Syncing correct version of Safari bookmarks in iCloud

Question

Level 1

26 points

Syncing correct version of Safari bookmarks in iCloud

Basically I want to know how to tell iCloud which is the correct version of my bookmarks in Safari.

i’ve carried out some “housekeeping “ on the bookmarks in Safari on my MacBook. At first these wouldn’t sync with my iPad or my iPhone. I’ve now got them to sync by the advised method of turning Safari off in iCloud and turning it on again. The bookmarks are now synced, but bear no resemblance to what I had before on any of the devices.

If I carry out the “housekeeping “ again, how do I ensure that the resulting version is the one that is synced to my other devices please?

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Original Title: Syncing bookmarks in Safari

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 12.7

Posted on Aug 30, 2025 08:59 AM

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Answer 1

6x6

Level 6

18,183 points

Aug 30, 2025 09:34 AM in response to Peterlg

To synchronize of my bookmarks, I base everything on the Mac. When I have an issue, here is what I do:

On the Mac, turn off Safari in System Settings > [my name] > iCloud.
On the other devices, do the same and choose to delete the Safari data.
On the Mac, turn back on Safari in System Settings > [my name] > iCloud and choose to merge.
On the other devices, turn back on Safari in System Settings > [my name] > iCloud.

The salient point is that the synched Safari data is deleted from the other devices (and not on the Mac). When the synched is turned back on, the other devices pick up what the Mac has.

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Answer 2

Peterlg Author

Level 1

26 points

Aug 30, 2025 11:21 AM in response to 6x6

Thank you.

My problem is that when I turn Safari back on in System Settings on the MacBook and choose Merge, I get bookmarks that appear totally different to what I had on the MacBook before I turned Safari off and on again in System Settings.

It looks like iCloud already has some bookmarks that it is merging with the ones left in Safari on the MacBook when I turn Safari back on.

Does this make sense, and if it is the case, how do I find out what bookmarks are saved in iCloud?

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Answer 3

6x6

Level 6

18,183 points

Aug 30, 2025 11:43 AM in response to Peterlg

Yes, it makes sense. Unfortunately, there is no way to consult, edit or remove the bookmarks that iCloud synchronizes.

You could try to repeat steps 1 and 2 above and turn off (and on, after a few minutes) iCloud Drive on all devices (including the Mac) but I doubt that this will clear whatever data iCloud keeps. (The reasoning being that some cached iCloud data is stored on iCloud Drive.)

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Answer 4

6x6

Level 6

18,183 points

Aug 30, 2025 11:59 AM in response to Peterlg

Yes, it is possible to import bookmarks instead of synchronizing them. First export your bookmarks from your Mac (for instance), in Safari > File > Export Browsing Data to File. Then on the iPhone or iPad, go to Settings > Apps > Safari > Import.

Now that you have turned off and on Safari iCloud on all your devices, I believe that the synchronization will operate as expected, meaning that if you clean/edit your bookmarks on one device, they will be synchronized to the other devices.

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Answer 5

6x6

Level 6

18,183 points

Aug 31, 2025 08:11 AM in response to Peterlg

I'm wondering if your version of macOS is the reason. I had no trouble exporting the bookmarks from Safari in macOS Sequoia 15.6.1 and importing them on my iPhone 9iOS 18.6.2.)

When you export the bookmarks, you see a ZIP file, don't you? If so, on your Mac, open the ZIP file to extract the HTML file and try to import the HTML file.

Otherwise, did you try to see if the synchronization was working as expected since you disabled and enabled bookmarks on all your devices (see my previous reply)?

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