How to Add a Start Page Wallpaper in macOS Safari 14 - MacRumors
Skip to Content

How to Add a Start Page Wallpaper in macOS Safari 14

by

Ahead of the release of macOS Big Sur, Apple has released the Safari 14 update for macOS Catalina and macOS Mojave users, bringing with it a number of new features and improvements.

safari start wallpaper
One of the most dramatic changes is the overhauled Start Page, which now includes a browsing privacy report, iCloud tabs, Siri suggestions, and more. It also features several customizable options, such as the ability to choose your own Start Page wallpaper.

The new Safari 14 update can be downloaded by opening up System Preferences and choosing the Software Update option. Once the update is installed, you can choose your own Start Page wallpaper by following the steps below.

  1. Launch Safari 14 on your Mac.
  2. Click the Settings icon in the bottom-right corner of the Start Page.
    safari

  3. Click the checkbox next to the Background Image option if it isn't already ticked.
    safari

  4. Choose one of the wallpapers from the gallery carousel. Alternately, click the plus (+) button to open a file browser dialog and select another image on your Mac.
    safari

As well as a new Start Page, Safari 14 brings improved performance and a new tab bar design that provides tab previews so you can see what you have open at a glance. For more on the security content in Safari 14, check out Apple's release notes.

Tag: Safari

Top Rated Comments

insomniac86 Avatar
73 months ago

taking away top sites was worst move ever. I hate safari now.
I think you will find Frequently visited is the Top Sites renamed.
At least for me it's a mirror image of what my Top Sites was.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
travelsheep Avatar
73 months ago
People at BING design-team were like "first they will laugh, then they will ignore, then they will adapt..."
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
73 months ago
i never used top sites .....
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Spacetime Anomaly Avatar
73 months ago
Something to look at for all of a second while you type the first two letters of a website and hit Enter.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
73 months ago
I honestly can't fathom why a Start Page is so loved. Do people actually use it? I guess I've had mine set to "no page" for so long and I'm used to manually going to sites that I want to go to, I've disconnected from this reality. o_O


Since installing Safari 14.0 Ive been hit with out of Application memory alerts... with Safari using 56 GB of memory.. with barely 4 tabs opened. Seems to me there’s a serious memory leak issue going on, the RAM/Swap used skyrockets with time regardless of tabs, etc...
I use Safari all day long (as a website developer) and have not noticed any memory issues. It likely depends on the sites that you're visiting. It's possible that those sites have some code issues that could be fixed within them.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
73 months ago
Since installing Safari 14.0 Ive been hit with out of Application memory alerts... with Safari using 56 GB of memory.. with barely 4 tabs opened. Seems to me there’s a serious memory leak issue going on, the RAM/Swap used skyrockets with time regardless of tabs, etc...
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Apple Event Logo

Apple's Next Era Begins September 1

Thursday May 7, 2026 10:36 am PDT by
Apple recently announced that Tim Cook will be stepping down as CEO later this year, after 15 years of leading the company. Effective September 1, Apple's hardware engineering chief John Ternus will become the company's next CEO, while Cook will become executive chairman of Apple's board of directors. In his new role, Apple said Cook will assist with "certain aspects" of the company,...
Instagram Feature 2

PSA: Instagram Encrypted Messaging Ends on Friday, May 8

Tuesday May 5, 2026 8:24 am PDT by
Instagram will remove end-to-end encryption for direct messages between users from May 8, 2026. When the date comes around, Meta will potentially be able to see the contents of all messages between users on the social media platform. Encrypting messages has been an optional feature in Instagram since 2023, but in March of this year the social media platform quietly updated a help page to say ...
macbook neo launch day

Apple May Drop Base $599 MacBook Neo as Chip, DRAM Costs Climb

Thursday May 7, 2026 4:55 am PDT by
Apple is considering dropping the cheapest MacBook Neo configuration as one possible response to the rising cost of building the popular laptop, according to Taiwan-based tech columnist and former Bloomberg reporter Tim Culpan. The Neo currently starts at $599 for a 256GB model, with a 512GB version at $699. Writing in his latest Culpium newsletter, Culpan says cutting the entry-level...