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How to Stop Websites From Tracking You on iPhone (2026 Guide)

To stop websites from tracking you on iPhone, open Settings → Apps → Safari, make sure Prevent Cross-Site Tracking is on, set Hide IP Address to at least From Trackers, then tap Advanced and set Advanced Tracking and Fingerprinting Protection to All Browsing. Then turn off Allow Apps to Request to Track in Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking.

That takes two minutes and cuts most tracking. Below is what each setting actually does, why ads can still follow you afterward, and how to block trackers before they load.

Why ads follow you from site to site

You look at a pair of shoes once, and for the next week every news site shows you those shoes. Here's how that happens:

  1. Most websites load small pieces of code from outside companies: ad networks, analytics tools, social "Like" buttons. These are trackers.
  2. The same tracker runs on thousands of unrelated sites. When it sees you on the shoe store and again on a news site, it can tell it's the same browser.
  3. It recognizes you with a cookie, your IP address, a "fingerprint" built from details like your screen size and fonts, or an ID added to the links you tap.
  4. That builds a profile of your interests, which is used to pick the ads you see everywhere else.

Each Safari setting below closes one of those routes. No single switch closes all of them, which is why it's worth turning on every one.

Step 1: Turn on Safari's tracking protections

On iOS 18 and later, Safari settings live under Settings → Apps → Safari. On iOS 17, go to Settings → Safari.

  1. Open Settings, tap Apps, then tap Safari.
  2. Scroll to Privacy & Security and turn on Prevent Cross-Site Tracking.
  3. Tap Hide IP Address and choose From Trackers (or From Trackers and Websites if you have iCloud+ with Private Relay).
  4. Turn on Fraudulent Website Warning while you're there. It doesn't stop tracking, but it warns you about phishing sites.
  5. Scroll to the bottom, tap Advanced, then tap Advanced Tracking and Fingerprinting Protection and choose All Browsing.

What each setting does

  • Prevent Cross-Site Tracking: limits third-party cookies and data, so a tracker embedded on one site has a much harder time recognizing you on another. It's on by default, but it's worth checking.
  • Hide IP Address: your IP address is a rough label for your device and location. "From Trackers" hides it from known trackers. With iCloud+ and Private Relay, you can hide it from websites too.
  • Advanced Tracking and Fingerprinting Protection: blocks connections to known trackers, makes your iPhone harder to fingerprint, and removes tracking IDs from links you open. By default it may cover only Private Browsing, so set it to All Browsing to protect every tab.

What about Link Tracking Protection?

Many links carry extra text that identifies you, like a click ID added by an ad or social network. Link Tracking Protection strips those IDs. On iPhone it isn't a separate switch: it's part of Advanced Tracking and Fingerprinting Protection, and Apple applies it in Private Browsing, Mail and Messages. Setting that option to All Browsing extends it to normal Safari tabs.

Step 2: Stop apps from tracking you

Safari's settings only protect Safari. Apps track you in a different way, and iPhone controls that separately with App Tracking Transparency:

  1. Open Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking.
  2. Turn off Allow Apps to Request to Track. Apps will no longer ask, and they're treated as if you said no.
  3. Check the list below it and turn off any app you already allowed.

App Tracking Transparency vs Safari tracking: the Tracking setting stops apps from following you across other companies' apps and websites. Prevent Cross-Site Tracking and the other Safari options stop websites inside Safari. You need both, since they cover different places.

Why ads still follow you after all this

This is the most common complaint: "I turned everything on and I still see ads for things I searched." A few honest reasons:

  • You're signed in. When you're logged in to a search engine, shopping site or social app, it knows it's you without any tracker. Those ads come from your account activity, not cross-site tracking.
  • The site itself remembers you. Tracking settings limit outside trackers, not the website you're on. A store can still show you what you looked at last time.
  • Other devices and browsers. Safari settings don't protect other browsers, your computer, or apps you use while signed in.
  • Old data. Cookies saved before you changed settings can linger. Clearing history and website data in Settings → Apps → Safari resets them, but it also signs you out of sites.

If you want fewer personal ads, also look at the ad settings inside the accounts you're signed in to, and use a private search engine like DuckDuckGo.

Step 3: Block trackers before they load

Safari's protections mostly limit what trackers can learn. A tracker blocker goes further: it stops the tracker from loading at all, which also makes pages lighter and faster. You can add a content blocker to Safari from the App Store, or use a browser that has one built in.

Kipzy is a free iPhone browser that blocks ads, trackers and pop-ups before they load, using EasyList and EasyPrivacy. The lists update automatically every day, so new trackers get blocked without an app update. No account needed.

  • Privacy Report: see which ads and trackers each site tried to load and Kipzy blocked.
  • Remove tracking from links: strips tracking tags like utm_ and fbclid from links before the page loads, in every tab. Find it in Kipzy's Settings.
  • Private tabs: use their own temporary storage, so cookies are gone when you close them.
  • Per-site control: if a site breaks, tap the shield in the address bar to turn blocking off for just that site.

Kipzy only blocks trackers inside Kipzy, not in other apps, so keep the app tracking setting from Step 2 off either way. More on how blocking works on the Kipzy ad blocker page, and see how to block ads on iPhone for every option side by side.

Quick answers

Should Prevent Cross-Site Tracking be on or off?

On. Turn it off only if a specific site, like a sign-in page that uses another company's login, won't work without it, and turn it back on afterward.

Does Private Browsing stop tracking?

Partly. Safari's Private Browsing doesn't save history, blocks known trackers and removes tracking from links. But websites you sign in to still know who you are. Read more in private browsing on iPhone.

Does a VPN stop websites from tracking me?

A VPN hides your IP address, but it doesn't block cookies, fingerprinting or account-based tracking. Safari's settings and a tracker blocker still matter.

How do I see who's tracking me?

In Safari, tap the page menu button on the left of the address bar, tap Privacy & Security, then Privacy Report. It lists the trackers Safari prevented from profiling you. Apple's guide to browsing privately in Safari covers the rest of these settings.

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