How to Change Where New Safari Tabs Open (In Foreground or In Background) on iPhone

When browsing news websites, research portals, or social media feeds in Safari on iPhone, you frequently encounter external links that you want to read next without losing your place in the current article. By default, iOS Safari can either switch immediately to newly opened tabs (taking over the active screen) or open them quietly in the background so you can continue reading uninterrupted. Depending on your personal reading workflow, toggling this behaviour drastically improves mobile navigation efficiency.

Apple integrates a dedicated “Open Links” setting directly inside iOS that dictates whether secondary link taps load in the foreground or background. Furthermore, Safari supports intuitive multi-touch gestures that let you open tabs in the background on the fly without changing global settings. If you frequently browse on Apple devices, you may also find our tutorials on turning off website tinting in Safari and reopening recently closed tabs in Safari helpful.

Configuring the Default “Open Links” Setting in iOS

To control the default destination for newly opened links across mobile Safari, adjust your system preferences:

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Scroll down and tap on Apps (or tap directly on Safari on iOS 17 and earlier versions).
3. Select Safari from the list of applications.
4. Scroll down to the Tabs section.
5. Tap on Open Links.
6. Select one of the two operational choices:
   • In New Tab: Tapping and selecting “Open in New Tab” switches your screen immediately to the newly launched webpage in the foreground.
   • In Background: Newly opened links load quietly in a separate background tab while keeping your screen anchored to your current webpage. A subtle tab counter animation in the bottom toolbar confirms the page is loading.

Opening Links in the Background Using Long-Press Context Menus

Regardless of your default system setting, you can dynamically choose where a link opens using Safari’s contextual action menu:

1. Navigate to any webpage in Safari on your iPhone.
2. Press and hold (long-press) any hyperlink or preview thumbnail.
3. A preview card of the destination webpage appears alongside a popup action menu.
4. Tap Open in Background (or Open in New Tab). Safari immediately creates the tab without disrupting your current reading flow.

Using the Two-Finger Tap Shortcut for Instant Background Tabs

Apple includes a high-speed multi-touch shortcut in Safari that bypasses contextual menus entirely:

1. Locate any hyperlink on a webpage.
2. Tap the hyperlink with two fingers simultaneously.
3. Safari instantly opens the destination link in a new background tab and increments the tab icon badge without triggering any menus or navigating away from your current position.

Managing and Reviewing Background Tabs

After collecting several background tabs during a reading session, reviewing them is seamless:

1. Tap the Tabs button (the overlapping squares icon) in the bottom-right corner of the Safari toolbar (or swipe up on the bottom address bar).
2. The Tab Grid displays live visual thumbnails of all open pages, with your most recently opened background tabs situated at the bottom of the stack.
3. Tap any thumbnail to bring the page to the foreground, or swipe left on a card to close it once finished.