Overview

Keeping your web browser up to date with the latest security improvements is an important step to ensure a safe browsing experience. Web browsers will generally self-update on an intermittent basis, but if you follow the quick and easy steps below, you'll be sure that you have the current version of each. The process varies slightly for each browser, and this article provides update instructions for four of the most common ones.

Click a browser name to skip to the relevant section:

• Google Chrome
• Microsoft Edge
• Firefox
• Safari

Google Chrome

Normally, Chrome updates happen in the background when you close and reopen the Chrome browser.

To update Google Chrome

Normally updates happen in the background when you close and reopen your computer's browser. But if you haven't closed your browser in a while, you might find a pending update:

1. On your computer, open Chrome.
2. At the top right, select More (three vertical dots) > Help > About Google Chrome.
3. Select Relaunch.
   • If you can't find the “Relaunch” option, you're on the latest version.

Tip: The browser saves your opened tabs and windows and reopens them automatically when it restarts. Your Incognito windows won't reopen when Chrome restarts. If you don’t want to restart right away, select Not now. The update applies the next time you restart Chrome.

Microsoft Edge

By default, Microsoft Edge automatically updates when you restart your browser. However, should you need to manually download an update, here are the steps.

1. Near the top right of the Edge window, click Settings and more (the ⋯ button) at the end of the toolbar.
2. Click Help and feedback > About Microsoft Edge (This will bring you to edge://settings/help). 
   • If the About page shows “Microsoft Edge is up to date,” you don't need to do anything.
   • If the About page shows “An update is available,” select Download and install. Microsoft Edge will download the update and apply it the next time you restart Microsoft Edge
   • If the About page shows “To finish updating, restart Microsoft Edge,” select Restart. The update is already downloaded and all you need to do is restart the browser for it to be applied.

You can repeat steps 1 and 2 to confirm that Edge is up to date:

Source: Microsoft Support — Microsoft Edge update settings

Firefox    

By default, Firefox fetches updates automatically. You can always update manually, in which case an update is downloaded but not installed until you restart Firefox.

1. Access About Firefox:
   Windows — Near the top right of the Firefox window, click the application menu (the 3-line button) at the end of the toolbar. Select Help, then About Firefox.
   macOS — At the top-left corner of the screen, select Firefox from the menu bar, then About Firefox.
2. The About Firefox window opens. Firefox will check for updates and download them automatically.
3. If an update is available, when the download is complete, click Restart to Update Firefox.

You can repeat step 1 to confirm that Firefox is up to date:

Source: Firefox Support — Update Firefox to the latest release

Safari

The Safari browser is fully integrated into Apple’s operating systems, meaning it receives updates as part of macOS or iOS. To check for available updates on macOS:

1. From the Apple menu (apple icon) in the corner of your screen, choose System Settings. Click General in the sidebar, then click Software Update on the right.
   • If you don't see System Settings, select the Apple menu (apple icon)  > System Preferences, then click Software Update.

2. Software Update then checks for new software. 
   • If Software Update finds new software, click the button to install it (see image below). The button might be named Update Now, Upgrade Now, Install Now, or Restart Now, for example. You might then be asked to enter your administrator/Mac password.
   • If Software Update says that your Mac is up to date, then no new software is currently available for your Mac model. Software Update shows only software that is compatible with your Mac.