Find out how to block Safari pop-ups on Mac. In addition to push notifications, many website owners display pop-up notifications.
Fortunately, Safari also allows you to block pop-up windows and in this article we will explain how to do it.
Types of popups
Popups are the easy way for website owners to send sticky static notifications that appear in the new window. There are different types of popups that are used for good and bad purposes:
- A single popup opens in a new window on page load.
- Multiple Popups open multiple windows on page load.
- Popup triggered by a click on the link.
- Hover your mouse over pop-up windows that are triggered by mouse hover without your knowledge.
- Timed popups fire after a certain amount of time on the page.
Why are popups annoying?
Unlike push notifications, pop-ups are often annoying for the following reasons:
- Popups are displayed without any request permission.
- It opens in a new window and changes focus to that window.
- Some pop-ups open automatically without your permission.
- Pop-up ads or irrelevant content may distract your attention.
- Various pop-ups can crash or slow down your browser and computer.
- A pop-up window with unsafe content for work may seem like a surprise.
Although some website owners show useful content in a pop-up window, most of the time they show irrelevant ads. In any case, you can block pop-ups and choose to open them if necessary.
Alternatively, you can also provide an exception so that Safari allows popups only from the listed websites.
You can block or allow pop-ups from websites in the “Websites” tab of Safari preferences.
- When you are in the Safari browser, go to the “Safari > Preferences…” menu. Alternatively, press “Command +” shortcut keys to open the preferences window.
- Click on the “Websites” tab and navigate to the “Pop-ups” section.
- Here you can view and manage how you want to handle pop-ups in the Safari browser.
Manage pop-ups in Safari
Unlike the “Notifications” section, Safari will automatically display all open tabs along with the websites already configured when you go to the “Pop-ups” section.
You have the following three options to manage pop-up notifications for the particular website:
- Block and notify : Blocks pop-ups and notifies you that Safari has blocked pop-up notifications from that website.
- Block : just block without notifying you.
- Allow : allows notifications and follows the behavior of the website.
You can block or allow notifications for each site from the dropdown menu. In our opinion, you can choose the “Block” option to completely disable notifications if the website bothers you.
Permanent blocking of pop-ups on all websites
Since pop-ups are displayed without your permission, Safari allows you to completely block them for all websites. Follow the instructions below to block pop-ups on all websites:
- go to section “Pop-ups” in Safari preferences.
- Click the dropdown menu next to the option “When visiting other websites” on the bottom.
- You will see three options: Block and Notify, Block and Allow.
- Choose the option “Block” either “Block and notify” to permanently block pop-ups from any website other than the listed websites that you have held a specific preference for.
Block address bar popups
Apple calls Safari’s address bar a smart search field. You can also manage your site’s push notification settings directly from this smart search field.
- Right-click on smart search and choose the “Settings for this website…” option. Alternatively, go to the “Safari > Settings for this website…” menu.
Website Settings in Safari
- You will see various options for that website depending on your preference settings.
- Click the dropdown next to the “Pop-ups” option and choose to allow or block pop-ups from that site.
Block Safari address bar pop-ups
Safari will automatically save your selection in the “Pop-ups” section of preferences.
popup block test
When pop-ups are blocked, Safari will NOT show you any notifications. However, when you choose the “Block and notify” option, Safari will display a small icon in the address bar.
You may also see a short message in the address bar showing “Popup Blocked”.
Blocked popup on Mac
Hover over the popup icon in the address bar to see a message displaying “Show blocked popups.” You can click the icon to show blocked pop-ups.
Test popup block in Safari
Pop-up blocking limitations in Safari
Safari has many limitations to effectively block pop-up windows:
- The preferences section has an option to block popups for currently open tabs only. Unfortunately, you can’t add a new website without visiting it.
- You cannot block subdomains with wildcards. You need to add each website after you visit and bother.
- Safari will not block redirects when the website tries to display popups via redirects.
If you want to effectively block pop-ups, all of the above options are available in Chrome. You may need to switch to Chrome to make use of these features. Remember, browsers can block pop-up windows that open in a new window or tab.
Unfortunately, no browser, including Chrome, can block popups that appear within the same web page in fullscreen, sticky, floating, or modal. You have no other option to manually close these pop-ups every time.
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