YouTube is the most popular video-sharing platform in the world, providing videos about almost everything. YouTube videos can be entertaining or useful or both. But they can also be addictive and distracting. To prevent YouTube from distracting you or stop your YouTube addiction, you can block access to it. This article shows you how to block YouTube on Mac easily in 5 ways.
Cisdem AppCrypt
Free Download macOS 10.12 or later 
Free Download Windows 11/10/8/7
Applies to: macOS 10.12 or later
For Mac users, the most effortless and effective way to block access to YouTube is to use Cisdem AppCrypt, the best website blocker and app locker for Mac. When blocking, it lets you choose how long to block access to YouTube on your computer, either for a specific time or permanently. Unlike most other YouTube blocker tools, AppCrypt offers a built-in password protection feature. Once the blocking is set, no one can unblock YouTube, quit the blocking, or uninstall this tool without the password.
Additionally, this tool allows you to block YouTube and any other unwanted websites on both Mac’s administrator accounts and other user accounts, such as a kid’s account.
Below are the steps to block YouTube on MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac and other Mac computers.
1. Download and install the YouTube blocker.
2. When you open it for the first time, set a password. It’s recommended to select the Launch at System Startup checkbox.
3. Click the lock icon in the menu bar and choose Open Main Window.
4. Enter the password, and you will see the main window.
5. Under the Web Block tab, enter youtube.com and click Add.
You can also add YouTube to block by clicking the Import dropdown menu and choosing the Video Sites option. This way, all popular video websites will be added to block.
Now YouTube is permanently blocked on Safari, Chrome and other popular web browsers on Mac. When your children or you try to access YouTube, it won’t open.
To unblock YouTube, there are three ways. Quit AppCrypt. Go to the Web Block tab and remove youtube.com. Or, click Disable Web Block. Any of the three ways requires one to enter the password. So, as you can see, the blocking is effective and hard to bypass. To prevent yourself from accessing YouTube, you can ask someone else to set the password.
There are some helpful videos on YouTube. Users may need to watch YouTube videos to gain information, learn new skills, etc. But do not want to waste too much time on it. In this case, you can use AppCrypt to block YouTube on Mac at specific times. Go to the Web Block tab. Select youtube.com. Click the small clock icon that appears, and schedule the blocking. You can specify the times of the day and days of the week, such as bedtime or school days.
There is no official YouTube app for Mac. Some users install YouTube as a progressive web app on Mac. But in fact, it is basically still the website. So the steps above about blocking youtube.com also work in the YouTube PMA.
What’s more, there are plenty off YouTube alternative apps for macOS, or third-party apps for YouTube. You can block or restrict to these apps on Mac using AppCrypt’s App Lock feature. Go to the App Lock tab and select the app from Applications folder. Click Open.
Applies to: macOS 10.15 Catalina or later
This method lets you block YouTube on Safari on Mac. Included with macOS 10.15 or later, Screen Time is a set of settings that help you monitor and manage your screen time. But after my test, it doesn’t work on other web browsers on Mac, like Chrome, Firefox. If you don’t want to install a third-party YouTube blocker on your Mac, and only need to apply the YouTube blocking on Safari, you can use Screen Time.
With Screen Time on Mac, you can set up the blocking for yourself on an administrator account. And you can also block YouTube on a child’s Mac or on a child’s user account on your Mac.
1. On your Mac, go to System Settings > Screen Time.
2. Turn on Screen Time. Turn on Use Screen Time Passcode at the bottom and set a passcode.
3. In the Screen Time window, click Content & Privacy. Turn it on.
4. Click Content Restrictions.
5. Under Web Content, select Limit Adult Websites from the drop down menu.
6. Under Restricted, click the plus icon (+) to add YouTube to the Restricted list. Click Done.
To unblock the website, remove it from the Restricted list. Alternatively, enable Unrestricted Access (as shown in step 5) or turn off Content & Privacy (in step 3).
If you use this method to block YouTube, it’s recommended to uninstall other web browser apps on your Mac besides Safari or block them. Otherwise, you or your child can still access YouTube site on other browsers. Fortunately, Screen Time also offers an App Limits feature that enables you to set time limit to one minutes for an app, like your browser app. To do this:
1. Select App Limits in the Screen Time window.
2. Turn on the feature.
3. Click the Add Limit button.
4. Scroll down the app list. Find the browser apps on your Mac. Select the checkbox next to them.
5. Set the time limit to 1 minute.
6. Click Done.
Now YouTube is blocked on Safari on your Mac, and access is limited on other browser apps as well.
Tip: Screen Time is not available on earlier macOS versions, whereas Parental Controls is provided. Parental Controls is very similar to Screen Time when it comes to restricting web content. For users running macOS 10.4 Tiger - macOS 10.14 Mojave, you can use Parental Controls to block the YouTube site.
Applies to: All macOS versions
With this method, you are able to block YouTube on all browsers on your Mac for free. Terminal is a built-in tool on macOS operating system. It is a command-line interface that lets you control your Mac using a command prompt. Hosts file is an operating system file that maps hostnames to IP addresses. You can block YouTube on Mac by editing your Mac’s hosts file with the help of Terminal.
But this method is not recommended unless you are comfortable with the command line.
1. On your Mac, open the Terminal app. You can search it via the spotlight search (Command + Spacebar keys).
2. Type “sudo pico /etc/hosts”.
3. Enter your admin password. Press the Enter key.
4. Type “127.0.0.1” and then type “youtube.com”.
5. Type “127.0.0.1” and then type “www.youtube.com”.
6. Press Ctrl + O on your keyboard. Then press Enter.
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.
BlockSite is a well known website blocker extension that supports 2 popular web browsers on Mac: Google Chrome and Firefox. With it, you can easily block access to youtube.com and other distracting websites on these 2 browsers on your Mac. And if you only need to block YouTube and no more than 2 other websites, you don't need to pay.
Similar to Cisdem ApCrypt that I mentioned in method 1, this tool also supports blocking websites by inputting certain URLs, by categories, or by keywords. But it can be removed easily by anyone who uses this computer. And it does not support Mac’s built-in web browser-Safari. If you think blocking access to YouTube at the browser level is good enough for you, you can use it to get the job done.
1. Go to the Chrome Web Store or Firefox add-ons page.
2. Search for BlockSite and add it to Chrome or Firefox on your Mac.
3. Click the Extensions icon to the right of your browser’s address bar. Select BlockSite.
4. Click the Settings icon in the upper right corner.
5. Click Add to Block List in the middle of the window.
6. Enter youtube.com in the top web address field. Click the plus icon next to the YouTube site.
7. Click Done.
In free version, you can add 2 more sites to your block list. The premium version allows you to block unlimited websites and offers some advanced features. Such as Password Protection, which makes you blocking more effective.
Tip: If you want to block YouTube on Safari on Mac with extension, then you search for an extension called about:blank from Safari Extensions Store. But it’s not free to use.
With this method, you are able to block YouTube on all devices connected to your Wi-Fi router, including your Mac computers, mobile phones, and your family’s devices. Most routers have built in web filtering feature that enables administrators to block certain websites (like youtube.com) or inappropriate content on the Internet. It can be called “Web Filter”, “URL Filter”, “Parental Controls”, etc., depending on the model of your router. If your Mac is always connecting to the same Wi-Fi network and you don’t mind YouTube being blocked on other devices as well, this method is for you.
The setup process also differs by router. Here I’ll show you how to limit access to YouTube via my TP-Link router:
1. Open your browser and log into the router’s web interface.
2. Go to Access Control. Click Target.
3. Tap Add New on the Target Settings window.
4. Select URL Address as the Mode type.
5. Enter a short description of this setting, such as Block YouTube.
6. Add the domain name of YouTube or just the keyword to the Add URL Address box. Click Add.
7. Click Save.
If you want, you can also go to the Schedule tab to block YouTube websites only for a certain period of time.
This method is especially useful for users who want to block YouTube on their child’s Mac at home. Note that there’re also 2 ways to bypass the blocking: 1. Stop the Mac from connecting to this Wi-Fi network and connect to other network. 2. Log into the router and remove YouTube from the block list.
Here are some tips about YouTube website on Mac that may be helpful for you.
In addition to youtube.com, there’re some other websites you should consider blocking at work. AppCrypt allows users to block websites by categories, including social media, porn sites, games site, and more. Block them with one click to increase your productivity!
You can block YouTube on Mac through Screen Time, Parental Controls, Terminal, extension, or router. All of these methods don’t require you to install software.
Maybe you don’t want to block YouTube completely on Mac but are worried about kids seeing inappropriate videos on it. How to make YouTube kids friendly? YouTube Restricted mode may be helpful for you. After enabling this mode, it will automatically filter some potentially mature content. To do this, open YouTube website. Sign in your child’s account. Click the profile photo in the upper right corner. Click Restricted Mode. Turn on it.
Some users block YouTube on Mac because it makes it hard for us to concentrate. But sometimes we need to search for something on YouTube and then find it is blocked. This is inconvenient. You can use some extensions to reduce the distraction of YouTube. Such as YouTube Study Mode for Chrome, which will hide all recommendations on YouTube and only keep a search bar. In this way, you will no longer be distracted by distracting videos on YouTube.
The article talks about how to block YouTube on Mac Catalina, Big Sur, Monterey, Ventura, Sequoia, 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.
Norah Hayes likes to share her tips on how to improve focus and stay motivated at work. She believes it is essential to eliminate all online distractions during work hours.
Josef Lechle
I’d highly recommend this YouTube blocker app recommended in first methods. It’s perfect for stopping myself from YouTube addiction!
AnitaJM
I think I'm addicted to YouTube. I spend hours watching YouTube videos everyday and can't stop myself. A YouTube blocker app is what I need. Hopefully I will spend my time more productively.
Arathorn
I'm finding a software to block my YouTube App, AppCrypt is exactly what I want.
Serina
very detailed article, this article recommends four solution to block YouTube, it is useful to me