6 Best Website Blockers for Mac for Productivity & Parental Control

Thanks to the internet, we can have easy, instant access to nearly all types of information. However, unrestricted access to the web may not always be a good thing. For example, children might get exposed to inappropriate content, and adults could be distracted by social media or addicted to certain sites.

In this article, I will discuss six website blockers for Mac in detail, in the hope of helping Mac users choose the tool that best suits their needs. Whether you are looking to boost productivity, implement parental control, or reduce certain addiction, you can find this article helpful.

 Cisdem AppCrypt

Mac Website Blocker for Kids or Yourself

• Block websites on Safari, Chrome and other browsers with a password
• Block specific sites or only pages, URLs with certain words, and categories (e.g., Porn, Gambling, and Social)
• Offer an option to block all sites while allowing approved ones
• Lock apps with a password
• Allow you to block websites and lock apps 24/7 or during scheduled times
• Easy to use
• Hard to bypass
• Can be used to restrict website access for children and adults
• Help with parental control, productivity, digital wellness, and more

Free Download Windows 10 or later Free Download macOS 10.12 or later GET IT ON Google Play Download on the App Store

A brief comparison

A website blocker is a tool that helps people block access to websites. It can be a dedicated app or browser extension. It can also the web-blocking feature as part of certain settings, operating system or internet settings.

Here's a brief review of six popular website-blocking tools that I've tested, to help you quickly filter and focus on the tool(s) that may be suitable for your situation and needs.

Note 1: Cisdem AppCrypt allows you to lock unsupported browsers with a password.

Note 2: If Screen Time is used to block websites for users with an administrator account, the blocking can be relatively easy to get around.

Top 6 websites blockers for Mac

1. Cisdem AppCrypt

Compatibility: macOS Sierra 10.12 or later

Best for: Users who are looking for a very easy-to-use, effective tool to block websites for children or themselves.

Cisdem AppCrypt makes it very easy for you to add unwanted websites to the block list. Password protection makes the blocking difficult to bypass. The General Schedule and Custom Schedule features provide great flexibility.

Here's how to set up this website blocker for Mac.

1. Download and install AppCrypt on your or your kid's Mac.

Free Download macOS 10.12 or later

2. The first time you launch this tool, set a password.

3. Click the lock icon in the menu bar, then choose Open Main Window.

4. Enter the password to access the main window of AppCrypt.

5. In the Web Block tab of the main window, do any of the following things based on your needs.

• Click the Import dropdown menu and choose a category. This will automatically add all popular websites of the chosen category to the block list.
• In the URL field, enter a specific website, page or word. Click Add.
• Click the Import dropdown menu, choose TXT file, and import your own list of unwanted websites.
• Enable Block all websites in the left bottom corner. Click Exceptions and add approved websites to the Always Allow list. This will block all websites on this Mac except the ones specified by you.

6. Optionally, schedule blocking if needed.

By default, all websites will be blocked permanently. You can schedule the blocking to be active only during certain hours, such as work or study hours. Also, you can enable and set Custom Schedule for individual sites if needed.

Now, the websites on the block list are blocked on all the supported browsers on this Mac. The blocking applies to both normal browsing mode and private/incognito browsing mode. Due to password protection and other measures, blocking is hard to circumvent.

2. Screen Time

Compatibility: macOS Catalina 10.15 or later

Best for: Parents who want to effectively restrict website access for their children.

Screen Time is a set of settings in macOS. You can find it in System Settings (macOS Ventura 13 or later) or System Preferences (macOS Monterey 12 or earlier). There are two features in Screen Time that can help you restrict websites.

• Content & Privacy: Once you select Limit Adult Websites in Content & Privacy > Content Restrictions > Web Content, most adult sites will be automatically blocked on Safari, and you are allowed to manually add any specific websites to restrict. In addition, if you select Allowed Websites Only in Web Content, you can block everything except allowed sites.
• App Limits: Despite the name, this feature allows you to set time limits on specific websites. Once you reach the daily limit on a website, the website will be blocked for the rest of the day.
• Screen Time passcode: I highly recommend setting a Screen Time passcode. Without it, your children can't turn off Screen Time or change its settings, so they can't bypass restrictions set by you. However, this passcode works effectively on standard accounts but not on administrator accounts. If your children are the admin, they can easily bypass it.

3. SelfControl

Compatibility: macOS Yosemite 10.10 or later

Best for: Users who are looking for a strict website blocker that helps them stay focused and productive.

SelfControl is a free website blocker for Mac, which helps you stay focused by temporarily blocking distracting websites. If you are a parent who wants to always block access to certain inappropriate websites on your child's Mac, it is not a good choice.

This tool provides two modes: Blocklist (default) and Allowlist. You can manually add specific websites to the Blocklist. It also provides two lists of websites (a few social media websites and news websites) for you to import to the Blocklist. But the Allowlist mode is more recommended if you want to boost productivity.

To use the tool, just select an amount of time. Click Start. It will block the websites during this period of time. The minimum amount of time you are able to set is 1 minute. While the maximum is 24 hours. Once the blocking starts, you can’t undo it, not even by restarting your Mac or uninstalling SelfControl. However, the blocking can still be bypassed by using a VPN.

(Want to know how to block a websites even when connected to a VPN? View this article.)

It’s worth mentioning that SelfControl works via certain system files in macOS. There’s a possibility that it might damage these files.

4. BlockSite

Compatibility: All macOS versions

Best for: Users who want a feature-rich website blocker for productivity or digital wellness but don't require high effectiveness.

BlockSite is a website blocker extension that can be installed on Chrome, Firefox and Edge browsers. But it isn’t available for Safari, the most popular web browser for Mac.

It allows you to add specific websites to the block list. You can also also block websites by keyword or category. By default, BlockSite permanently blocks the sites on the block list (as long as BlockSite is not disabled or uninstalled). Thanks to the Schedule feature, you can also block websites only at certain times.

BlockSite provides a Focus Mode. With it, you are able to create a Pomodoro timer. The websites will be blocked during the Focus time and unblocked during the Break time. With the newly added Usage Limit feature, you can set daily limits on certain websites, such social media. Once the daily limit, say 30 minutes, is reached, these sites will be automatically blocked for the rest of the day.

It is easy to use and offers great flexibility. However, it’s also easy to unblock websites by disabling or uninstalling the extension.

5. 1Focus

Compatibility: macOS Catalina 10.15 or later

Best for: Users who want to have different block lists for different tasks or purposes.

1Focus is a simple, lightweight website blocker for Mac. The highlight feature is that it allows you to create separate blocking lists for different situations, such as work mode or parental control.

For each block list, you can easily add websites. For example, you manually add specific websites or keywords. You can also select website categories to restrict, and there's a long list for you to select, ranging from age-inappropriate ones to interests like amine and sports.

Blocking works based on a one-time session (e.g., 25 minutes) or schedules (e.g., 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM every day). It's very flexibility. To restrict explicit sites for children and teens, I recommend 24/7 blocking.

This tool is designed to be hard to bypass for averages users, but it requires some manual configuration, such as locking Mac's Activity Monitor. Also, tech-savvy users may find a way to get bypassed.

6. Terminal

Compatibility: All macOS versions

Best for: Users who want a free method to block one or a few websites on Mac.

It’s possible to block access to a website on Mac by editing the hosts file with Terminal. But don’t try it if you are not familiar with a command-line interface.

In Terminal, type “sudo pico /etc/hosts” and enter your administrator password. Then you'll be allowed to edit the hosts file. Start a new line in Terminal. Type 127.0.0.1 and then type the domain of the unwanted website. Save the edited hosts file.

Website is blocked completely on Mac and can’t be bypassed when a VPN is being used.

FAQs

Can I permanently block a website on my Mac?

Yes. With Cisdem AppCrypt, you can block a specific website permanently by going to the Web Block tab and adding its domain name in the block list.

How to block distracting websites on Mac?

Cisdem AppCrypt also lets you block entire categories of sites. To block access to distracting sites effectively, you can select categories such as games sites, social media, shopping sites, etc. To block.

Is there a free website blocker for Mac?

Yes, there are several website blockers are free to use on Mac, including Screen Time, SelfControl, and Terminal.

Conclusion

They say that the Internet can be a double-edged sword. There are good (but distracting) and bad websites. We can benefit a lot from blocking certain websites on Mac. If you are seeking the best website blocker for Mac, I hope this article is helpful. The reviews can help you learn about the pros and cons of the most popular tools for website blocking.