Disable Safari
How to Block the Safari Browser on Apple Devices
Blocking Safari is not straightforward. However, there are a few effective ways to disable or limit Safari on Apples devices like Mac and iPhone.
If you've ever tried to uninstall Safari from either your iPhone or MacBook, you'll quickly find that this is quite difficult. Safari can't be uninstalled from Apple devices, since it's technically a default app. A workaround for this is to disable Safari instead.
The process for disabling Safari varies depending on whether you are configuring a Mac or an iPhone to block Safari. Here are the typical approaches:
- Use Screen Time settings to disable Safari, but this only works on iOS and isn't supported on MacOS. Screen Time settings cannot be reliably enforced if you are the owner of the device.
- A more reliable and comprehensive approach is to use Apple's alternative to Screen Time to disable Safari and prevent re-enabling in the future.
If you're self-managing your own iPhone or Mac, then chances are you'll want to choose the more restrictive alternative to Screen Time.
Disabling Safari on a MacBook
Safari is an application that's necessary for your Mac to function as Apple intended, so Apple has made it impossible to uninstall. Your best option is to disable Safari instead.
Limiting Safari with Config Files
The best way to limit Safari is to use Apple Config Files.
Config Files can be installed on most Mac devices without any special setup. Once installed, a Config File will force certain settings on your Mac, similar to parental controls. Unlike parental controls that could be set with Screen Time, Config Files are much more powerful.
If you're a Tech Lockdown member, we have several Config Presets you can download that have been designed for Safari specifically. For example, you can force on the same Content & Privacy restrictions to Limit Adult Websites.
You can also disable Safari's Private Window :
While we don't recommend it for everyone, if you need a very restrictive setup you can also disable all images in Safari. This will apply to both search engines and websites, and could cause some pages to not work correctly.
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Disabling Safari on an iPhone
In the same way that you can't uninstall Safari on a Mac, you can't uninstall Safari on an iPhone. Instead, you can disable it in a few different ways:
- Disable Safari with Screen Time.
- Use Apple's alternative to Screen Time to create an App Blocklist that reliably disables Safari.
- Use an App Allowlist to achieve a dumb iPhone setup without Safari (plus block the ability to download other browsers, like Chrome).
App Block and Allowlists are the most effective way to disable Safari, since they don't rely on passcode and can be reliably enforced without the ability to remove.
Disable and Limit Safari with Screen Time
The Allowed Apps section in Screen Time can be used to disable Safari.
First, open the Settings app. From there, open Screen Time, and go to Content & Privacy Restrictions > Allowed Apps.
Next, you will need to find Safari (it's usually found near the top) and toggle off the switch next to it.
Reliably Disable Safari with Supervised Mode
Apple’s better alternative to Screen Time (Supervised Mode), can be used to reliably disable Safari on iOS in a way that cannot be bypassed even if you are the owner of the device. This is our recommended approach for adults.
Supervised unlocks the ability to create App Blocklists to completely disable and hide the Safari app. Here, I've used a supervised app blocklist to hide the Safari app from my iPhone's home screen and App Library.
Even if I try to access Safari through the App Store, I'll get this message:
Alternatively, if you're trying to achieve a dumb iPhone setup, app Allowlists allow you to specify a limited number of apps that you want to allow. All other apps will be blocked, including ones from outside of the App Store.
In order to use App Allowlists or Blocklists, I had to use Apple's Alternative to Screen Time , known as supervised mode.
Tech Lockdown members have access to our premium guides which explain how to get enable supervised mode. Additionally, we provide several Config Presets that automatically lock some of the common settings.
You can easily customize which apps you want to add to your lists right from our dashboard:
In addition to App Allowlists and Blocklists, Tech Lockdown members have access to our Config Presets, which protect iPhone settings and prevent changes that conflict with a content filter.
Alternatives to Disabling Safari
In our experience running a website dedicated to helping people break unwanted internet habits, we've found that people tend to disable Safari for a few reasons:
- Safari sometimes doesn't work well with content blocking services
- A browser extension, like one you would install in Chrome, Microsoft Edge, or Brave browser, is used to block content or for some other reason. This same plugin might not work in Safari.
If you are trying to prevent loopholes in a blocking system for yourself or someone else, disabling Safari is usually a good option.
However, if your concern is content blocking cross-browser support, you should consider setting up a DNS Filtering service. This method of blocking content will work across many different devices and browsers. It's a great additional blocking layer alongside a browser extension.
You can connect a DNS Content Policy to your home network and even directly on your Mac or iOS device for when you are away from home.
Then, you can configure a DNS Content policy to decide what content is allowed, blocked, or enforced with SafeSearch .
You can even schedule access to certain websites and apps to limit the use of "gray-area" websites and apps (like Reddit or Twitter) to specific time slots during the day.
Some people choose to schedule internet downtime on their devices as well.
If blocking content in a way that is more compatible with Safari doesn't go far enough, then continue reading to get a few recommendations on disabling it entirely.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Screen Time be used to disable Safari on MacOS?
If you open Screen Time on your Mac and go to Content & Privacy > Apps, you'll see the option to toggle off Safari. However, this is a bit confusing because this option is only effects iOS (iPhone or iPad).
Toggling off Safari here will only impact the same screen time account on your iPhone, not the Mac you are currently on.
Since you can't completely disable Safari using Screen Time on Mac, your alternative is to use App Limits and click the plus icon to add a new limit.
From here, you can search for Safari, select it, then set a time limit of 1 minute.
Select Block at end of limit.
Minimum Time Limit Required
Doing this won't uninstall Safari, but it will disable Safari after one minute.
Another option that you might consider is to use the Web Content option to limit content on your Mac. This doesn't disable Safari, but it can be useful.
To do this, go to Screen Time > Content & Privacy. From here, you should see an option for Web Content. There are three options:
- Unrestricted Access: Doesn't impose any kinds of web content limits (default).
- Limit Adult Websites: Blocks most adult websites and disables incognito mode/private browsing.
- Allowed Websites Only: Block everything other than the specifically whitelisted URLs. This is quite restrictive and will cause you to constantly get an error message popup on your Mac, so we don't recommend this unless you know what you're doing.
Are Screen Time App Limits an effective way to restrict Safari on Mac?
Unfortunately, Screen Time isn't an effective solution if you're self-managing.
A big weakness with using Screen Time restrictions is how easy it is to bypass. Even if you've set up Safari restrictions correctly, it's very easy to just ignore any time limits by simply trying to open Safari:
If you have someone who can help lock your Screen Time settings, like a spouse or accountability partner, they can set a passcode that only they remember. However, if you're self managing, this a lot more difficult.
The more effective option is to instead lock Safari settings with Config Files.
Can Screen Time Settings be locked?
Yes. You can easily set a passcode, but if you need to enforce it yourself we recommend creating a secondary Apple ID.
The first step is to make a secondary Apple ID .
Next, from the Screen Time menu, swipe down until you see the option to Enable Screen Time Passcode:
If you go through the process, you should see an option that says "This is My Child's iPhone". If you select this option, you can enter the secondary Apple ID you created earlier: