Mamori / Guides

How to Block Websites on Chrome (Windows, Mac and Chromebook)

Updated

On this page
  1. What Chrome itself offers (and does not)
  2. SafeSearch: cleaner Google results, nothing more
  3. Safe Browsing is not an adult filter
  4. Extensions: a common approach, with caveats
  5. Operating-system options
  6. Family Link on a computer (child accounts only)
  7. Secure DNS in Chrome and DNS filters
  8. Gaps that apply to every option above
  9. FAQ
  10. Where Mamori fits

Short answer: On the Google help pages we read, desktop Chrome has no setting that blocks a website you choose on your own account. What Chrome does have is SafeSearch for Google results, Safe Browsing (which warns about dangerous sites and is not an adult-content filter), a Secure DNS setting that can get in the way of a DNS filter, and a block list inside Family Link that is made for a parent managing a child. Real blocking usually comes from outside Chrome. This guide covers each route and its gaps.

Version note: Checked on 27 Oct 2026 against Google's Chrome Help pages for computers (they show no Chrome version number), Apple's Mac User Guide (the same text appears for macOS 15, macOS Tahoe 26 and macOS 27) and Microsoft's Family Safety page (which lists Windows 11 and Windows 10). For an Android phone, see our Chrome guide: How to Block Adult Sites in Chrome on Android.

What Chrome itself offers (and does not)

Chrome's Site settings are the first place people look. Google's page says to select More > Settings, then Privacy and security > Site settings. Those settings control what a site may do, such as use your camera, location or microphone. Google lists the choices as Allow this time, Allow while visiting the site and Never allow, and says "Never allow" means "The site can't use the requested feature." That is a permission control, not a website blocker.

We did not find a Chrome setting on Google's pages for adding a site you want blocked to a list on your own account. The sections below are the routes that do exist.

SafeSearch: cleaner Google results, nothing more

Google's SafeSearch page says it "attempts to identify and filter inappropriate content" on Google Search. You can choose Filter, Blur or Off. Filter "Blocks all explicit results", while Blur "blurs explicit images" but, in Google's words, "explicit text and links can show if they're relevant for your search."

Google is plain about the limit: "SafeSearch only works on Google Search. It doesn't affect content on other search engines or websites." So typing an address into Chrome, or searching on a different engine, goes around it. Google also says "Administrators of your device or network can lock the SafeSearch in 'Filter.'" For a computer you manage, Google says you can map Google domains to forcesafesearch.google.com. Our SafeSearch guide has the steps: How to Turn On SafeSearch on Google, Bing and YouTube.

Safe Browsing is not an adult filter

Google describes Safe Browsing as warnings "against malware, abusive sites and extensions, phishing, malicious and intrusive ads, and social engineering attacks." Adult content is not on that list. You choose Enhanced protection, Standard protection or No protection under More > Settings > Privacy and security > Security. A common approach is to keep it on for security, but it will not block a site just because it is adult or distracting.

Extensions: a common approach, with caveats

Many people add a site-blocking extension from the Chrome Web Store for their own block list. We have not tested any, so we name none. Three points from Google's help pages apply to every extension:

  • Incognito. Google says "You can't add extensions when you browse in Incognito mode or as a guest." Each extension also has an Allow in incognito switch under Details, so check it for any blocker you install. Our private-browsing guide covers what else does and does not apply there: Private Browsing, Incognito and Porn Blockers: What Gets Around What.
  • Off switch. On More > Extensions > Manage extensions you can Turn on/off any extension. On your own computer that is a few clicks.
  • Permissions. Google's page describes a site-access setting, "Allow this extension to read and change all your data on websites you visit". Read what you are granting.

Operating-system options

Windows. Microsoft's Family Safety page says its web and search filters "work across any Windows, Xbox and mobile device that has the Microsoft Edge browser and Family Safety apps installed", and that "family members must use a supported browser while signed in to their Microsoft accounts." The page names the supported browser as "currently Edge" and says that when the filter is on, "unsupported browsers are blocked; you can manually unblock a browser on the device." So this is a family-account tool built around Edge, not a way to filter Chrome.

Mac. Apple's page for System Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy > App Store, Media, Web, & Games offers, under Safari, Unrestricted Access, Limit Adult Websites and Allowed Websites Only. Limit Adult Websites "Automatically limits access to many adult websites", with a Customize button for your own allowed and restricted sites. Apple lists this under Safari and its page does not say whether it applies to Chrome, so test it with Chrome before relying on it.

Chromebook. Google's Family Link page says a parent can pick a content filter for a child's Chromebook: Allow all sites, Try to block explicit sites or Only allow approved sites, plus a list under Manage sites. That is for a child's account, not an adult's own. For an adult, we found no Google page offering a block list on a Chromebook.

Work or school computers. Administrators can use a Chrome policy named URLBlocklist, which "stops web pages with prohibited URLs from loading." It is set by an administrator.

Family Link's website controls are made for a parent managing a child's Google Account. On Windows, Mac or Linux, Google adds a warning: "Your child can sign out of Chrome and switch to other profiles, which takes them to a browsing experience where Family Link settings for Chrome won't apply." Family Link is not an option for an adult's own device.

Secure DNS in Chrome and DNS filters

A DNS filter (a family-filter hostname set on your computer or router) refuses to look up adult domains. Chrome has a setting that can sidestep one. Google's page says "By default, secure DNS in Chrome is turned on in automatic mode. If Chrome has issues looking up a site in this mode, it'll look up the site in the unencrypted mode." If you select a custom provider, "Chrome won't default to unencrypted mode."

To check it, select More > Settings > Privacy and security > Security and, under "Advanced", look at Use secure DNS. On a Chromebook, select Manage secure DNS in ChromeOS settings and check Use secure connections to look up sites.

CleanBrowsing, a DNS filtering provider, warns that "Modern browsers like Firefox and Chrome have built-in DoH support that can be enabled with a few clicks" and that because the queries are encrypted, "your network cannot inspect or redirect them". Our suggestion: after you set up a DNS filter, check that this Chrome setting is not pointing at a provider that does no filtering. Setup steps are in our DNS guide: DNS to Block Porn: Free Family DNS on Android, Step by Step.

Gaps that apply to every option above

  • Other browsers. Most options here cover one browser or one account. A second browser on the same computer may sit outside them, as Google notes for Family Link.
  • You hold the off switch. On your own computer you can usually remove an extension or change a setting in a few clicks. In our view, a block is only as firm as the delay and the person between you and the setting.

FAQ

Can I block one specific website in Chrome without an extension?

Not on your own account, on the Google pages we read. Family Link has a block list for a child's account, and administrators can use a policy on managed computers.

Will Mac Screen Time's Limit Adult Websites work in Chrome?

Apple's page lists it under Safari and does not say. Test it with Chrome on your own Mac before you rely on it.

Can I use Microsoft Family Safety to filter Chrome on Windows?

Microsoft's page says its web and search filters work with Edge, the supported browser, and that unsupported browsers are blocked when the filter is on.

Where Mamori fits

Everything above works without any app. Mamori is a newer app for iPhone, iPad and Android only, so it does not protect Chrome on a Windows, Mac or Chromebook computer. If your concern is also your phone, it blocks 2.5M+ adult sites across the whole phone, not just one browser. On Android that is an on-device DNS filter using Android's VpnService (no remote VPN server, no browsing logs, nothing uploaded); on iPhone and iPad it uses Apple's Screen Time web content filter plus its own blocklist. Its list is built to also cover Japanese adult sites, including performer names and coded titles. You can add your own sites to a block list and keep an allow list.

In our view, the lock is the main difference from the built-in tools: a cooldown timer, a random phrase, or a PIN or passphrase that a trusted person can hold. Honest limits: on Android only one VPN can run at a time, so another VPN or blocker that takes the slot switches Mamori's filter off. It is built for adults blocking for themselves, so for a child's device use Screen Time or Family Link as the base layer. It has no accountability reports, and no blocker replaces support from people you trust.

There is a 7-day free trial on the monthly and annual plans, plus a one-time lifetime option.

Related guides

How to Block Websites and Adult Content on a Mac (Screen Time and Safari)Block a website in Safari on a Mac with Screen Time: Limit Adult Websites, your own Restricted list, a Screen Time passcode, and what it does not cover. How to Block Websites on Android (Any Site, Not Just Adult)Android has no single switch to block any website on your own phone. Here is what Google, Samsung and Family Link officially offer, and the gaps. Porn Blockers Compared: DNS, Screen Time, Apps and Router FiltersPorn blockers compared: Screen Time, Family Link, DNS filters, VPN-based apps, extensions and router filters. What each covers and how it is undone.

Sources

Last checked 27 Oct 2026. This guide is general information, not medical advice.