about:blank is an app that blocks websites in Safari . I use it to break my bad browsing habits and to stay productive. You specify the websites that you want to block on your mac or iOS device, which are then synchronized across all your other devices. The rules are based on regular expressions, which allows for fine control over a blocked URL. For example you can block the landing page of YouTube and still watch individual videos. Furthermore you can block websites on the fly inside of Safari .
A Necessity
Simple, doesn't collect info, iCloud syncing, iOS counterparts and sharesheet integration. Easily worth the low, one-time purchase asking price. I have it on all my devices. Great to use it off-label as a tracking domain blocker.
Works great
This very simple app is perfect for what I was looking for. I use Unite (bzgapps.com) to create containerized sessions for sites like facebook, reddit, etc. I then use Choosy to direct links to those sites to the browsers created by Unite. Many links in Safari aren't picked up by Choosy without a right click so I've found myself accidentally opening up facebook or other sites in Safari, which is something I want to avoid. This blocks the site and reminds me to use Choosy instead. Thanks!
How to unblock a site
It took me a while to figure out how to block sites. It’s easy to use. However, I have no idea how to unblock sites.
Great App
Works great for me. I do wish the UI wouldn’t be pasted all over the place to make it easy to disable, maybe a hidden mode would be nice. But app works as described.
Great, simple way to block sites
This is a great little extension to help with staying focused! I'm sorry to see other negative reviews, which seem to be moreso related to folks maybe not understanding how to use the extension. If anything, I'd recommend that the developer adds a short README somewhere with explicit examples of how people might construct URL patterns to block, specifically ones including Regex-specific patterns for those not familiar with that syntax. Otherwise, a great extension!
Works Fine
Not sure about these reviews saying it doesn't work. Mine works fine. You've got to click the little a:b icon, which, on safari, is at the top of the page next to the address bar. Then you can just add the sites you want to block.
Exactly as Described
You tell the app which websites to block, and it blocks them. Not much more to say about an app this simple.
Rebuilding app to work with the latest macOS version
Subscribe our newsletter and get useful information every week.