Search your browser's extension store for 'block websites,' 'filter websites,' or 'productivity' to find apps that block websites. Install the app, restart your browser, then open the app settings and add the sites you would like to block. Be careful of apps with low ratings, or too few reviews to judge accurately. Any website blocker can block Facebook, Reddit and Youtube. Only Cold Turkey Blocker lets you block applications, the whole internet, and even your entire computer. Not going completely Cold Turkey?
The web has the capacity to be both a blessing and a curse at the same time. On the one hand, it enables us to do the work we do and access the wealth of human knowledge. On the other hand, it distracts us from our goals and can even be outright dangerous for our kids.
Naturally, the topic of limiting web access has been in discussion for decades now. How do we block websites full of porn for our kids? What does blocking websites like Facebook and YouTube mean for a modern workplace? Why do we need to restrict ourselves with website blockers to resist temptation and distractions?
All these are valid questions we’ll explore below, in addition to showing you the best ways to block websites that seem to steal your attention all day long.
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Restricting access to apps and websites has been a feature on both Windows and Macs since the early days. Surprisingly, most people aren’t even aware this is a possibility or don’t use it as it seems to be too complicated to set up.
We’ll start by tackling the flow for Parental Controls on Mac. If you’ve used a similar feature on Windows before called Family Safety, the steps would sound familiar, although there are some key differences.
As the name suggests, the Parental Controls feature was developed by Apple to help parents put certain restrictions on their kids, such as accessing adult websites, addictive games, endless video streams, etc.
Lately, however, it hasn’t been uncommon for employers to set Parental Controls for their employees, mostly to limit social media usage or deter them from reading news websites throughout the day.
Regardless of your intended application for Parental Controls, here’s how to set it up:
Now you should see the full Parental Controls menu with tabs such as Apps, Web, Stores, Time, Privacy, and Other. Feel free to explore all of them and set the restrictions that you deem a good fit. But first, let’s walk through the most popular setups.
To limit your kids exposure to adult websites, go over to the Web tab and choose “Try to limit access to adult websites.” Click Customize to enter websites you want your kids to visit at any time or never go to at all. Similarly, if you don’t want your employees wasting time on social media, you can include any those websites here too.
If you only allow children to visit a handful of websites overall, then choose “Allow access to only these websites” and list them all in the window below using the plus button.
To limit certain apps, navigate to the Apps tab and check “Limit Applications on this Mac.” Now in the Allowed Apps window, click on the dropdown arrow and select any applications that you’re fine with kids having access to.
When you are done, simply click the padlock icon on the bottom left to lock your settings in place. If you want to ensure that over time you kids don’t find a sneaky way to go around your settings, you can infrequently monitor their logs by going into the Logs menu available on the bottom right of your Parental Controls panel.
One important mention is that if you are searching for how to block a website on Chrome or how to block website on Safari, this description above is the way to do it. Parental Controls doesn’t differentiate between browsers, so its settings will work on Safari, Chrome, Firefox, or any other browser you use.
The truth is Parental Controls are somewhat complicated. It takes a while to get all the settings just right. And every time you catch your kids coming up with a new workaround, you have to devise a way to solve that too.
And what if you share the same computer with your children? Then you need to log out and log in every time you pass the laptop to each other. Some of us just don’t need those complications and wish there was an easier way. Luckily, there is.
Meet Focus - a simple website blocker that also works for apps and even specific webpages, all right from your Mac’s menu bar.
To block out distractions in Focus:
The beauty of Focus is that it doesn’t enforce the focus mode all the time - it works in sessions, which is perfect for sharing the same computer with your kids. So when your kids are asking for some playtime, you can just click on the app’s icon and select “Focus for 25 minutes” or “Custom focus..” to set the period of time during which blocking websites will be enforced.
To prevent your kids from changing settings, just go to Preferences again and, in the General tab, check the “Hardcore mode.” For extra safety, you can also turn on the “Password mode.”
What if your kids have their own computer? Not a problem. In the Preferences window, you can choose Schedule and set the limits you desire.
Another major advantage of Focus over Parental Controls is that it works not only for your kids but for you too. Don’t you sometimes wish you could block websites on Mac? Turn off YouTube, eliminate Facebook, stay away from Reddit - Focus makes it easy.
Just follow the same instructions as you would for your kid: block websites and apps, set up a schedule that mirrors your work hours, and lock preferences during sessions to minimize temptation.
As we all know, it’s impossible to work undistracted for eight hours straight. In fact, small breaks throughout the day are highly beneficial to your productivity. Focus allows you to turn off the website blocker for a small amount of time in the Break mode.
The app would also delight the followers of the Pomodoro technique, which automatically lets you have a short break after an intensive focus session. You can set it up your break periods in Preferences as well.
For extra motivation, you can include a list of your favorite “go get it” phrases in the Quotes tab in the app’s preferences as well. These quotes will appear when you try to access one of the blocked websites and remind you to get back to what’s truly important.
If Focus can easily solve all your problems related to blocking websites and apps that waste your time, it won’t really help you concentrate on a single task amidst your cluttered desktop and a heap of open windows. That’s where you need HazeOver.
HazeOver is essentially a professional screen dimmer. While it’s not a way to block websites on Mac, it’s the perfect solution for your scattered focus. What this app does is highlighting the currently active window and dimming the rest of the screen, including notifications and other apps.
Even though HazeOver is simple in its application, it allows you to fine-tune every single setting to suit your needs. By going to its preferences from the menu bar icon, you can set how strong the dimming effect is, whitelist apps you don’t want dimmed, which is useful when you work with two windows at the same time, and configure how the apps will work on two or more displays.
My mail app is not working on my mac. Cause: Items from an Exchange account are stored in the Outlook cache.
As a bonus, HazeOver is perfect for working at night, as it only lets the light from the active app window to go through instead of overwhelming you with an ocean of blue light, which will make it harder to fall asleep later on. Similarly, watching a movie in the evening is so much more pleasant when HazeOver is there to dim everything around the video app.
Overall, if you’ve used to tinker with all the complex settings in Family Safety on Windows or simply like the granular level of control, using Parental Controls is certainly an option.
For the rest of us, using Focus + HazeOver presents a much more flexible solution - one that can protect our kids and not let us slack off at the same time.
A bundle of apps for free
Every app mentioned above is a part of Setapp. By downloading one, you get access to everything you need to improve browsing.
Best of all, both Focus and HazeOver are available on Setapp, a platform of over 150 highly acclaimed tools, utilities, and apps for your Mac. Sign up to become a Setapp member and try Focus, HazeOver, and all other apps from its catalogue for free during your trial period. In the meantime, how to block websites on Mac should no longer be a pressing issue.
Meantime, prepare for all the awesome things you can do with Setapp.
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Today, the Internet is overflowing with malicious and offensive content. Many parents seek to prevent children from seeing these websites and blocking them is one of the best options. Another common situation in which you may want to block certain content is at the workplace to ensure that employees stay focused and productive, rather than reading news or perusing social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, etc.
The easiest way to control access to content is to set parental controls on children's or employees' accounts, however this is not always possible. For example, setting restrictions on an administrator account is not straightforward. Fortunately, there are several other options to control content including third-party applications that work as website blockers and screen-monitoring software. A more advanced option would be to configure the host file so that the system blocks connections to websites included in a 'black list'. In this article, we will cover all three methods to block and unblock websites on Mac computers.
Table of Contents:
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We start with the simplest method: set parental controls for the existing account or create a new restricted account. Open Mac System Preferences and then choose Parental Controls. If you do not have an account without administrator permissions, Parental Controls allows you to create a new restricted user account, or to convert your existing administrators account. You are advised to create a new account for your children - select Create a new user account with parental controls and click Continue. In the next window, complete the form with details of the new account (bear in mind that a hint will be useful if you ever lose or forgot your password).
Once you have created a new account, select it from the list on the left side of the window. This will allow you to set restrictions for applications available with this particular account. Also, to set a time when this account can be used on the computer. To set restrictions related to websites, choose the Web tab (or Content in earlier versions of the Mac operating system). You will see three options:
The last useful feature under the Web tab is the Logs.. button. This displays information about recent activity relating to websites accessed on this particular account. You can choose a period you want to check via the drop-down menu beside Show Activity for.
This method requires use of the command line and some specific commands. There are cases when this technique does not work at all, however the advantage of this method is that you will also be able to block websites on administrator accounts. Launch the Terminal application by using Spotlight. Simply use the keyboard shortcut of Command and Spacebar, or go to the Utilities folder under Application through Finder. If you make a mistake when editing the hosts file, you might run into a situation whereby no websites are loaded. To prevent any unexpected scenarios, create a backup copy prior to modifying the hosts file. This will allow you to recover the hosts file to the previous version. Type the following command and press Return.
Terminal will ask you to confirm your actions with an administrator accounts password, since you are using super user permissions.
Once you have created the backup, open the hosts file by entering the command listed below. The new text editor window will prompt:
Alternatively, you can use the following command to the edit hosts file through the Terminal application rather than the text editor:
The hosts file usually contains IP addresses and additional information - leave this and attach new data below it. Some people have reported that this method worked only when the new data was attached above the existing information, but we recommend that you start by adding new data below. Begin by entering the 127.0.0.1 IP address - this is a local IP address. Whenever a web browser is directed to this address, it will not be able to reach the web page. Next, press the space bar and add the URL address (e.g., www.facebook.com) of website that you wish to block. You do not need to add the attribute of the protocol (such as http:// or https://). The hosts file only checks for the exact URL of the address you enter. For example, if you entered 'google.com', only the home page of the Google website will be blocked. All other pages such as translate.google.com, maps.google.com, etc. will work if you enter these addresses directly. Note that you must type the addresses manually, since copying URL can include invisible characters that could result in problems when the Mac attempts to connect using information from the hosts file.
To add more than one website to block, separate them with a new line - i.e. type each address in a new line starting with the local IP address followed by the URL address. In theory, you can add multiple website addresses within one line, but you cannot exceed the limit of 255 characters on one line (otherwise the entire line might not work - on some versions of the Mac operating system, multiple URLs within one line will not work). Once you have finished the list, close or quit the TextEditor window. A dialog box will prompt asking if you wish to save the modified file - choose to save. If you were editing the hosts file through a Terminal window, press the keyboard shortcut of Control and O to save modifications and Control and X to close the file.
Finally, flush the cache, which can be performed by typing the following command into Terminal:
Execute this command by pressing Return on your keyboard. From this point, the websites stored in the hosts file will be blocked. Alternatively, you can simply restart the Mac to flush the cache automatically. There is often no need to flush the cache to apply the modified hosts file. If you still have access to websites listed in the hosts file, this might be the result of different ways to connect to that particular website. Browsers sometimes access a different subdomain, connecting via an IPv6 address or simple bypassing the hosts file. If you are experiencing a subdomain or IPv6 address problem, simply add additional information to the hosts file. Add the line with local IP address (127.0.0.1) without the 'www'. Add the line with local IP address (127.0.0.1) and m.(URL) to block mobile versions of the site. Some website homepages contain the 'login.' and 'apps.' attribute at the start - in these cases, the line should look like this: 127.0.0.1 login.(URL) or apps.(URL).
To block connections via IPv6 addresses, replace the local IP address with the following address 'fe80::1%lo0' and then type the URL address. Most websites do not use IPv6 connections, however there is some that do, including FaceBook. An example of how to block a connection via an IPv6 address is 'fe80::1%lo0 www.facebook.com'.
You can block websites on mobile Apple devices easily when using Safari as the web browser, and there is no need to use third-party applications to block all or specific websites. Mobile devices often contain similar options to the Parental Control application provided on Macs. There are options to block all websites added to a 'black list'. You can also choose to block all websites with some exceptions - in other words, you can create a 'white list' of websites. Start by opening the iPhone, iPad, or iPod Settings, and then tap on General. Find and select the Restrictions option to check all available settings. If this function is disabled, tap Enable Restrictions. Your mobile device will ask you to enter a four-digit password used to manage restrictions on that particular device. Enter a combination that is known only to you or someone you trust - if the password is easy to guess, the people whom you wish to restrict on certain websites will be able use the password to modify the blocking list. You will be asked to repeat the password to confirm, and finally, the password will be created.
Once you have created the password and enabled the restrictions function, tap on the Allowed Contents option and then select Websites to begin setting up the blocking process. If you are setting a child's device, select Limit Adult Content option so that Safari attempts to block websites with adult content automatically. Next, add the specific website under the Never Allow option by tapping 'add a website'. You will be prompted to enter the URL address of the website you wish to block (for example, www.facebook.com). You may repeat the process by adding a different website each time. Once you have filled the list with websites you wish to block, tap 'Done' to save the newly-created list. With this method, you must enter all separate domains as per the method described above (Safari will block only listed addresses).
If you only need to visit a few websites on this particular device, you can choose to block all except specific websites. To select this option, tap on Specific Websites Only and then tap 'Add websites'. Add all websites you wish to allow and then tap Done. From this point, only the listed websites will be loaded. If you still can access the 'blocked' websites, restart your device.