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:

1. Use Screen Time settings to disable Safari. It's not as effective, since it's relatively easy to re-enable. You can use a secondary Apple ID to get better results.
2. Use Apple's alternative to Screen Time to disable Safari and prevent re-enabling in the future. 
3. Enable managed mode on your iOS device to unlock more options, such as the kiosk feature.

If you are focused on preventing Safari from easily being re-enabled, you should consider some of the stricter approaches that we recommend later on.

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:

1. Safari sometimes doesn't work well with content blocking services
2. 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 install a DNS Filter on 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.

Disabling Safari on a MacBook

Safari is an application that's necessary for your Mac to function as Apple intended, so Apple tries to prevent it from being disabled. However, there are workarounds that you might be able to use with some success.

We'll talk about using Managed Mode on a MacOS device, which gives you more effective ways to handle Safari. Before we get there, we'll talk about some workarounds on a standard MacOS device.

Limit Safari with Screen Time

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.

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.

Limiting Safari with Managed Mode

The most effective way to limit Safari is by using a Mobile Device Manager to convert Safari into a dumb browser that lets you use it in limited ways. You can enable Managed Mode on your Mac and then use to a program to configure the settings on your Mac in an enforceable way.

---

We get it, making your own managed mac device can be difficult and confusing! Tech Lockdown members get access to premium guides that provide step-by-step instructions to enable managed mode, including how to use it to disable Safari. You also get access to our support team to get your questions answered!

---

Once managed mode is enabled on your Mac, create a configuration payload for Safari.

One of the first things you can change is the History Age Limit.

Consider setting a long history limit so that there's always a trail of breadcrumbs with browsing history.

You can disable the ability enable Safari extensions, but this may have limited usefulness for your use-case.

The biggest "dumb browser" feature is the ability to toggle off displaying images.

This lets you use Safari in text-only mode and it's quite a restrictive setup. 

Furthermore, you can deselect Enable Plug-ins, Enable Java, and Enable JavaScript to cause most websites to not load properly.

You can disable Private browsing, which goes well with the previous selection on setting how long browsing history is persisted.

You can also block cookies and other website data, which would remove the ability to login to most websites. It would also add extra privacy to browsing with Safari.

If you set up Safari with this managed profile, you won't need to block it because it will be so limited. 

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:

1. Disable Safari with Screen Time.
2. Use Apple's alternative to Screen Time to prevent re-enabling Safari.
3. Enable managed mode to control which apps are allowed on your iPhone using the kiosk feature.

If you enable managed mode on your iPhone, you will be able to disable Safari far more effectively.

Disable and Limit Safari with Screen Time

Using Screen Time, you can remove Safari as an Allowed App on your iPhone, which will remove Safari from your home screen.

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.

The next step we recommend is to then lock your screen time settings. There are a few main ways to do this:

1. Enable a four-digit PIN. This can be pretty easily disabled using the Forgot PIN process, but it's also very simple to enable.
2. Use a secondary Apple ID and PIN. This is a bit harder to disable, since you need to access the secondary Apple ID in order to use the Forgot PIN process.
3. Use Apple's alternative to screen time to lock screen time settings. This is much harder to disable, since you are no longer relying on a PIN.

Since it's very easy to set a PIN for yourself using screen time, we'll go ahead and explain how to use a secondary Apple ID.

Lock Screen Time with a Secondary Apple ID and PIN

While not the most effective way to lock your screen time settings, using a secondary Apple ID is the best way to do so on a standard iPhone device. Later on, we'll look at a better way to enforce settings by enabling supervised or managed modes.

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:

Use Supervised or Managed Modes to Disable Safari

While not possible to fully disable Safari using Screen Time alone, enabling supervised or managed mode on your iPhone opens up more advanced settings - settings that are not available on standard iPhone devices.

---

We get it, making your own supervised iOS device can be confusing! Tech Lockdown members get access to premium guides that provide step-by-step instructions to enable managed mode, including how to use it to disable Safari. You also get access to our support team to get your questions answered!

For example, with supervised mode, you can create an app blocklist if you don't want specific apps to be installed:

If you're trying to block Safari specifically, you can disable Safari in the Restrictions section of the supervised device profile editor by de-selecting Allow use of Safari (supervised only):

You can go even further by enabling managed mode. You can use a Mobile Device Manager (MDM) to enable the kiosk feature on your iPhone. Then, using multi app mode, you can selectively include what a person can access on the iPhone.

This is the most restrictive way to customize what a person can access on the iPhone, so it's a great way to completely block Safari and block the App Store .

---

How do you enable managed mode on your iPhone? Tech Lockdown members get access to step-by-step instructions that walk you through this process.

---

What is The Best Way to Disable Safari?

The best methods for blocking or limiting Safari varies based on your whether or not you are on iOS or MacOS.

On a Mac, you have the following options:

1. Set a 1 minute limit for Safari using Screen Time
2. Enable Managed Mode on your Mac and turn Safari into a dumb browser
3. Use third-party app blockers downloaded from the Mac App Store

The easiest way is to use Screen Time, but the most enforceable method is by using managed mode since those settings can't easily be bypassed.

For iPhone and iPad, there are a few options as well:

1. Use screen time to toggle off Safari in the Allowed Apps list
2. Use supervised device mode to disable Safari
3. Use managed mode on iOS with Kiosk mode to selectively allow what iOS features are available to the user

Effective blocking and device configuration requires you to use a combination of methods. It's not possible to download a single app that solves for your use-cases on all devices in your household.

This is why Tech Lockdown provides a powerful DNS Filtering service , which is the core part of our recommended blocking system. Then, we help you take your blocking setup to the next level with  premium guides which explain how exactly you can get started with enabling supervised or managed modes on your devices.

We also explain how to common things with both, such as:

• How to Block Apps.
• How to Enforce Apps.
• How to use Remote Management with managed mode.
• And more!

In addition to these guides, Tech Lockdown members have the option to install a DNS filter, one that allows you to create your own DNS content policy :

• By App or website.
• By website category.
• By member.
• By schedule.