macOS processes › Browsers and web content
What is Safari Web Content on Mac?
Safari Web Content processes run the web pages you have open in Safari, usually one per tab or site. Other apps that show web pages, like Mail, have their own, named after the app.
What it does
Each process runs a page's code, layout and scripts in a sandbox, so one bad page can't crash Safari or read other tabs. The program behind them is com.apple.WebKit.WebContent. Safari also starts spare ones in advance, which can appear as Prewarmed, and keeps some for recently closed pages, shown as Cached.
Why it gets busy
- Heavy sites, like web apps, video, browser games or pages full of ads and trackers.
- Lots of open tabs, each with its own process and memory.
- Pages that keep running scripts in the background, like dashboards or chat apps.
- Extensions that add scripts to every page.
Why is Safari Web Content using so much CPU?
A busy Safari Web Content process is one of your web pages working hard: video, a web app, ads or a runaway script. Close or reload that tab, or quit just that process.
Is it safe to quit?
Quitting one affects only its tab, which shows an error and reloads. Safari keeps running.
How to calm it down
- Close tabs you don't need, especially ones with video, maps or web apps.
- Turn off extensions one at a time in Safari › Settings › Extensions to find a heavy one.
- Quit a runaway Safari Web Content process in Activity Monitor. Only its tab reloads.
- Keep Safari updated by installing macOS updates.
In SystemWatch
SystemWatch combines all web content processes into one row, Web pages (Safari and other apps), so you see the total cost of your open pages, and the website edition can quit a single runaway one.
