Safari crashes for unknown reason

Question

Safari crashes for unknown reason

For an unknown reason my Safari browser on my MacBook Pro M5 Pro with macOS 26.6.2 and Safari 26.6.2 crashes when I enter a specific Google search prompt while I'm on the default startpage/new tab page.

Furthermore, I use two browser extensions within Safari. These are Bitwarden (via Mac App Store) and uBlock Origin Lite (via Mac App Store).

Does anybody else have this problem?

The specific search prompt (in Dutch) I entered was "Instagram deactiveren". The crash happens when I enter the second word.

MacBook Pro 14″

Posted on Aug 19, 2026 1:48 PM

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Answer 1

Aug 19, 2026 2:09 PM in response to ImMartijn

A specific search query triggering a reproducible crash in Safari start page cab be caused by a WebKit text-rendering or predictive search suggestion bug, or a corrupted local cache file tied to the unified smart search field.

Workarounds

Search via Google directly: Navigate straight to Google Search by typing the full URL first rather than entering the query directly into the startpage/new tab search field.
Disable Search Suggestions: Go to Safari > Settings > Search, and uncheck Include search engine suggestions to prevent the specific query string from crashing the rendering engine.

Troubleshooting Steps

Clear Website Data & Cache: Go to Safari > Settings > Privacy, click Manage Website Data, search for Google, and remove it.
Disable Extensions: Turn off active extensions via Safari > Settings > Extensions to rule out interference from ad blockers or text-parser add-ons.
Reset Safari Cache File: Quit Safari, open Finder, press Command + Shift + G, paste ~/Library/Caches/com.apple.Safari, and move Cache.db to the trash before relaunching.

I can enter your search term in either the URL field or the Google search box with no issues on macOS 26.6.2.

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Answer 2

Aug 19, 2026 2:19 PM in response to ImMartijn

This annoying problem has been ongoing for years with no definitive cause.

Recent example containing links within it that may help: Safari crashes as I type certain queries in the Address Bar - Apple Community

To date no one appears willing to advance troubleshooting. It would be nice to know if something works. Even if nothing works, that too would be a data point.

Aside: just composed a reply but it vanished upon posting. neuroanatomist's reply appeared in the interim, so it's just as well.

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