[User Guides](/en/guides) # Safari Link Cleaner: Clean URLs Before the Page Opens PublishedMay 1, 2026UpdatedMay 8, 2026 Clean Links now adds a new Safari link cleaner mode on iPhone, iPad, and Mac: supported tracking parameters are stripped before the page opens. That means you can tap a tracked link in Safari and Clean Links can remove known tracking junk during navigation, before the destination page gets a chance to load with those parameters attached. The existing Safari extension button is still there too, so you can clean every link already embedded on the current page when you want to copy or share from it. This is a Safari extension feature for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. It works alongside Safari's built-in privacy protections, not instead of them. ## [](#what-changed)What Changed Before this release, the Clean Links Safari extension focused on manual page cleanup. You tapped the extension, pressed **Clean Links**, and it rewrote every link on the page in place. That manual mode still works. The new part is automatic navigation cleanup. Clean Links now uses Safari extension rules to remove supported tracking parameters as Safari opens a URL. For common tracking parameters like `utm_source`, `fbclid`, `gclid`, and many platform-specific campaign IDs, the cleaner runs before the page opens. In practical terms: - Links you open in Safari can be cleaned earlier. - Links already sitting on a page can still be cleaned in place. - The extension now covers many more websites and link shorteners. - The feature is available in Clean Links for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. ## [](#why-this-matters)Why This Matters Apple's Advanced Tracking & Fingerprinting Protection is useful, and you should keep it on. But Safari's built-in protection is based on Apple's coverage list. It does not remove every tracking parameter that sites add to URLs, and it does not replace a dedicated link cleaner for sharing, short links, QR codes, or cross-app workflows. Clean Links goes further by covering hundreds of additional supported tracking parameters and patterns. It also handles the rest of the link-cleaning workflow outside Safari: Share Sheet, Apple Shortcuts, QR scanning, Mac clipboard cleaning, and redirect-chain cleanup when network requests are enabled. For the full side-by-side breakdown, see [Clean Links vs Safari Advanced Tracking & Fingerprinting Protection](/compare/clean-links-vs-safari-advanced-tracking-fingerprinting-protection). ## [](#what-safari-dnr-does-here)What Safari DNR Does Here The new automatic cleaner uses Safari's declarativeNetRequest support, often shortened to DNR. [Chrome's declarativeNetRequest docs](https://developer.chrome.com/docs/extensions/reference/api/declarativeNetRequest) describe the same browser-side model: an extension declares rules, and the browser can modify matching network requests without the extension intercepting and reading them. Instead of running a page script and editing links after a site loads, DNR lets Safari apply URL cleanup rules during navigation. For Clean Links, that means supported tracking parameters can be stripped from the URL before the page opens. It is a better fit for navigation cleanup because the browser applies the rule at the right moment: while the link is being opened. The manual extension action still has a different job. It cleans links already present on a page, which is useful when you want to copy, share, or inspect outbound links before opening them. ## [](#what-about-clearurls)What About ClearURLs? [ClearURLs](https://github.com/ClearURLs/Addon) is the browser extension many technical users know for automatic tracking-parameter cleanup in Firefox and Chrome. As former ClearURLs users ourselves, one of the reasons why we built Clean Links in the first place was because the ClearURLs maintainers had made it clear that [they have no interest in supporting Safari](https://github.com/ClearURLs/Addon/issues/92). Clean Links now covers the core ClearURLs-style automatic URL cleanup workflow in Safari: supported tracking parameters are stripped before the page opens. Clean Links also adds Apple-native workflows ClearURLs does not cover, including Share Sheet cleaning, Shortcuts, QR scanning, Mac clipboard cleaning, Send to Mac, and redirect-chain cleanup when network requests are enabled. Additionally, the Clean Links tracking parameter dataset is much larger and more actively maintained than that of ClearURLs. ClearURLs is not completely inactive. Its Rules repo had a commit on 2026-03-25. But extension releases and some user-facing fixes have slowed down: the latest ClearURLs Addon release, v1.27.3, was published on 2025-02-05, and [ClearURLs Rules PR #191](https://github.com/ClearURLs/Rules/pull/191), which adds YouTube's newer `is` tracking parameter, was opened on 2026-02-24 and remains unmerged as of 2026-05-08. Today, Clean Links' automatic browser cleanup is Safari-only. That gap is one reason we are considering Clean Links ports for Firefox and Chrome. ## [](#how-to-use-it)How to Use It Update Clean Links from the App Store, then make sure the Safari extension is enabled. On iPhone and iPad: 1. Open **Safari**. 2. Tap the address bar controls, then open **Manage Extensions**. 3. Turn on **Clean Links**. On Mac: 1. Open **Safari**. 2. Go to **Safari** > **Settings** > **Extensions**. 3. Enable **Clean Links**. After that, Safari navigation cleanup runs automatically for supported tracking parameters. To clean every link already on the current page, open the Clean Links extension from Safari and press **Clean Links**. For screenshots and setup details, use the [Clean Links Safari extension guide](/guides/safari-extension-link-cleaner). ## [](#what-about-short-links)What About Short Links? Safari navigation cleanup and shortlink expansion solve related but different problems. Automatic Safari cleanup removes supported tracking parameters from URLs during navigation. Shortlink expansion follows redirects from links like `bit.ly`, `t.co`, `lnkd.in`, and `l.facebook.com` so Clean Links can show the final destination and remove trackers that appear later in the redirect chain. Redirect expansion can require network requests from your device. If you turn on **Disable Network Requests**, Clean Links will still strip known tracking parameters, but it will not expand short links because expansion requires visiting the redirect. That privacy toggle applies across the app and extension. Use the default mode when you want redirect-chain cleanup, or turn on **Disable Network Requests** when you want strict no-network link cleaning. ## [](#faq)FAQ ### [](#does-this-replace-safaris-built-in-protection)Does This Replace Safari's Built-In Protection? No. Keep Safari's built-in protection enabled. Clean Links complements it by cleaning additional supported tracking parameters and by covering workflows Safari does not handle, like Share Sheet cleaning, QR scanning, Shortcuts, and Mac clipboard monitoring. ### [](#does-clean-links-see-my-browsing-history)Does Clean Links See My Browsing History? No. Clean Links does not log or store the links you clean or check. Automatic Safari cleanup uses local extension rules for supported parameters, and manual page cleanup runs locally when you trigger it. ### [](#does-this-work-outside-safari)Does This Work Outside Safari? The automatic before-page-open cleanup is a Safari extension feature. Clean Links still works outside Safari through the native app, Share Sheet, Shortcuts, QR scanner, Clean Links Web, and Mac clipboard monitoring. ### [](#where-can-i-get-it)Where Can I Get It? [Download Clean Links free on the App Store](https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id6747395062). The Safari navigation cleaner is included on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. ## Related Posts [User Guides](/en/guides) ### [Link Cleaner Online: Clean Links Now Works in Every Browser](/en/guides/link-cleaner-online) Clean Links users asked for it. The link cleaner online ships today: paste a URL, strip the trackers, and unwrap short links from any browser. April 15, 2026 [User Guides](/en/guides) ### [How to Allow Paste for Clean Links on iPhone and iPad](/en/guides/allow-paste-for-clean-links-iphone-and-ipad) Fix the iPhone "Paste from Other Apps" prompt for Clean Links, allow clipboard access again, and control how pasted links are handled. April 10, 2026 [User Guides](/en/guides) ### [How to Use the Clean Links Safari Extension on iPhone & Mac](/en/guides/safari-extension-link-cleaner) Strip tracking parameters from every link on any webpage with the Clean Links Safari extension. One tap on iOS, one click on macOS - setup guide included. April 7, 2026 [![Download on the App Store](/app-store/download-badge/en/download.svg)](/download)[ Discord0 users online ](/discord)[Open the web link cleaner, no install needed](/en/link-cleaner) [4.9ยท148 ratings on the App Store](/reviews) ## Link Cleaner and Safe QR Code Scanner That Shows the Final URL Before You Tap Follows every hidden redirect on your device and strips tracking parameters at every hop. Remove hidden trackers instantly Reveal QR code destinations 100% on-device processing Zero ads, zero tracking, zero BS [![Download on the App Store](/app-store/download-badge/en/download.svg)](/download)[ Discord0 users online ](/discord) [Open the web link cleaner, no install needed](/en/link-cleaner) [](/x)[LinkedIn](/linkedin)[Reddit](/reddit) Follow Clean Links for app updates and privacy tips.