iPhone Safari recently closed tabs history issue

Problem:

Even if you clear history and website data of Safari in Settings, the history still remains in the "Recently Closed Tabs", which can be accessed by long-pressing the '+' button in Safari.

 

Safari recently closed tabs keep appearing

 

Similar case link on Apple Community:

• Safari recently closed tabs keep reappearing

Safari recently closed tabs keep reappear… - Apple Community

 

My iPhone Usage Environment:

• Apple iPhone 15 Pro
• iOS 17.6.1

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Solution:

If you clear the history within Safari, rather than in the settings, all history in the "Recently Closed Tabs" will be deleted.

 

Tap bookmark icon in Safari app

 

Tap history bar and clear

 

I usually cleared Safari history on my iPhone by going to Settings > Safari > Clear History and Website Data.

However, when clearing history this way, the "Recently Closed Tabs" history is not properly cleared.

Therefore, I recommend using the history option within Safari.