There are many reasons why you may want to block certain websites — or only allow specific ones — in your browser. The most common reason is that your impressionable young children shouldn’t be exposed to sex, violence, and social media. The next common reason is productivity. Perhaps you can’t get any work done due to your obsession with checking Facebook every five minutes? Whatever your reason for blocking websites, it can be easily achieved if you’re using an Apple device. Here’s how to block a website on Safari.
Read more: Safari vs Chrome — which browser should you use on your Mac?
QUICK ANSWER
To block a website on Safari, go to Screen Time. Select Limit Adult Websites and enter your banned sites list under Never Allow.
JUMP TO KEY SECTIONS
How to block a website on Safari on an iPhone or iPad
To block a website in Safari on iOS, go to Settings–>Screen Time.
Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions. Underneath, if you haven’t already added a PIN code to Screen Time, you will see the option to do so. I highly recommend doing this if you’re blocking website access to children.
Now choose Content Restrictions.
Followed by Web Content. Right now, it will say Unrestricted Access but we’re going to change that.
On the next screen, tap Limit Adult Websites to begin the blocking process. When you do, the Always Allow and Never Allow sections will appear. Under Never Allow, tap Add Website.
Now type in the full website URL of the site you want to block (we’ve chosen the link of a well-known troublemaker!). If you make a mistake, just tap the X next to the text field to delete everything and start again.
When it’s entered, come out of the page by tapping the blue Web Content link at the top left.
Now test it by going to the Safari browser and trying to access the site. You should immediately get a restricted notice. If you tap Allow Website, it will ask you to enter the PIN code that you set up in Screen Time. So for a child, that would be as far as they can go — unless, of course, they can figure out your PIN code.
How to allow only specific websites on an iPhone or iPad
On the other hand, if you would like to only allow specific websites to be made available on Safari — perhaps you have an approved list of sites for your child to look at — you can load those links in by tapping Allowed Websites Only. Then tap Add Website and add the link.
Unfortunately, there’s no way to bulk add links, so they have to be entered one at a time using this method.
How to block a website on Safari on a Mac
Blocking a website on Safari on macOS is virtually identical on a Mac. Again, it all runs through Screen Time.
Click Content & Privacy in the left sidebar. On the right, under Web Content, selecting Limit Adult Websites will show the Customize button. Click it.
You will now see a block list where you can add specifically allowed and restricted website links.
