How to block YouTube on a Mac

The short answer

On a current Mac, Screen Time can put youtube.com on Safari's restricted website list. The control sits under App Store, Media, Web & Games, not in the older panel shown in many guides.

That built-in list is a Safari setting. It does not turn into a system-wide block for Chrome or every other browser.

Block YouTube in Safari with Screen Time

If you use Family Sharing, you can choose your child from your own Mac. If the child has a local Mac account without Family Sharing, sign in to that account and set Screen Time there.

1. 1

   Open the Apple menu, then System Settings, then Screen Time.

2. 2

   If you use Family Sharing, choose your child from the Family Member menu.

3. 3
   Open Content & Privacy, then App Store, Media, Web & Games.
4. 4

   Under Safari, choose Limit Adult Websites. Select Customize, then add https://youtube.com and https://www.youtube.com to the Restricted list.

5. 5

   Return to Screen Time. Open Manage Screen Time for a child, then turn on Lock Screen Time Settings and set a passcode the child does not know.

Apple lists the current menu and restricted site control in its Screen Time web settings guide. Apple also explains how to lock Screen Time settings.

Test the block in the child's Safari account. Also test a direct video link, not just the YouTube home page.

What Screen Time does not cover on a Mac

The website list above belongs to Safari. If Chrome remains open, your child can use Chrome instead.

Google Family Link can block a site in Chrome for a supervised child account, but Google warns that a child on macOS can sign out of Chrome, switch profiles, or use another browser. A Chrome profile is useful for settings. It is not a secure wall by itself.

For a shared Mac, first give the child their own standard Mac account. Keep the adult account password private. Then remove browsers that bypass the control you picked.

If you need the whole Mac blocked across every browser, use a DNS or network filter made for that job. Screen Time's Safari list and Vidward do not provide a whole-device network block.

Keep YouTube but set rules inside it

A full block can get in the way when a child needs tutorials, music lessons, or class videos. Vidward takes a narrower path. It is a desktop browser extension plus a parent dashboard.

You can block channels, videos, and title words. You can remove Shorts and keep autoplay off while the rest of YouTube stays available in Chrome.

Install Vidward inside the child's Chrome profile and link it to their profile in your parent dashboard. For the setting to hold, keep the child on a standard macOS account and use the Chrome tamper-proof setup.

Vidward does not filter Safari without the extension. It does not cover phone or tablet apps, TVs, consoles, or the network.

For the browser steps, see how to block YouTube in Chrome. For a rule aimed at one person on a shared Mac, see how to block YouTube for one user account.

Which Mac method should you use?

• Block the site in Safari: use Screen Time and lock its settings.
• Block the whole Mac in every browser: use a device or network filter.
• Keep YouTube with parent-set rules in Chrome: use Vidward.