To block distracting apps on Mac with Blocker, add the apps to a blocklist and start a timed session with that list. Blocker’s helper hides and closes an app when you try to launch it during the block. It does not delete the app or its files.
A chat window or game can be a distraction even when its website is blocked. Put the native app and its website in the same list if you use both.
A daily allowance or a block for this task?
Screen Time’s App Limits are a built-in option for daily time allowances. A Blocker session is for a specific stretch of work or a weekly work schedule. Try the method that matches when you want the restriction to apply.
This is an app-use restriction for focus. It is not a firewall rule that lets an app stay open while cutting its network access. I build Blocker; the Mac blocker comparison covers alternatives and tradeoffs.
Build a list for one task
- Install and open Blocker on your Mac.
- Create a blocklist and add the installed apps that distract you, such as a game, Discord or WhatsApp. Select the apps you actually use.
- Add the corresponding websites if you would otherwise switch to their browser versions.
- Save your work in those apps before starting. Select the blocklist in Block Now and choose a short custom duration with Off mode.
Try opening one blocked app
While your test block is active, try launching one of the apps on the list. It should be kept closed. Also check that your editor, course portal and required communication still work.
If an app is still available, check that you selected that installed app, saved it in the list and started the block with the same list. If the result still differs from the guide, contact support with the app name and Blocker version.
Off lets you stop after a short wait. Strict adds a longer wait and a sentence to type. Hardcore removes the ordinary early exit, with one emergency pass a week.
Use the same list next time
Keep the list small enough to match the task. You might block a game for revision but leave a messaging app available when you need a teammate. The study setup provides a starting list and a 45-minute session to adapt.
Once the list works, use it in a weekly schedule. Each schedule can have its own lock mode. The website’s setups are instructions to reproduce manually; they do not import or start a block in the app.
Blocking works locally. The privacy policy explains the product analytics and crash reports the app sends, separately from the blocklists and schedules stored on your Mac.