Looking to boost your productivity or prevent your kids from watching YouTube videos? We’ll show you how to block YouTube on MacBook.

How to block YouTube on MacBook

Managing apps on MacBook

You can access YouTube for a wide range of gripping content. That said, there are many reasons you should manage the use of this website and consider blocking it for a certain period. Primarily, you may want to increase your productivity. Restricting the YouTube app from your iOS system makes you less likely to interrupt your work to watch a video. This lets you focus on the task at hand, taking your efficiency to the next level. Another reason you may wish to block YouTube videos is to exercise parental control if your child has been watching inappropriate content. It’s easy to do this because you can restrict YouTube to ensure they can’t access adult content from their web browser.

Steps to blocking YouTube on MacBook

You can use many methods to block YouTube on your MacBook.

Screen Time

Screen Time lets you block websites on macOS 10.15 Catalina or later. It is a versatile tool that can completely restrict YouTube on various browsers. Here’s how it works:

1. Launch your Mac and head to “System Preferences.”
2. Choose “Screen Time” and go to your “Options.”
3. Activate “Screen Time.”
4. Set your Screen Time passcode and press “Content & Privacy” on the left part of the screen.
5. Click “Turn on” to enable privacy restrictions.
6. Navigate to your “Content” window and pick “Limit Adult Websites.”
7. Choose “Customize” and head to “Restricted.”
8. Strike the “+” symbol to include YouTube in your “Restricted” list and Click OK. You’ll no longer be able to access YouTube channels and other features from Firefox or Safari.

Parental controls

You can use Parental Controls if you have macOS 10.4 Tiger or macOS 10.14 Mojave. It’s an easy way to limit YouTube access, but you can only take this step if you’re working from non-administrator user accounts:

1. Open “System Preferences” and select “Parental Controls.”
2. Set up a new user account with your parental controls.
3. Tap the “Lock” symbol in the lower left section and type in your password to enable changes.
4. Select your user account from the left-hand menu and go to your “Web” tab.
5. Click the “Try to limit access to adult websites” prompt.
6. Press “Customize” and add “www.youtube.com” to your block list.
7. Tap the “OK” button and you’re good to go.

Terminal

Another way to block the YouTube website on a MacBook is to use Terminal. This built-in Terminal emulator restricts access to specific websites by editing the hosts file (your iOS file).

1. Start your “Terminal” app and enter the following line: sudo pico /etc/hosts
2. Enter the administrator password.
3. Type in “127.0.1.1” and enter “youtube.com.”
4. Reenter “127.0.01.” and type in “www.youtube.com.”
5.  Hit the “Ctrl + O” combination and tap your Return key to block YouTube. The website will now be restricted, but you’ll still be able to access it unless you clear your cache. To ensure the blocking has worked, switch to incognito mode because it’s cache-free.

If you decide to unblock YouTube, you can do so by deleting the website addresses from the hosts file.

Router settings

Changing router settings is a reliable way to block YouTube from your MacBook. Any device that uses the wireless connection from your network won’t be able to reach the website. Take the following steps to adjust your router settings:

1. Press “System Preferences” on your computer and go to the “Network” window.
2. Press “Wi-Fi,” followed by “Advanced,” and “TCP/IP.”
3. Find your router and copy its IP address.
4. Paste the router’s IP address into your browser’s search field.
5. Use your credentials to log into the system. If you can’t remember your username or password, contact your provider.
6. Go through your website blocking features in the “Settings” window and select the mode that works best for blocking YouTube.

Browser extensions

Many MacBook browsers are compatible with extensions that allow you to limit YouTube access. Google Chrome is one of them.

1. Open a new window or tab and click the “Customize and control” menu in the top-right corner.
2. Choose “More tools” from your dropdown menu and click “Extensions.” This will take you to your Chrome Web Store. Alternatively, pick the vertical three dots in the upper-right section of Chrome and select “More tools,” followed by “Extensions.”
3. Type “website block” in your search bar and browse the options.
4. Find a suitable website blocker.
5. Once you find the right app, select it and press the “Add to Chrome” button to install the plugin.
6. Return to the tab in the upper-right corner of your display and locate your add-on.
7. Click the plugin to access its menu.
8. Follow the on-screen prompts or instructions to block YouTube.

Get Speechify and replace your YouTube screen time for increased productivity

There are a few other ways to optimize productivity on your MacBook besides blocking YouTube. One of your best options is to use a text to speech (TTS) app, such as Speechify. Speechify has a host of convenient functionalities to help you work faster. For instance, it reads digital text aloud using immersive AI voices and highlights key phrases so you don’t miss anything. It can also narrate any content, like social media posts and emails. Give Speechify a try today. The tool works on all Android and iOS devices, including iPhones and iPads.

FAQ

How do I block YouTube on Mac?

You can block YouTube on your Mac from the Terminal app, Parental Controls, or Screen Time, depending on your OS.

How do I block YouTube on my kids’ MacBook Air?

There are many ways to block YouTube on your kids’ MacBook. For example, you can adjust router settings or install a blocking extension.

How do you block a website on a Mac?

To block a website on a Mac, you can make a few tweaks to your “System Preferences.” This can include adding YouTube to Screen Time or Parental Controls lists of restricted pages.

How do I block YouTube on MacBook Chrome?

The easiest way to limit or restrict YouTube on your MacBook Chrome is to install a plugin that lets you do so.