How to Choose All Tabs on iPhone: A Full Guide to Managing Safari Tabs

What Does “Choosing All Tabs” Mean on iPhone?

When people say “choose all tabs” on an iPhone, they usually mean one of two things: either they want to select and close all tabs in Safari or they want to manage them together (move them into a tab group or view them collectively). Unlike desktop browsers, iOS Safari doesn’t have a “Select All” checkbox, but there are built-in shortcuts to quickly close, group, or organize all tabs.

Managing multiple tabs can keep your browser clutter-free, improve performance, and help you focus on what matters.

Why You Should Learn to Manage All Tabs

Tabs may seem harmless, but over time they can:

Use more RAM and battery
Slow down Safari’s performance
Increase tracking from third-party websites
Make it hard to find the important pages you had open

That’s why knowing how to choose or close all tabs at once is a must for every iPhone user, especially those who browse regularly.

How to View All Tabs in Safari on iPhone

To begin managing your tabs, first open the Tab Overview in Safari:

Open the Safari app
Tap the Tabs icon (two overlapping squares) in the bottom-right corner
This opens a grid or stacked view showing all currently open tabs

You’ll also see a tab counter like “15 Tabs” at the bottom of the screen. From here, you can access individual tabs or manage them all together.

How to Close All Safari Tabs at Once

Apple makes it easy to close all open tabs with just a long press:

Open Safari
Long-press the Tabs icon (bottom-right)
Tap Close All [X] Tabs from the pop-up menu
Confirm if prompted

That’s it. All your open tabs will be closed instantly.

Alternatively:

Tap the Tabs icon
Then long-press the “Done” button in the corner
Select Close All Tabs

This works on iOS 13, iOS 14, iOS 15, and newer versions.

How to Automatically Close Tabs Over Time

You can set Safari to automatically close unused tabs so you don’t have to do it manually:

Go to Settings > Safari
Scroll down to Close Tabs
Choose from:
- After One Day
- After One Week
- After One Month
Safari will automatically clean up old tabs based on your choice

🔗 Apple Support – Automatically Close Tabs in Safari

This is useful for users who forget to close tabs regularly.

How to Move Tabs to a Tab Group (iOS 15 and Later)

If you’re not trying to close tabs but instead want to organize them, you can use Safari’s Tab Groups feature:

Open Safari and go to the Tab Overview screen
Tap the “X Tabs” dropdown in the center-bottom of the screen
Select Move to Tab Group
Tap New Empty Tab Group
Give your group a name (e.g. “Work”, “Reading”, “Shopping”)
All current tabs will be added to that new group

You can now switch between tab groups anytime from the same menu.

🔗 Apple iPhone User Guide – Tab Groups in Safari

Tab Groups are ideal for keeping work and personal tabs separate, and they sync across all your Apple devices using iCloud.

How to Reopen Recently Closed Tabs

If you accidentally close all your tabs and want to get some of them back:

Tap the Tabs icon
Press and hold the “+” (plus) button in the middle or bottom of the screen
A list of Recently Closed Tabs will appear
Tap on the tab you want to reopen

This feature is very helpful when you clear tabs too quickly and forget to bookmark important pages.

Can You Actually “Select” All Tabs Individually?

Technically, Safari does not let you select multiple individual tabs like files in a folder (e.g., holding down and selecting several at once). However, Apple makes it easy to act on all tabs at once using:

Close All Tabs option
Move All Tabs to a Group
Auto-close feature

So, while there’s no manual multi-select tool, you still have powerful shortcuts for managing all tabs in bulk.

Using Private Browsing Tabs Separately

Keep in mind, Private Browsing tabs are treated separately from your normal tabs. To view or manage those:

Tap the Tabs icon
Tap the “X Tabs” dropdown in the bottom center
Switch to Private
Repeat the same steps for closing or organizing those tabs

Private tabs don’t appear in your recently closed list, and they are deleted automatically when you exit private mode unless manually closed.

Tips to Keep Your Safari Tabs Organized

Here are some expert tips to avoid tab clutter:

Regularly close tabs you no longer need
Use Tab Groups for long-term sessions
Bookmark tabs before clearing them
Use Reader Mode for a clean reading experience
Turn on Auto-Close to clean unused tabs automatically

These habits will make your browsing smoother, faster, and more organized.

Conclusion: Mastering Tab Management on iPhone

Managing Safari tabs on iPhone isn’t just about closing windows — it’s about staying productive, reducing clutter, and keeping your device running efficiently. Whether you want to close all tabs, move them into a tab group, or set them to auto-close over time, iOS gives you multiple ways to stay in control.

With new features like Tab Groups, auto-cleanup, and recently closed tab recovery, it’s never been easier to manage Safari effectively. So next time you have 25 or 50 tabs open, don’t stress — just long-press the tab button and get organized in seconds.