Safari extensions on iPhone and iPad arrive inside an app. Install the app from the App Store, then turn the extension on in Settings under Apps, Safari, Extensions. On iOS versions before 18, the path is Settings, Safari, Extensions. Once on, review which sites it may access.
The app based model
On Apple platforms, a Safari web extension is distributed as part of an app. That means the App Store listing is the place to read about the developer and what the app does, and the extension is a component of it. You cannot install a Safari extension on its own the way you add one in Chrome.
The Safeguard download page follows this model. It describes its Safari extension on iPhone and iPad as included in the Safeguard.sh app. You install the app, then switch the extension on. The page lists the Mac version as included in the Safeguard.sh app for Mac and, at the time of review, marks it as in Apple review.
Steps on iPhone or iPad
- Install the app from the App Store.
- Open Settings, then Apps, then Safari, then Extensions. On iOS before 18, open Settings, Safari, Extensions.
- Turn the extension on.
- Open the extension's entry to see what access it has.
I could not confirm the exact wording of Apple's own permission options from Apple's pages in this review, so check the screens on your device. In general, look for choices that limit an extension to specific websites rather than all of them.
Keep it tight
Treat the first week after enabling as a trial. Use the extension on the sites you care about, notice what it asks for, and turn it off again if you do not see a clear benefit. A feature you rarely use should not hold standing access to your browsing.
- Turn on only the extensions you use.
- Prefer the narrowest website access the screen offers.
- Delete the app if you stop using it, which removes its extension.
- Treat an extension the way you would on a desktop browser: it can read pages it has access to.
The general rules from desktop browsers still apply. See the five minute audit for the thinking, and how permissions are declared and displayed for how browsers describe risk.
What this app's extension is for
The download page says the Safeguard extension provides Griffin search in a side panel from the browser's own store, and that it can read and change content on websites you visit so Griffin can carry out the browser tasks you give it. That is a broad capability, so the guidance above, narrow access and use only when needed, applies to it as to any similar tool.
Quick check
Why is the extension not listed on its own in the App Store?
On Apple platforms Safari extensions ship inside an app, so the listing you see is for the containing app.
Does the Mac version work the same way?
The Safeguard download page describes it as included in the Mac app and in Apple review, with enabling done in Safari, Settings, Extensions. Check the page for current status.
Sources
Last reviewed: 19 October 2026.
