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Setting up your browser for SimplePractice


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Setting up your browser for SimplePractice

Liz B.
Liz B.
  • Updated
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Setting up your browser for SimplePractice

Liz B.
Liz B.
  • Updated

Running a practice using an EHR offers a wide array of benefits, including reducing time on administrative tasks, going paperless, and keeping your documentation secure and consolidated.

It’s important to take certain proactive and precautionary measures to ensure you maintain HIPAA compliance, and that you have the best SimplePractice experience.

In this guide, we’ll cover:

Updating your operating system

To keep SimplePractice working smoothly, it’s best to make sure your computer’s operating system is up-to-date. System updates can resolve performance issues for your browser, internet connection, and other key features on your computer. For guidance on how to update your operating system, see:

Checking your browser version

We recommend that you use the most recent version of your preferred browser. Each browser update comes with improvements, new features, and performance fixes that keep your internet browsing experience smooth and error-free.

Note: For the minimum version requirements for all supported browsers, see Minimum requirements for using SimplePractice below.

To update Google Chrome

  • Open Chrome
  • Click the 3 vertical dots on the top right
  • Click Help > About Google Chrome 
  • Select Update Google Chrome
    •  If you don’t see this button, you're already on the latest version, or your Chrome may have automatically updated when you opened this setting
  • Click Relaunch

To update Firefox

  • Open Firefox
  • Click Firefox > About Firefox in the menu bar
    • Firefox will check for updates and download them automatically
  • Click Restart

To update Safari

Safari is updated automatically when you update your Mac’s operating system. To update Safari, see Updating your operating system.

Enabling JavaScript and cookies

We use JavaScript to render key features on the SimplePractice site, and we use cookies to store small bits of data in your browser to ensure you have a consistent experience. While browsers allow you to disable these, we recommend enabling JavaScript and cookies for SimplePractice to retain access to all of our features.

To enable JavaScript and cookies on Chrome

  • Open Chrome
  • On the top right, click the 3 vertical dots
  • Choose Settings > Privacy and Security
  • Click Cookies and other site data
    • Check Allow sites to save and read cookie data (recommended)
    • If you prefer to have cookies disabled on other sites, under Allow click Add, and add secure.simplepractice.com
  • Click JavaScript
    • Check Allowed (recommended)
    • If you prefer to have JavaScript disabled on other sites, under Allow click Add and add secure.simplepractice.com

To enable JavaScript and cookies on Firefox

  • Open Firefox
  • On the top right, click the three horizontal lines
  • Choose Settings > Privacy & Security 
  • Under Enhanced Tracking Protection, make sure Standard is checked

To enable JavaScript and cookies on Safari

  • Open Safari
  • In the menu bar, click Safari > Preferences
  • Click the Security tab
    • Make sure that Enable JavaScript is checked
  • Click the Privacy tab
    • Make sure that Block all cookies is unchecked

Note: To learn more about how SimplePractice collects and uses data, and customize your cookie preferences, please see our Privacy Policy.

Turning on AdBlock

Unwanted internet advertisements are a common annoyance, which is why the AdBlock extension is popular. Though SimplePractice will never include ads, AdBlock can still interfere with your use of features like Telehealth or Secure Messaging.

To ensure that AdBlock continues to block ads on other sites, without affecting features you want to use, you can disable AdBlock for SimplePractice. To do this:

  • On the upper right, click the AdBlock icon among your browser extensions 
  • Select Don't run on pages on this site (for Chrome) or Don't run on pages on this domain (for other browsers)
  • Click Exclude

Using Autofill

Some browsers have Autofill, which allows them to remember addresses, credit cards, passwords, and more to make it easier to fill out forms online. For most consumers, this is a convenient feature.

However, for someone running an internet-based business involving PHI, this can lead to the inadvertent storing of client information within your browser. In addition, storing login credentials within your browser means they'll be accessible to anyone opening your computer.

We recommend disabling Autofill on the browser you use to access SimplePractice. To do this:

Disabling Autofill on Chrome

  • Open Chrome
  • On the top right, click the 3 vertical dots
  • Choose Settings > Autofill
  • Select Password Manager
  • Disable the toggles for Offer to save passwords and Auto Sign-in

autofill.SimplePractice.Chrome.png

  • Click the back arrow
  • Select Addresses and more
  • Disable the toggle for Save and fill addresses

Disabling Autofill on Firefox

  • Open Firefox
  • Click Firefox > Preferences
  • In the right column, choose Privacy & Security
  • Under Forms & Autofill, uncheck Autofill Addresses

Disabling Autofill on Safari

  • Open Safari
  • Click Safari > Preferences > Autofill
  • Uncheck Using information from my contacts, User names and passwords, Credit cards, and Other forms

Disabling Autofill on Edge

  • Open Edge
  • On the top right, click the 3 horizontal lines
  • Click Settings > Your Profile
  • Toggle off Personal info, Passwords, and Payment info

Setting up browser extensions

Many browser extensions can degrade your browser’s performance, or even infect your computer with malware and harvest your information. Internet security experts recommend using as few browser extensions as possible, or ideally, none at all.

Important: Many common extensions aren’t HIPAA-compliant.

Installing extensions from third-party developers puts your data and your clients' data at risk. When using SimplePractice, we recommend removing all browser extensions. To do this: 

Removing browser extensions on Chrome

  • Open Chrome
  • On the top right, click the 3 vertical dots
  • Choose More Tools > Extensions
  • Click Remove to uninstall your browser extensions

Removing browser extensions on Firefox

  • Open Firefox
  • On the top right, click the 3 horizontal lines and choose Add-ons and themes
  • Right-click the extensions to uninstall or disable them

Removing browser extensions on Safari

  • Open Safari
  • In the menu bar click Safari > Preferences
  • Click the Extensions tab
  • In the menu on the left, click an extension, then click Uninstall on the right

Removing browser extensions on Edge

  • Open Edge
  • On the top right, click the puzzle piece icon
  • Choose More actions next to the extension that you’d like to remove
  • Select Remove from Microsoft Edge > Remove

Minimum requirements for using SimplePractice

With a reliable internet connection, you can securely access your SimplePractice account from a newer computer (laptop or desktop, both Apple and Windows), mobile device (iOS or Android), or tablet. However, we've actively chosen to only support certain browsers because the security of your clients' information and the ease of your SimplePractice experience is always top-of-mind for us.

To take advantage of all of SimplePractice's features and to ensure the security of your data, your device and browser will need to meet our minimum requirements for using SimplePractice.

Important: If your device, browser, or operating system version (OS) doesn't meet the minimum requirements, the quality of your SimplePractice experience may be impacted. Above all else, using outdated technology can interfere with the security of your data. Additionally, our Customer Success team won't be able to assist with troubleshooting unless your device meets the minimum requirements.

Minimum requirements for your device

For computers (Apple or Windows laptops/desktops):

  • We recommend using newer devices purchased in the last two years
    • This is a security precaution as older devices can compromise your data more easily
  • Use a computer that has at least a 2.5 GHz processor and 4 GB of RAM
  • For Apple computers, we only support the following operating system versions:
    • macOS Sonoma (latest version, recommended)
    • macOS 13: Ventura 
    • macOS 12: Monterey 
    • macOS 11: Big Sur
    • macOS 10.15: Catalina
  • For Windows computers, we only support the following operating system versions:
    • Windows 11 (latest version, recommended)
    • Windows 10

For mobile devices (iOS or Android):

For web browsers:

Tip: To learn more about the minimum requirements for using Telehealth, see Telehealth FAQs.

A reliable internet connection:

  • For optimal results, a reliable, high-speed internet connection with a bandwidth above 10-15 mbps will minimize connection issues and provide the best quality

Note: You must have an internet connection and cannot work offline. Any changes made while offline won’t be saved to SimplePractice.

We know that keeping your clients' data safe and sound is a joint effort, so we appreciate you taking these necessary precautions.

Note: To make sure we're offering a smooth experience for your clients, the Client Portal supports Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Microsoft Edge. We no longer support Internet Explorer for clients because it doesn’t meet the minimum requirements needed to run the Client Portal securely and successfully.

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