How to block adult sites on a Mac or MacBook

Last updated: November 14, 2026

You can block adult websites on a Mac or MacBook for free with Screen Time’s Limit Adult Websites setting, and in every browser with a family-safe DNS. Filters always miss some sites, so for the hours you find hardest, the strongest step is to turn off the whole internet until a timer ends.

The quick answer

• Free, built in: Screen Time’s Limit Adult Websites setting blocks many adult sites in Safari.
• Free, works in every browser: switch your Mac to a family-safe DNS, like Cloudflare’s 1.1.1.3.
• Hardest to get around: take the whole Mac offline at the times you struggle most, like late at night, with Vow.

1. Turn on Limit Adult Websites in Screen Time

This is free and already on your Mac or MacBook. Apple’s filter blocks many adult sites automatically, and you can add more yourself.^[1]

1. Click the Apple menu, then System Settings, then Screen Time.
2. Click Apps & Websites, then Restrictions.
3. Under Websites, click Filtering and choose Limit Adult Websites. Then click Customize.
4. Under Restricted, click +, type any extra site you want to block, and click Done.
5. Back in Screen Time, turn on Lock Screen Time Settings and set a passcode, so the block can’t be switched off in one click.

Apple says the filter isn’t perfect: it can miss some adult sites and block some normal ones. Apple also only promises it works in Safari, so other browsers may not follow it.

2. Use a family-safe DNS (all browsers)

DNS is like your Mac’s phone book for websites. A family-safe DNS refuses to look up adult sites, in every browser and app. Cloudflare’s free “1.1.1.1 for Families” uses 1.1.1.3 and 1.0.0.3 to block adult content and malware.^[2]

1. Open System Settings and click Network.
2. Click Wi-Fi, then Details next to your network.
3. Click DNS. Under DNS Servers, click + and add 1.1.1.3, then 1.0.0.3.
4. Click OK. If you also use Ethernet, repeat for it.

Good to know: anyone with your Mac’s password can remove it in a minute, and some browsers have their own “secure DNS” setting that can skip it.

3. Make the hard hours offline

Filters miss things, and new sites appear every day. Many people find the urge comes at the same times: late at night, alone, bored or stressed. For those hours, the strongest fix isn’t a better list. It’s no internet at all.

Vow is a Mac app that turns off your Mac’s whole internet until a timer ends. Open Vow, click Schedules, then Add Schedule, and pick your hard hours, for example every night from 23:00 for 7 hours. Quitting Vow or restarting your Mac won’t bring the internet back. To end early, you have to wait 15 more minutes first, and urges often fade in that time.

Vow works on your Mac only. Keep your phone out of the bedroom, or use Screen Time on it too.

If it feels like more than a habit

If you keep going back even though it’s hurting your sleep, work, studies or relationships, you’re not alone, and it isn’t just weak willpower. The World Health Organization recognizes compulsive sexual behaviour disorder as a condition doctors can diagnose and treat.^[3]

• Talk to a doctor, therapist or counselor you trust. This is a normal thing to ask for help with.
• India: Tele MANAS, the government’s free mental health helpline, 14416 or 1-800-891-4416, day and night.^[4]
• If you ever feel unsafe, call your local emergency number.

Blocking helps by putting a gap between the urge and the action. Support helps with the rest.

Questions

Sources

1. Apple. “Change Apps & Websites Restrictions settings in Screen Time on Mac.” Mac User Guide. support.apple.com
2. Cloudflare. “Introducing 1.1.1.1 for Families.” Cloudflare blog, April 2020. blog.cloudflare.com
3. Kraus, S. W., Krueger, R. B., Briken, P., et al. (2018). Compulsive sexual behaviour disorder in the ICD-11. World Psychiatry, 17(1), 109–110. doi.org/10.1002/wps.20499
4. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, Tele MANAS. telemanas.mohfw.gov.in