Fix Guide: Safari Freezing or Crashing on macOS Tahoe 26.2

Symptom: Safari becomes unresponsive when opening multiple tabs, or it crashes entirely when viewing sites with heavy JavaScript (like YouTube or Google Maps).

Tahoe 26.2 includes an updated WebKit engine that has compatibility issues with certain legacy extensions and "Private Relay" settings.

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Fix 1: Clear Safari Web Cache & Cookies

A corrupt database of cookies can cause Safari to hang while trying to load a page.

1. In Safari, go to Settings > Advanced.
2. Check the box for "Show features for web developers" at the bottom.
3. In the menu bar, go to Develop > Empty Caches.
4. Then go to Settings > Privacy > Manage Website Data > Remove All.

Fix 2: Disable iCloud Private Relay (Test)

Private Relay can cause "DNS lookup failures" that Safari interprets as a hang.

1. Go to System Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud > Private Relay.
2. Toggle it OFF and restart Safari.

Fix 3: Force Reset Safari Saved State

If Safari crashes on launch, it's likely trying to resume a "broken" window state.

1. Open Terminal.
2. Run:

rm -rf ~/Library/Saved\ Application\ State/com.apple.Safari.savedState

Try launching Safari in "Safe Mode" (hold Shift while clicking the app icon) to see if a third-party extension is causing the instability.