How to Block YouTube on Mac (macOS Sequoia, 2026)
Block YouTube on Mac using Screen Time. Step-by-step for macOS Sequoia. Free, no software needed. Updated for 2026.
What You'll Need
- The Mac your child uses
- Your Apple ID (to set up Family Sharing and manage Screen Time remotely)
- About 15 minutes
Apple's Screen Time is built into every Mac running macOS Catalina (10.15) or later. It's free, integrated with iOS/iPadOS Family Sharing, and lets you block specific websites, restrict app installs, and enforce content rules across all of your child's Apple devices from a single dashboard.
macOS Ventura and later use System Settings, not System Preferences
Apple renamed System Preferences to System Settings in macOS Ventura (2022). If your Mac shows System Preferences, the Screen Time options are identical — just look in the same location under that name.
Part 1: Set Up Family Sharing
Family Sharing lets you manage your child's Mac remotely from your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.
Open System Settings on your Mac
Click the Apple menu () in the top-left → System Settings.
Go to Family Sharing
Click your name at the top of the sidebar → Family Sharing. If you haven't set it up, click Set Up Family Sharing and follow the prompts.
Add your child
Click Add Member → Create a Child Account. Enter their date of birth. Apple requires this to apply appropriate restrictions. You will need a payment method to verify your Apple ID.
Sign in on their Mac with their Apple ID
On their Mac, sign out of any existing Apple ID (System Settings → Apple ID → Sign Out), then sign in with the child Apple ID you just created.
Part 2: Enable Screen Time with a Passcode
Open Screen Time on their Mac
On their Mac: System Settings → Screen Time (in the sidebar).
Turn on Screen Time
Toggle Screen Time On. If managing from your own Mac via Family Sharing, you'll see their name in a dropdown — select it.
Set a Screen Time Passcode
Click Options (top right) → enable Use Screen Time Passcode → enter a 4-digit code your child does not know. Store this securely. Without it, anyone can turn Screen Time off in System Settings.
Enable 'Sync across devices'
In Screen Time → Options, turn on Share across devices. This syncs your Screen Time rules to all of their Apple devices — iPhone, iPad, and Mac — from one place.
Part 3: Block YouTube in Safari
Go to Screen Time → Content & Privacy
In Screen Time, click Content & Privacy in the left panel and toggle it On.
Open Web Content settings
Click Web Content → select Limit Adult Websites.
Add YouTube to the Never Allow list
Under Restricted, click the + button and add each of the following:
youtube.comyoutu.bem.youtube.comwww.youtube-nocookie.com
YouTube will now show a block page in Safari, Chrome, Firefox, and any other browser that honours macOS web filtering.
Optional: switch to Allowed Websites Only (strictest setting)
For younger children or maximum control, change Web Content to Allowed Websites Only. Then manually add the specific sites they're allowed to visit. YouTube will be unreachable in any browser by default.
Part 4: Block the YouTube App and Prevent New Installs
Check for the YouTube Progressive Web App (PWA)
YouTube can be installed as a PWA directly from Safari or Chrome. Check the Dock and Applications folder for a YouTube icon. Drag it to the Trash if present.
Restrict App Store installs
Screen Time → App Store → set App Installation to Don't Allow. This prevents installing new apps from the App Store without your Screen Time passcode.
Restrict app age ratings
Screen Time → App Store → Allowed Apps in App Store — set to 4+ for young children or 9+ for older ones. YouTube is rated 17+ so it won't be downloadable under any of these tiers.
Part 5: Block Other Browsers
Important: macOS Screen Time web content filtering only works reliably in Safari. Chrome, Firefox, Brave, Edge and other Chromium-based browsers do not respect macOS Screen Time web restrictions — your child can open Chrome and go straight to youtube.com even with the Screen Time block in place. The solution is to remove all non-Safari browsers and block their reinstallation.
Remove browsers your child already has
Open Finder → Applications. Delete Chrome, Firefox, Brave, Edge, or any other browser your child has installed. Empty the Trash.
Block reinstallation via App Store restrictions
You've already blocked App Store installs in Part 4. This prevents them downloading Chrome from the Mac App Store. Chrome's direct .dmg download from Google's website is not blocked by this — see the next step.
Restrict system-level app installations
Screen Time → Content & Privacy → Other → set System Preferences to Don't Allow if you want to prevent changes to system settings entirely. For older kids, instead just ensure the Screen Time passcode is strong.
Part 6: Downtime (Schedule Off-Hours)
Set a Downtime schedule
Screen Time → Downtime → toggle On → set the hours when the Mac should be locked down (e.g. after 8pm and before 7am). During Downtime, only apps you've specifically allowed remain accessible.
Choose which apps stay available during Downtime
Screen Time → Always Allowed → add apps like FaceTime or school apps that should work even during Downtime. YouTube is blocked during Downtime automatically.
How Kids Bypass This
Creating a new macOS user account: If your child creates a second macOS user account (without your Apple ID), Screen Time doesn't apply to it. Prevent this: System Settings → Users & Groups → lock the padlock so adding new users requires an admin password. Make sure your admin password is not the same as your child's login password.
Deleting and reinstalling macOS browsers via direct download: Chrome, Firefox, and Brave can all be downloaded as .dmg files directly from their websites — Screen Time's App Store restriction doesn't stop this. And critically: Screen Time web filters do not work in Chrome or Firefox — if they reinstall a non-Safari browser, the youtube.com block is ineffective. Your best defence is removing admin rights from their account (Standard account), which prevents installing .dmg apps that require admin password, plus removing all non-Safari browsers and blocking them via App Restrictions.
Admin vs. Standard account: If your child has an Administrator account on the Mac, they can disable Screen Time in System Settings without the passcode by using their own admin rights. Downgrade their account to Standard: System Settings → Users & Groups → select their account → disable Allow this user to administer this computer.
Safari's Private Browsing: Private mode doesn't bypass Screen Time web filters. Screen Time filters apply regardless of private browsing mode.
iCloud Private Relay: If your child has an iCloud+ subscription and enables Private Relay, it encrypts DNS queries and can bypass router-level DNS filtering. Disable this: System Settings → Apple ID → iCloud → Private Relay → Off. Screen Time content filtering still works.
Screen Time passcode recovery: Apple allows the Screen Time passcode to be reset using the Apple ID that set it up. If your child knows your Apple ID email and password, they can reset it. Keep your Apple ID credentials private and enable two-factor authentication.
macOS is harder to lock down than iOS: Screen Time on Mac is meaningfully weaker than on iPhone/iPad. A child with sufficient motivation can find workarounds. The Standard account + Screen Time passcode + browser removal combination is solid for most kids, but if you need a tighter lock, router-level DNS filtering is the most reliable layer on top of it.
Counter-Measures
Downgrade their account to Standard user: This is the most important hardening step for Mac. An admin account can undo almost everything else. Standard account → Screen Time passcode is the correct combination.
Layer with router DNS filtering: Screen Time blocks YouTube in browsers on the Mac. Router DNS blocking covers any edge cases — casting, embedded YouTube in apps, or any device on your Wi-Fi. See the DNS filtering guide for setup instructions.
Enable Family Sharing Screen Time sync: Managing from your iPhone means you get notified of Screen Time requests and can approve or deny app installs and web access from anywhere, without needing to sit at their Mac.
Review Screen Time reports weekly: System Settings → Screen Time → App Usage / Websites shows you exactly what they visited and for how long. Regular reviews catch workarounds early.
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