Invisible "untitled" window in Safari.

After browsing for a while Safari always lists an "untitled" window that doesn't exist. You can see it in the Window menu of the menubar, and in the dock when alt-clicking Safari. But there is no window.


There is a moment when it seems to appear, when you can see that something is opening, because there is a brief flash of the app, as if a pop-up is opening but nothing appears. After this the app lists an untitled window that can't be found.


As previously reported elsewhere, here for example, sometimes Safari creates an "untitled" window but when you select it there is no window, nothing shows up.


Using expose doesn't reveal an additional window. Disabling and removing extensions and resetting Safari doesn't change this behaviour.


Latest version of Safari (15.x), latest version of macOS (12.x). Have run full drive scans with Bitdefender for malware and nothing turns up.


What could this be? What other steps aside from the basics (resetting safari, clearing data and caches, safe mode, etc.) can be used to identify what this is? It doesn't show up anywhere in Activity Monitor either.


It feels like there is something running that shouldn't be running and it's using Safari but I can't identify it. It seems to only occur on my M1 mac but not on my Intel mac.

Mac mini, macOS 12.4

Posted on Aug 12, 2022 07:52 PM

Reply
1 reply

Aug 13, 2022 02:11 PM in response to Unaha-Closp

Hi Unaha-Closp,


Thanks for coming to Apple Support Communities for help today.


It sounds like you have tried some great troubleshooting here. Did you also try testing Safari inside a new user account? This can help isolate the issue further to your user or system wide. Here's how to make one: Set up users, guests, and groups on Mac.


"Add a user

  1. On your Mac, choose Apple menu  > System Preferences, then click Users & Groups .
  2. If the lock at the bottom left is locked , click it to unlock the preference pane.
  3. Click the Add button  below the list of users.
  4. Click the New Account pop-up menu, then choose a type of user.
    • Administrator: An administrator can add and manage other users, install apps, and change settings. The new user you create when you first set up your Mac is an administrator. Your Mac can have multiple administrators. You can create new ones, and convert standard users to administrators. Don’t set up automatic login for an administrator. If you do, someone could simply restart your Mac and gain access with administrator privileges. To keep your Mac secure, don’t share administrator names and passwords.
    • Standard: Standard users are set up by an administrator. Standard users can install apps and change their own settings, but can’t add other users or change other users’ settings.
    • Sharing Only: Sharing-only users can access shared files remotely, but can’t log in to or change settings on the computer. To give the user permission to access your shared files or screen, you may need to change settings in the File Sharing, Screen Sharing, or Remote Management pane of Sharing preferences. See Set up file sharing and Share the screen of another Mac.

5.For more information about the options for each type of user, click the Help button in the lower-left corner of the dialog.

6.Enter a full name for the new user. An account name is generated automatically. To use a different account name, enter it now—you can’t change it later.

7.Enter a password for the user, then enter it again to verify. Enter a password hint to help the user remember their password.

8.Click Create User."


Let us know what happens.


Have a fantastic day!


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Invisible "untitled" window in Safari.

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