If your iMac or MacBook is also used by children, it won’t hurt to block certain pages. In this tip, we’ll show you how blocking websites works in macOS and what the options are.
Block macOS websites: this is how it works
Whether you just want to block 18+ sites or other sites as well, the Mac has extensive options for doing both. As long as you are logged in as an administrator on your Mac, you can set very precisely which pages are blacklisted.
Pay attention: In this case, it doesn’t matter which browser you use, the filters you set via the steps below count for the entire internet use of your Mac and not only for Apple’s browser Safari.
Before going through the steps below, you need to create a guest account for the person you want to restrict internet usage.
- Click on the Apple logo and open System Preferences;
- Click on Users and Groups;
- Click on the padlock in the lower left corner and enter your password;
- Choose the account where you want to block pages;
- Check the box for ‘Enable parental controls’;
- Click on ‘Open parental controls’ and enter your password.
Three options for blocking websites
In the next window you can change and block all kinds of settings. This tip is specifically about the ‘Web’ part, which has a special tab in this menu. Next, you have three choices, which may be useful depending on your preferences.
Unlimited Access: Click this option if you do not want to restrict the internet. All websites are accessible regardless of age rating. You do not limit the internet with this.
Restrict access to explicit websites: By choosing this option, your Mac will independently block websites that are 18 years and older. If you want more choice, you can click on ‘Adjust’ behind this option. This will open a list of blocked websites that you can manually expand. Simply click on the plus sign to create a list of blocked sites.
Only allow approved websites: If you only want to make your Mac accessible to a handful of specific websites, this is the best choice. By default, this option blocks all sites except the ones you approved. For example, you can only give children access to the website of the Donald Duck or Nickelodeon. This list can also be expanded manually with approved websites.
Do you want to block access to websites on the iPhone and iPad in addition to the Mac? Then read the tip below.
Also read: Block websites on your iPhone or iPad in 5 steps