How to block X (Twitter) on Mac

How to block X on your Mac

To block X on a Mac, block x.com and twitter.com. Use Screen Time to restrict both in Safari, a Screen Time limit for a daily allowance, or a scheduled blocker such as Cactus to keep X closed during work hours in every browser. Then decide whether t.co links and embedded posts on other sites matter to you. The steps are the same on a MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, or desktop Mac.

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

X no longer has a Mac app. Twitter for Mac left the Mac App Store in August 2024, and as of October 2026 the X listing on the App Store covers iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision, not Mac. On a Mac, X is a website.

The X and Twitter hostnames to block

These are the names that matter, checked in October 2026.

The redirecting names end at x.com, so blocking x.com stops them. Add them only if you want them to fail directly.

The t.co trade-off

X wraps every link in a post in a t.co address. When a t.co link points to an X post, it ends at x.com, which is already blocked. When it points to a news article or a GitHub repo, the article loads normally. Blocking t.co mostly breaks those outside links when someone shares them in email, a newsletter, or chat. Leave it off unless those links are what pulls you back to X.

Embedded posts

News sites and blogs show X posts through a script from platform.twitter.com. Blocking x.com does not stop it. If you add platform.twitter.com, embedded posts generally fall back to plain quoted text with a link. That is a reasonable choice if you read a lot of articles that quote X and then follow the thread.

The twimg.com hosts serve images and code. Without the page at x.com they give you nothing to scroll, and blocking them can break X images on other sites.

Method 1: Block X 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 x.com, and click Done. Repeat for twitter.com.
6. Open x.com and twitter.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, and the Safari list is still under App Store, Media, Web, & Games. See Apple's guide to App Store, Media, Web, & Games settings.

This holds best when someone else knows the Screen Time passcode.

Method 2: Set a daily limit for X

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 x.com if you have visited it, or add the URL. Add twitter.com too.
4. Choose Every Day or Custom, enter the time, and select Block at end of limit.
5. Click Done.

Apple's App Limits guide for macOS Tahoe 26 has the details. In macOS 27, App Limits became Schedules and Time Allowances, which Apple's guide describes by category, such as Social Media. As of October 2026 it does not describe a limit for one website, so check what your version shows.

A daily limit does not decide when you spend it. Ten-minute checks between tasks can use it up by mid-morning.

Method 3: Block X during work hours with Cactus

This is the method Cactus was built for. Maxi, who makes Cactus, kept opening YouTube and X during the short waits while coding agents worked. A 20-second pause turned into 20 lost minutes. If that sounds familiar, the pattern is covered in Cactus for coding agents and what to do while Claude Code is working.

Cactus for Mac runs one recurring schedule with one site list. During those hours it blocks the sites at the Mac level, through /etc/hosts and the pf firewall, so Safari, Chrome, Arc, Firefox, and other browsers are covered 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, for example weekdays 09:00 to 17:30.
3. Add x.com. Cactus blocks x.com, www.x.com, twitter.com, and www.twitter.com from that one entry.
4. Add pro.x.com if you use X Pro, and platform.twitter.com if you want embeds gone. Other hostnames are not added for you.
5. Click Turn On Cactus, then test.

Once a block starts, there is no button to end it early, and edits made during a block apply to the next one. A Mac administrator can still remove Cactus. Read how Cactus blocks websites for the full picture.

What Cactus will not do for X:

• Block one part of X. x.com/home blocks all of x.com.
• Block an app. If you use a third-party X client, test it, because it may connect to hostnames you have not listed.
• Run more than one schedule. One time range and one site list cover everything.
• Work on your iPhone. Use Screen Time there, or a cross-device tool such as Freedom.

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

Block x.com on Safari and Chrome

Safari. Screen Time's Restricted list is the built-in option. Apple documents it as a Safari setting.

Chrome. Test Chrome on its own. You can install a blocking extension, which covers only Chrome, or use a blocker that works below the browser. Chrome's Use secure DNS setting can bypass the hosts file. How to block websites on Mac Chrome covers the details.

Several browsers. If you open Arc or Firefox when Safari says no, a Mac-level block is the one that holds.

Which method should you use?

Use Screen Time if you want X gone in Safari for good and someone else can hold the passcode. Use a daily limit if the total amount is the issue. Use a schedule if X is fine in the evening but costs you focus during the day. For a wider list of sites developers tend to drift to, see distracting websites to block.

Common X blocking problems

twitter.com still opens

Add twitter.com separately in Screen Time, the hosts file, or an extension. In Cactus it is covered when you add x.com.

Embedded posts still appear in articles

Those load from platform.twitter.com. Add it if they lead you back to X.

A link from email opens a news article

That t.co link pointed outside X, so nothing blocked it. That is usually what you want.

Grok still works

Grok inside X is part of x.com. The separate site at grok.com is a different domain and needs its own entry if you want it blocked.

X loads in one browser but not another

Check for a browser with its own secure DNS, iCloud Private Relay in Safari, a proxy, or a VPN. Each can affect blocking, so test with the setup you use every day.

Test the result before you rely on it

Open x.com, twitter.com, mobile.x.com, and a t.co link to an X post. Repeat in each browser you use, including a private window. For a schedule, open X just after the start time and check that it returns at the end time.