How to block websites on Safari

Safari often belongs in a focus session. You may need it for research, docs, web apps, reading, billing, or writing tools. The problem is not Safari itself. The problem is that the same browser also contains news, feeds, forums, video, shopping, and every other easy detour.

1. Create a Nudge preset for the work mode.
2. Allow Safari if the session needs browser access.
3. Add distracting websites to the blocked list.
4. Keep only the Mac apps that belong in the work block.
5. Start the session from the menu bar.

This keeps the browser useful while narrowing the web to what the work actually needs.

Safari Websites settings let you manage per-site behavior such as Reader, Content Blockers, Auto-Play, Pop-up Windows, and Notifications. This is useful for reducing friction and noise on sites you still need to visit.

1. Open Safari.
2. Choose Safari, then Settings.
3. Open the Websites tab.
4. Select a setting on the left, such as Pop-up Windows, Content Blockers, Auto-Play, or Notifications.
5. Choose the behavior for the current site, configured sites, or websites you have not configured yet.

Use this for noise control. Do not rely on it as your main focus blocker if the goal is to stop visiting a distracting site entirely.

Safari can block pop-up windows for a single website or all websites. It can also use content blockers to stop ads and other unwanted content where a content blocker is installed. Auto-Play settings can stop videos from starting automatically, and notification settings can deny a site's ability to send alerts.

These are valuable cleanup steps. A site with fewer pop-ups, autoplay videos, and notifications is less distracting. But the site is still available, which means the habit loop may still survive.

Screen Time Content & Privacy settings include Safari web content levels. You can leave access unrestricted, limit adult websites and add custom restricted or allowed sites, or use Allowed Websites Only for a much stricter list.

1. Open System Settings on your Mac.
2. Open Screen Time.
3. Go to Content & Privacy.
4. Open App Store, Media, Web, & Games settings.
5. Choose the Safari web content level and customize allowed or restricted sites where needed.

This is stronger than ordinary Safari settings, but it is still not as flexible as a work-session preset when your rules change between writing, research, admin, and deep work.

The Mac hosts file can block domains system-wide by pointing them back to your own machine. It works outside Safari too. The downside is maintenance: editing system files, remembering subdomains, flushing DNS, and undoing changes when the block should end.

Use the hosts file if you are technical and want a static system-level block. Use Nudge if the rules need to change by work mode.

For the broader version, read How to block websites on Mac.

What should you use?

Use Safari settings to quiet websites. Use Screen Time to create broader built-in restrictions. Use the hosts file if you want manual system-level blocking and are comfortable maintaining it.

Use Nudge when Safari is needed for work, but specific websites should be blocked during the session. That is the practical Mac focus case.

FAQ