How to block Reddit on a Mac or MacBook

How to block Reddit on your MacBook

To block Reddit on a MacBook, block reddit.com, www.reddit.com, and old.reddit.com. Use Screen Time to restrict them in Safari, a Screen Time limit for a daily allowance, or a scheduled blocker such as Cactus to keep Reddit closed during work hours in every browser. The steps are the same on any Mac model running the same macOS.

1. Block Reddit in Safari all the time: add it to Screen Time's Restricted list.
2. Allow a fixed amount each day: set a Screen Time limit.
3. Block Reddit during recurring hours in every browser: use a scheduled blocker.

Reddit has no Mac app. As of October 2026, the Reddit App Store listing covers iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision, so on a Mac you use it in a browser.

The Reddit hostnames that matter

Reddit runs on more hostnames than most sites. This is what each one did in October 2026.

The redirecting names end at www.reddit.com. Once that is blocked, they fail too. Add them only if you want them to fail directly.

old.reddit.com is a separate site

old.reddit.com does not redirect. It serves the classic interface from its own hostname, so a block on reddit.com alone may leave it open. Since mid-2026, Reddit requires a login for old Reddit, but logged-in users can still use it. If you prefer old Reddit, it is probably the one you will reach for first, so add it.

Media links: i.redd.it and v.redd.it

Reddit serves images from i.redd.it and video from v.redd.it. A direct image link shared in chat or found in image search loads from there without opening Reddit. Adding them stops those links. The cost is that Reddit images shown on other sites break during the block too. You can usually leave them off, because a single image is not the feed.

Method 1: Block Reddit with Screen Time in Safari

1. Open System Settings and click Screen Time in the sidebar. Turn it on if macOS asks.
2. Click Content & Privacy and turn it on.
3. Click App Store, Media, Web, & Games.
4. Next to Safari, choose Limit Adult Websites, then click Customize.
5. Click the add button below the Restricted list, enter reddit.com, and click Done. Add old.reddit.com the same way.
6. Open www.reddit.com and old.reddit.com in Safari and confirm neither loads.

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 Golden Gate, Apple's overview page labels the button Content & Privacy Restrictions. The Safari list is still under App Store, Media, Web, & Games, as Apple's guide to App Store, Media, Web, & Games settings shows.

The Safari website blocker guide compares this with Safari extensions and Mac-level blockers.

Method 2: Set a daily Reddit limit

On macOS Sonoma 14 through Tahoe 26:

1. Open System Settings > Screen Time > App Limits and turn it on.
2. Click Add Limit, then expand Websites at the bottom of the list.
3. Select reddit.com if you have visited it, or add the URL. Add old.reddit.com if you use it.
4. Choose Every Day or Custom, enter the time, and select Block at end of limit.
5. Click Done.

These steps follow Apple's App Limits guide for macOS Tahoe 26. macOS 27 replaced App Limits with Schedules and Time Allowances, which Apple describes by category. As of October 2026 its guide does not describe a limit for a single website.

A limit counts minutes. It does not care whether you spend them at lunch or in the middle of a hard problem.

Method 3: Block Reddit during work hours with Cactus

Cactus for Mac runs one recurring schedule: one time range, the weekdays it repeats, and one list of sites. During those hours it blocks the sites through /etc/hosts and the pf firewall, which covers Safari, Chrome, Arc, Firefox, and other browsers without an extension.

1. Install Cactus, move it to Applications, and allow it to run in the background.
2. Choose the days and drag the time block.
3. Add reddit.com. Cactus blocks reddit.com and www.reddit.com.
4. Add old.reddit.com as its own entry. Cactus does not add it for you.
5. Add i.redd.it or v.redd.it only if direct media links are a problem.
6. Click Turn On Cactus and test.

Cactus also blocks the IP addresses that your listed names resolve to. A Reddit hostname you did not add can therefore fail during a test when it happens to share servers with one you did. Do not count on it. Add every name you want blocked.

Once a block starts, Cactus has no button to end it early, and edits made during a block apply from the next one. A Mac administrator can still remove it. See how Cactus blocks websites for the details.

Where Cactus falls short:

• It blocks whole sites, so reddit.com/r/programming blocks all of Reddit.
• It has one schedule. Different hours on different days are not possible.
• It is Mac-only. For Reddit on your phone, use Screen Time on the iPhone, or a cross-device tool such as Freedom.

Cactus costs $19.99 once and runs on macOS 14 or later. The 7-day trial starts when you turn on your first schedule, with no account or card.

How to block Reddit on Safari on Mac, and in other browsers

Safari. Method 1 is the built-in route, and Apple documents it as a Safari setting.

Chrome, Arc, Firefox, Brave. Test each one. A Safari setting does not carry over, an extension covers only its own browser, and a browser's own secure DNS can bypass the hosts file. Blocking websites in Arc, Brave, and Firefox covers each browser.

Terminal. You can add the names to /etc/hosts yourself, one line per hostname, with no schedule. Blocking websites with the hosts file shows how.

Reddit links in Google results

Google often shows Reddit results near the top. A blocker stops you at the click, because those links go to www.reddit.com. It does not hide the Reddit snippet that Google shows on its own page. To keep Reddit out of one search, add -site:reddit.com to the query. The snippet may be all you needed, and you do not land in the comments.

Which method should you use?

Use Screen Time if you only use Safari and want Reddit gone for good. Use a daily limit if you want some Reddit and the amount is the issue. Use Cactus when Reddit is fine in the evening but not during work hours, and you want the block to start on its own in every browser.

Common Reddit blocking problems

old.reddit.com still loads

Add it as its own entry. Cactus and the hosts file only block the exact names you list.

A redd.it link still opens a post

It should redirect to www.reddit.com and fail there. If the post loads, check that www.reddit.com is on your list.

Reddit images still appear

They come from i.redd.it. Add it if that matters to you.

Reddit is blocked in Safari but not in Chrome

Screen Time's list is a Safari setting. Use a Mac-level blocker, or see why Screen Time is not blocking websites.

Reddit still loads during a Cactus block

Reload the tab, because the page may come from the cache. Browsers with their own secure DNS, iCloud Private Relay in Safari, proxies, and some VPNs can affect blocking.

Test the result before you rely on it

Open reddit.com, www.reddit.com, old.reddit.com, and a redd.it link. Click a Reddit result from Google. Repeat in each browser you use, including a private window. For a schedule, check that Reddit is blocked just after the start time and returns at the end time.