recent weeks, Safari has started to exclude Google results pages from my history, meaning pressing the back button never lands there anymore. So effectively what happens is:

1. Type search query in address bar
2. Google search results page opens
3. Open any result
4. Press back button
5. I land back on the page before the Google results, with no evidence of the Google results in my history

This only happens with Google, not any other site, and it's such a workflow killer. I also found some threads from 5+ years ago on the Apple Community reporting the same thing, but nobody solved it.

Has anybody experienced this and found the problem?

 

[2021]

It’s a feature

How to Snap Back to Your Search Results When Browsing in a Safari Tab

Say you want to look up a topic online, so you type a search word or phrase into Safari's address bar. The first link in the returned results...

www.macrumors.com

 

[unfunfionn]

Thanks but it's not the same thing. Snap Back is a way to bypass large amounts of back button history to get directly to a search page. The issue I'm having is that the search page isn't in the history at all anymore, so there is nothing to Snap Back to.

In this case if I use the Snap Back option, it returns me to the first result I clicked after the search page.

I thought it might be an extension (like AdGuard), but I disabled them all and it still happens.

 

[2021]

Understood. I’ve experienced that too but didn’t check the linked article properly.

 

[BrianBaughn]

I tested this and got the same result. However, I switched to using Bing and found that Bing searches were in history and were there using the "back" button. Then I switched back to Google and now the Google searches are there. Don't ask me!

 

[burgman]

For me when I press the back button, Safari stalls. I have to press back again then same experience as OP. same behavior on IOS Safari.

 

[Eliott69]

In recent weeks, Safari has started to exclude Google results pages from my history, meaning pressing the back button never lands there anymore. So effectively what happens is:

1. Type search query in address bar
2. Google search results page opens
3. Open any result
4. Press back button
5. I land back on the page before the Google results, with no evidence of the Google results in my history

This only happens with Google, not any other site, and it's such a workflow killer. I also found some threads from 5+ years ago on the Apple Community reporting the same thing, but nobody solved it.

It happens with each of the search engines (Google, Bing, Yahoo, DuckDuckGo, ...) you can select for the address bar in the Safari settings in the tab "Search" and then also only when you enter the search terms in the address bar.

Enter the search terms on the respective search engine's website (www.google.com, www.bing.com, www.yahoo.com, start.duckduckgo.com, ...) and searches will show up in the browser history.

 

[usagora]

I'm on Big Sur 11.3 and Safari 14.1 and I'm not experiencing this. I normally use Chrome, but I just tried a Google search in Safari, clicked a link, clicked the back button, and it took me back to the search results as normal.

A sort-of workaround would be to hold the Command key when you click a link so it opens in a new tab.

Maybe try restarting if you haven't already and also resetting Safari.

 

[MatiasUnified]

I am having the same issue as OP. I am going crazy and the only thing stopping me from never using Safari again is it's battery life optimization. Has anyone found a solution?

 

[HDFan]

It’s a feature

How to Snap Back to Your Search Results When Browsing in a Safari Tab

Say you want to look up a topic online, so you type a search word or phrase into Safari's address bar. The first link in the returned results...

www.macrumors.com

That's a 2018 article, no longer under the History menu. Think it is now under the search (magnifier glass) icon in the URL box.

 

[BobMcBob]

I still have this issue. Did anyone ever find a solution? I'm on macOS Monetery 12.5.1, Safari 15.6.1.
I do a search in Google, click a result, now the Google search is no longer in the browser history. It's really annoying.

 

[Nermal]

I reported this as a bug months (years?) ago and it never got fixed. I encourage everyone affected to do the same, since Apple seems to ignore issues until a "critical mass" of people report them.