How to Block YouTube on Mac Easily: 4 Proven Methods

This article will show you how to block YouTube on Mac easily. YouTube is one of the most popular video-sharing websites. There, you can find videos about almost everything. On the one hand, YouTube videos can be entertaining or useful or both. On the other hand, they can be addictive and distracting. Blocking YouTube and other distractions on Mac can help you focus better and become more productive. The blocking can also help parents reduce children’s screen time.

To watch YouTube videos on Mac, you need to go to the YouTube website. There isn’t an official YouTube app for macOS, unlike on iOS and Android. Therefore, blocking access to YouTube is basically blocking https://www.youtube.com/. That being said, some Mac users choose to use third-party YouTube apps. In this article, you will find the easiest way to block YouTube website and app on a MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac, etc.

How to block YouTube on Mac in the easiest way

Applies to: macOS 10.10 Yosemite or later

For Mac users, the most effortless way to block access to YouTube is to use Cisdem AppCrypt, the best website blocker and app blocker for Mac. Unlike some other methods in this article, this one enables you to block websites on a Mac administrator account.

1. Download the YouTube blocker and install it.
2. When you open the app for the first time, set a password as required.
3. In the menu bar, click the app's icon and choose Open Main Windows.
4. Click the WebBlock icon.
5. Click the plus icon in the bottom left corner, enter the website https://www.youtube.com/ and press the Return key.

Now YouTube is blocked on your Mac. When you try to open YouTube on your Safari browser or Chrome browser, etc., the website won't open. And you will see this image.

To unblock YouTube, you have two options. In the WebBlock window, select YouTube and click the minus icon. And the website will become accessible right away. If you only want to temporarily unblock it, click AppCrypt's icon in the menu bar and choose Disable WebBlock. And to continue the blocking, choose Enable WebBlock likewise.

AppCrypt effectively blocks websites with password. It will ask for the password when you try to unblock websites, access the main window, access Preferences, quit AppCrypt, or uninstall it, etc.

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Tips

• The Blocklist mode is the default mode. If needed, you can switch to the Allowlist mode, which will let you block all websites except a few that you've added to the Allowlist.
• In addition to the YouTube website, you can also use AppCrypt to block access to the YouTube app. Here’s how. In the main window, click the Add App icon. From the Applications folder that shows up, select the YouTube app and click Add. Now it's locked. When you try to open it, you will need to enter the password. To unlock the app, select it in the sidebar and click the Remove App icon.
• As you can see, you can easily use this method to block YouTube on Mac permanently or temporarily. In addition, you can block access to it during certain hours. Here's how. In the main window, click the Menu icon and choose Preferences. Go to Schedule. Select YouTube in the sidebar and click the Settings button in the corner. Click the plus icon to create a schedule. For the details, please check out this guide.
• If you want to block YouTube from yourself in order to be more focused at work or study, you can ask someone else to set the password for you.

 

Other ways to block access to YouTube on Mac

Use Screen Time

Applies to: macOS 10.15 Catalina or later

Included with macOS 10.15 or later, Screen Time is useful and versatile. It can be used to completely block YouTube on Chrome Mac and Safari Mac.

1. On your Mac, go to System Preferences > Screen Time.
2. In the Screen Time window, click Content & Privacy in the sidebar.
3. Click the Turn On button to enable Content & Privacy Restrictions.
4. Under the Content tab, select Limit Adult Websites.
5. Click the Customize button that appears.
6. Under Restricted, click the plus icon to add YouTube to the Restricted list. Click OK.
7. Click Options in the bottom left corner of the Screen Time window. Set a Screen Time passcode.

To unblock the website, remove it from the Restricted list. Alternatively, enable Unrestricted Access (in Step 4) or turn off Content & Privacy Restrictions (in Step 3).

Additionally, despite the name, Screen Time's App Limits feature can help you put a time limit on YouTube on Safari.

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Use Parental Controls

Applies to: macOS 10.4 Tiger - macOS 10.14 Mojave

Screen Time is not available on earlier macOS versions, whereas Parental Controls is provided. Below is how to use it to block YouTube on Mac.

1. Go to System Preferences.
2. Click Parental Controls. From the two options provided, select a desired one. Click Continue. Here I choose the first option.
3. Now create a new user account with parental controls.
4. Go to the Web tab. Enable Try to limit access to adult websites.
5. Click the Customize button.
6. Under Never allow these websites, add YouTube to the list. Click OK.

If you want to make the YouTube app inaccessible, go to the Apps tab (in Step 4) and turn on Limit Applications on this Mac.

When you finish setting up, you can click the lock icon in the corner to prevent further changes.

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Use Terminal

You can also block YouTube on Mac with Terminal. Terminal is the terminal emulator included with macOS.

1. On your Mac, open the Terminal app.
2. Type “sudo pico /etc/hosts”.
3. Enter your admin password.
4. Type “127.0.0.1” and then type “youtube.com”.
5. Type “127.0.0.1” and then type “www.youtube.com”.
6. Use the Ctrl-O shortcut and then press the Return key.

Now YouTube is blocked. But it will still open in your web browser until you clear the cache. You can verify the blocking using your browser's incognito mode (which is cache free).

How to unblock websites on Mac Terminal? Just delete the websites that you have typed.

This method is not recommended unless you are comfortable with Terminal.

 

Bonus tips

In addition to showing you how to block YouTube on Mac, the article also offers tips to help improve your YouTube experience or help make YouTube safer for kids.

How to block YouTube channels from appearing

Every time one goes to Home page, there are recommended videos. Some of them may be unwanted or inappropriate. YouTube provides an option for you to block specific channels from appearing again in your recommendations. Hover your mouse over the video thumbnail, click the three-dot icon and choose Don't recommend channel. Note that you need to sign in to access the option.

There are also web browsers extensions designed to block channels on YouTube. You can easily find them in the Chrome Web Store and the Firefox Add-ons Store.

If you want to block access to certain YouTube channels, you can use Cisdem AppCrypt to easily get the job done. Just add the YouTube channel URL to the Blocklist.

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How to block ads on YouTube

There is more than one way to block ads. For example, you can install an ad-blocking extension on your web browser. You can also get an ad-free experience by paying for the membership.

Also, there is an old and useful trick. Go to the YouTube website, open a video. Open the developer console and enter the following code. Press the Return key.

document.cookie="VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE=oKckVSqvaGw; path=/; domain=.youtube.com";window.location.reload();

 

Conclusion

The article mainly talks about how to block YouTube on Mac Catalina, Big Sur and some earlier versions. YouTube videos are useful or fun to watch. But if you find yourself spending hours on YouTube, you know that you may need to block or limit access to it. Spending less time on YouTube and other addictive websites can help you become more productive in work, study or everyday life. You can also use these methods to block other unwanted websites on Mac such as Omegle, Facebook, etc.