How to block social media on your Mac

How to block social media on your Mac

To block social media on a Mac or MacBook, put every network's domain into one blocklist. Use Screen Time's Restricted list if you want the sites blocked in Safari until you change the setting. Use a scheduled blocker such as Cactus for Mac if you want them blocked during recurring hours in every browser. Either way, the list of domains is what makes the block work, so start with the table below.

1. Pick the networks that actually pull you away. Leave out any you need for work.
2. Copy the domains for those networks from the table.
3. Add them to Screen Time or to a scheduled blocker.
4. Test each site, and any extra hostname you visit, in every browser you use.

Cactus for Mac, made by the author of this guide, is that kind of scheduled blocker: it blocks your list in every browser during the weekly hours you set, costs $19.99 once after a 7-day free trial, and states what it can't block.

Social media domains to block on Mac

Add the domain in the first column. The second column lists extra hostnames worth their own entry, either because they serve the site on their own or so the block doesn't depend on a redirect. Short links and old domains that only redirect to the main site are noted too, because they end on a hostname that's already blocked. All of these were checked in a desktop browser in October 2026.

A few rules make this list easier to use:

• The www. version matters. Most of these sites load on www., so block it as well as the bare domain. Cactus does this for you from a single entry. In Screen Time, test both.
• Redirects can change. If a site stops redirecting a short domain, that domain will start loading again. Adding it costs nothing.
• Don't block content delivery servers by guesswork. Images and videos on these sites come from separate servers, often shared with other services. Blocking the main domain is enough to stop the feed from loading.

Block social media in Safari with Screen Time

If you only use Safari, Screen Time is the free way to block social media. Its website restriction has no social media category, so you add each domain yourself.

1. Open System Settings and choose Screen Time. Turn on Screen Time or App & Website Activity if macOS asks.
2. Choose Content & Privacy and turn it on.
3. Choose App Store, Media, Web, & Games.
4. Under Safari, choose Limit Adult Websites, then Customize.
5. Add each domain from the table under Restricted, one at a time.
6. Open each site in Safari and confirm it no longer loads.

Apple describes this control in its guide to App Store, Media, Web, & Games settings. It is documented for Safari. If you also use Chrome, Firefox, or Arc, test each one. These steps match macOS 15 Sequoia and 26 Tahoe. On macOS 14 Sonoma, that pane is called Store, Web, Siri & Game Center Content, and the menu is Web Content instead of Safari. On macOS 27, some of Apple's help pages label the button Content & Privacy Restrictions.

This restriction stays on until you change it. That suits you if you want social media gone for good on the Mac. It's weaker if you know the Screen Time passcode, because removing a site takes a few seconds.

Limit social media time instead of blocking it

Some people want social media back for half an hour in the evening, not gone. Screen Time's time limits are built for that, and they work differently depending on your macOS version.

macOS 14 to 26: open Screen Time, then App Limits, and choose Add Limit. Select any social apps you want counted, then expand Websites at the bottom of the list and add each social domain. Set a daily time and select Block at end of limit. Apple's App Limits guide for macOS Tahoe has the full steps.

macOS 27: Apple replaced App Limits with Time Allowances and Screen Time Schedules. You can create a Social Media allowance and choose which named time windows of your day it's available in, which gets close to a recurring social media schedule. Apple's macOS 27 guide describes it in terms of apps and says the newest features need version 27 on all your Apple devices. Test whether the social sites you open in a browser are counted before you rely on it.

Block all social media at once on a schedule

A scheduled blocker fits when the rule is "no social media during my workday" and you want it to start every day without a decision. It also helps if you use more than one browser, because one list covers all of them.

In Cactus:

1. Choose the days, such as every weekday.
2. Drag the timeline to set the blocked hours, for example 09:00 to 17:00.
3. Add each domain from the table. One entry blocks the domain and its www. version. Cactus also adds m.youtube.com for youtube.com and twitter.com for x.com.
4. Add the extra hostnames you use, such as old.reddit.com or youtu.be. Cactus has no wildcards, so each one is its own entry.
5. Turn the schedule on and test each site in every browser you use.

Cactus blocks at the Mac level with the hosts file and the macOS packet filter. There's no browser extension to disable, and an active block can't be ended early from the app; edits made during a block apply from the next one. How Cactus blocks websites covers the details, including how a Mac administrator can still remove it.

Be clear on the tradeoffs. Cactus has one schedule, so every site on your list shares the same days and hours. You can't block X all day and YouTube only in the morning. It blocks websites, not apps, and it doesn't run on iPhone, iPad, or Windows. Chrome's Secure DNS, iCloud Private Relay in Safari, proxies, and some VPNs can affect blocking. It costs $19.99 once, with a 7-day free trial that starts when you turn on your first schedule.

If you need different hours for different sites, app blocking, or the same blocks on your phone, a tool with multiple schedules and mobile apps will suit you better.

Screen Time or a scheduled blocker?

• Choose Screen Time's Restricted list if you use Safari only and want social media blocked until you decide otherwise. It's free and already on your Mac.
• Choose a Screen Time time limit if you want a daily allowance rather than a block. On macOS 27, its schedules can also make social media available only in certain parts of the day.
• Choose a scheduled Mac blocker if you use several browsers, want the same hours every week, and want a block you can't switch off once it starts.

Guides for each social network

Each network has its own quirks, such as extra subdomains, short links, and how the site behaves when blocked. These guides cover them one at a time:

• How to block YouTube on Mac
• How to block X (Twitter) on Mac
• How to block Instagram on Mac
• How to block Reddit on Mac
• How to block Facebook on Mac

Common social media blocking problems

A site is blocked in Safari but not in Chrome

Screen Time's website list is documented for Safari, so other browsers may need their own test. Chrome's Secure DNS can also skip the Mac's hosts file, which matters for hosts-based blockers.

The block stopped working in Safari

Check whether iCloud Private Relay, a VPN, or a proxy is now on. Each changes how Safari reaches websites, so test again after turning one on.

A blocked site shows a connection error

That's how a Mac-level block usually looks. Cactus doesn't show a custom page. The browser reports that it can't connect to the site.

You need LinkedIn or YouTube for work

Leave it off the list, or block it only during the hours when it turns into a distraction. Blocking works on whole domains, so you can't block the YouTube homepage and keep a single tutorial open.

Notifications still appear

Browser notifications can arrive while a site is blocked. Turn them off in System Settings > Notifications, or in the browser's own site settings.

Test before you rely on it

Open each network on your list, plus any short link or alternate hostname you tend to use, in every browser on your Mac. If you set a schedule, check again once the block starts and once it ends. Then you know the block covers the routes you actually take.