How to Find Deleted History on Mac without Time Machine
Last Updated on December 8, 2020 by Jason Ben
Mac comes with a built-in backup feature referred to as Time Machine. Using the Time Machine feature, you are able to backup automatically all of your different file types including system files, music, apps, photos and of course safari history.
However, if you have never employed the use of Time Machine and you have deleted your Safari History, there is still another powerful data recovery option you can use in the name of Data Recovery Software. with this Data Recovery Software, you are able to easily restore all the deleted Safari History and bookmarks and other data types on Mac. One is then able to open the files recovered to check the deleted history including time, date, URL etc.
Step 1 Download the data recovery application on your Mac. At that juncture, install and launch the program.
Step 2 In the displayed home page of the program, you are required to choose the type of data and lost data location for you to be able to findyour deleted data. Since your intention is to retrieve deleted Safari history, you have to select the option Others and the particular hard disk storing installed Safari on your Mac.
Step 3 At the right-bottom of the main interface of the software, there is the option for you to choose either Home or Scan. Click Scan and the program will automatically commence a Quick Scan. If the Quick Scan is not able to find the data required, you can try Deep Scan. Depending on storage of the disk, Deep Scan can last several hours and enable the recovery of more deleted files.
Step 4 Once the scan process is complete, you are then required to locate the deleted Safari history on your Mac device. In the search bar, simply type in /Library/Safari and subsequently proceed to click the Filter function.
Step 5 From the list of the filtered files displayed, locate the file or files having the .db suffix. It should be noted that if you are using earlier versions of Safari, then the files will have the .plist suffix.
Step 6 Select the file/s with either the .db or .plist suffix and proceed to click the Recover option, displayed at the right bottom.
Step 7 If you want to view the Safari history on Mac, you can employ the use of SQLite browser for opening and viewing the db File. You are able to see deleted history, date, time, and URL information. For opening .plist files, you can employ the use of a plist editor or text editor.
Apart from Data Recovery Software being able to find deleted Safari history, the software can also help recover deleted PDF, Excel, emails, photos, and more from your Mac device.
Find Deleted Safari History on Mac with Time Machine
It is possible to find all deleted files such as the history of Safari on Mac on condition that the data was backed up. Therefore, ensure that you set up your Time Machine on Mac. It is also important to note that if you employ the use Time Machine for recovering the deleted history of Safari, the restoration will be complete. And so, to safeguard the current data of the Safari website from being eliminated by the data recovery process, you should back up the data.
Step 1 Close or quit your Safari on Mac and launch the Time Machine.
Step 2 Remember to connect your backup drive with your Mac.
Step 3 From the Finder, you are required to pull down the Go menu and then select the Go to the Folder and enter/type in the path ~/Library/Safari.
Step 4 You will be taken to an interface of the Safari directory. In the interface, search and choose history .db file. However, if you are using older Safari versions, instead, the file name may be History .plist.
Step 5 From the top-right corner of the screen or interface, you have to pull down the menu for Time Machine and advance to click on the option Enter Time Machine.
Step 6 Once in the Time Machine, navigate through the available Safari history data and choose the particular browsing date for you to restore. Simply click on Restore for the selected browsing data to be recovered.
Step 7 Once Time Machine has finished restoring your deleted Safari history, you are free to access it. Relaunch the Mac Safari, go to the History section in Safari, pull down its menu, and then select the option Show All History. You will now be able to see the retrieved the previously deleted safari browsing data.
How to Find Safari Private Browsing History
As a Safari user, it is imperative to understand that it is quite simple and easy to find and retrieve your private browsing history. URL lists that you have privately browsed are usually stored in a viewable database file. To find and view or delete your Safari private browsing history contained in the database file, you have to employ the use of SQLite browser, as recommended by Lifehacker.
For Safari Mac users:
Step 1 Open Finder
Step 1 Click the Go menu
Step 2 Hold the Option Key or Alternate key and when Library appears, click it.
Step 3 Open the folder of Safari
Step 4 Inside the opened Safari folder, locate the WebpageIcons.db file and consequently, drag it into the SQLite browser.
Step 5 In the SQLite window, click the tab Browse Data.
Step 6 From the Table Menu, choose the Page URL and as a result, a list of the websites visited will be displayed in the window.
For Safari Windows users:
Step 1 Click Start and proceed to open the computer. Navigate to the C: drive window.
Step 2 In the upper-right corner, there is a search bar. Click the search bar and type in WebpageIconsand note its pathway. The pathway will be something like C:\Users\David\AppData\Local\AppleComputer\Safari)
Step 3 Launch the SQLite browser and click Open Database and then select the WebpageIcons.db file.
Step 4 In the window of SQLite, click the tab Browse data.
Step 5 From the Table Menu, choose Page URL and you will see a list of URLs in the window.
In conclusion, if you want to manually remove your Safari private browsing history, you have to either trash the WebpageIcons.db file physically and periodically or choose Clear History and Website Data.
Related Article:
How to Recover Safari Bookmarks and Safari History on iPhone
How to Recover Deleted Safari Bookmark on Mac