How to Block Social Media on Windows & Mac Computer

We use social media to share things, view posts, and stay in touch with friends. However, many social media sites and apps are addictive. Studies show that people spend an average of two hours a day on social media platforms.

This article shows you several effective ways to block social media on computer.

 Cisdem AppCrypt

The Best Tool to Block Social Media Sites & Apps

• Block websites on Chrome, Safari, Edge and more browsers
• Let you block specific sites and pages, URLs containing certain words, or categories of sites
• Also let you block all websites except the ones you allow
• Lock individual applications with password
• Let you block websites or lock apps permanently or at scheduled times
• Easy to use
• Hard to bypass
• Help you block social media sites and apps, or set time limits on them
• Help with productivity, parental controls, and privacy protection
• Available for Windows, Mac, Android, iPhone and iPad

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

Reasons to block social media

• Protect kids from inappropriate content on social media. Some social media platforms contain inappropriate content, which can have a bad effect on child's mental health.
• Reduce wasted time on social media. We often spend too much time on social media every day. Spending too much time in the virtual world can make us neglect the people and things that truly matter in real life.
• Improve productivity at work. Social media can be a big distraction at work. Office workers always have access to the Internet on computers for work, but can be easily distracted by social media, which can results in decreased productivity.

Method 1. Block social media on computer with Cisdem AppCrypt

Best for: Users who want an easy and quick way to block social media on computer. It’s also ideal for parental controls or productivity because it supports password protection and scheduled blocking.

This method uses Cisdem AppCrypt, a tool designed to to block websites and lock apps on Windows PC and Mac. When used as a social media blocker, AppCrypt can:

• Block social media websites on browsers such as Chrome, Safari, Edge, Opera, and more.
• Block specific social media sites or block all popular social media sites by category.
• Block social media apps with password.
• Automatically re-lock apps after a period of inactivity.
• Let you set time limits for social media use.
• Password-protect your settings to prevent others from changing or bypassing the restrictions.

Steps to block social media websites

1. Download and install AppCrypt.

Free Download Windows 10 or later Free Download macOS 10.12 or later

2. Set an AppCrypt password. (It’s recommended to select the Launch at System Startup checkbox.)

If you want to block yourself from social media, ask someone else like a family member to set the password for you.

3. On a Windows PC, click the AppCrypt icon in the taskbar. (Alternatively, right-click the icon and choose Open Main Window.)

On a Mac, click the lock icon in the menu bar and choose Open Main Window.

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

5. In the main window, click the Web Block tab.

In this step, Windows user need to install the extension on the browser(s) of your choice. Mac users don’t need to do this.

6. Do any or all of the following things.

• In the URL field, enter the URL of a social media website, like youtube.com or facebook.com. Click Add.
• Click the Import button. Choose the Social Sites category. This will automatically add all popular social media websites to the block list.
• Click the Import dropdown menu, choose TXT file and import your own list of unwanted social media.

Steps to block social media apps

1. In the main window of AppCrypt, click the App Lock tab.

2. Add the social media apps to the block list.

• On a Windows PC, drag the desktop shortcut of a social media app into the App Lock tab. (Alternatively, you can use the Add button.)

If an app is installed from Microsoft Store, it won’t have a shortcut on your desktop. In such a case, you need to open File Explorer, go to C:\Program Files\WindowsApps, and find this app there.

• On a Mac, click the Add button, select a social media app and click Open. (Alternatively, you can use drag and drop.)

Now the unwanted social media websites and apps are blocked. When one tries to open a blocked site or app, it won’t open.

There are several ways to unblock a social media site or app, such as quitting AppCrypt, removing the site or app from the block list, or disabling/removing the extension (on Windows PC). But any of theese ways requires the AppCrypt password.

Tip 1. How to block all websites including social media

To make social media blocking more effective, you can block all websites on your computer and allow access only to specific ones. In the "Web Block" tab, turn on "Block all websites" and then click "Exceptions". In the Exceptions dialog, select "Always Allow" and add the websites that you allow access to.

Tip 2. How to set time limits on social media

By default, the social media sites or apps on the block list are always blocked as long as AppCrypt is running. If you want, you can schedule the blocking. Click the site or app on the block list. Click the clock icon that appears. In the "Custom Schedule" dialog, turn on "Custom Schedule" and then edit or add schedules based on your needs.

Method 2. Block social media sites on computer by editing the hosts file

Best for: Tech-savvy users who want a built-in way to block a specific social media website on computer.

The hosts file in Windows or macOS is a system file that maps hostnames to IP addresses. The hosts file can be opened and edited with tools such as Notepad on Windows PC and Terminal on Mac. To achieve the purpose of prohibiting access to certain websites, you can use the hosts file to map the domain name of each of these websites to a wrong IP address. This is how this method works.

The steps below show you how to do the editing on a Windows computer.

1. Click the Windows icon and search for Notepad.

2. Click Notepad and select Run as administrator.

3. Choose File > Open.

Choose Local Disk (C:) > Windows > System32 > drivers > etc. If you don’t see anything after open the folder, you need to right-click Text Documents in the bottom right corner and select All Files from the dropdown list.

4. Double-click the hosts file. On the very bottom of the text, create a space.

5. Enter 127.0.0.1, then input the social media websites URL. For example, if you want to block Facebook on your computer, input 127.0.0.1 www.facebook.com.

6. Click File, then select Save. Now Facebook is blocked.

This method is a bit complicated, but the advantage is that you can’t find the software that caused the inaccessible websites. The pop-up window only shows that you can’t reach this page. So it is hard to bypass. If you want to change the settings, just go back to the hosts file and delete the text you added.

Method 3. Block social media sites on computer with browser extensions

Best for: Users who only need to block social media sites on a specific browser.

You can also use a website blocker extension to block social media sites on a specific browser on your computer. BlockSite is such a extension, which is available for Chrome, Firefox, and Edge browsers. Below I will show you how to install and use BlockSite on Google Chrome.

1. Open your Chrome browser. Go to Chrome Web Store.

2. Search for BlockSite. In the search results, selectthe extension called BlockSite-Block Websites & Stay Focused.

3. Click on Add to Chrome. A little notification window will pop up that says “Add BlockSite: Block Websites & Stay Focused?” Hit Add extension.

4. Open YouTube or any other social media websites you want to block. Right click anywhere of the page. Choose BlockSite and select Block this site.

5. Now YouTube is blocked on the browser.

Method 4. Block social media sites on computer by configuring the router

Best for: Users who want to block social media on all devices connected to the same network instead of just one computer.

Some routers’ built-in firewall or parental control settings can also be used to block access to social media sites. The operation is not complicated, but it requires you to know the administrator’s account, password, as well as the IP address of the router.

1. Find your router's IP address. You can check the backside of the router to find the URL like http://192.168.1.1 or http://router.asus.com.

2. Log in to your router with the username and password.

3. Choose Firewall, Parental Controls or something similar. Then find the website blocking section. Enter a social media URL like www.twitter.com to the block list.

4. Save your settings.

FAQs

How to block social media on a child’s laptop?

You can use any of the methods in this article to block social media on your child’s laptop. However, browser extensions can be easily bypassed by uninstalling them. or stronger parental controls, Cisdem AppCrypt is a better option. It allows you to password-protect the settings.

How to block social media on a phone?

Cisdem AppCrypt is compatible with both computers and phones. However, unlike the Windows and Mac versions, the mobile version doesn’t support blocking websites by category. Instead, you can use it to block specific social media apps and websites on your phone.

How to protect my child from inappropriate content on social media?

You can block inappropriate content by using Cisdem AppCrypt to block specific keywords such as “porn”, “adult”, and more. This will block all URLs containing these words. In addition, some social media platforms come with built-in feature to help filter inappropriate content. For example, the Restricted Mode on YouTube can help limit potentially mature content.

Conclusion

By blocking social media sites or apps on computer, you can control your child’s online behavior and make sure he doesn’t get distracted while doing his homework. You can also prevent yourself from indulging in social media and reducing productivity. I hope the methods in this article are helpful to you.