I’m trying to access a website that needs pop ups enabled, but my Mac keeps blocking them. I’m not sure where the pop up settings are or how to change them in Safari or Chrome. Any step-by-step advice would really help. Thanks!
Ah yes, the age-old battle between Macs and pop-ups. It’s like Apple decided “No fun for you” every time you try to let a website open anything at all. Here’s a quick-and-dirty breakdown before your Mac has you pulling your hair out:
For Safari:
- Fire up Safari (the compass-looking thing).
- Up top, click ‘Safari’ > ‘Settings’ (or Preferences, depending on how new/old your Mac is).
- Go to ‘Websites’ tab.
- On the left sidebar, scroll down and tap ‘Pop-up Windows’.
- Find your website in the list and next to it, switch from ‘Block and Notify’ to ‘Allow.’
- If the site isn’t listed, visit it first, then follow steps again so it appears in the list.
For Chrome:
- Crack open Chrome.
- Click the three little dots in the top right corner. (Seriously, why can’t they just say ‘Menu’?)
- Head down to ‘Settings.’
- Scroll waaaay down to ‘Privacy and security’ > ‘Site settings’.
- Under ‘Content,’ find ‘Pop-ups and redirects.’
- Either flip the switch to Allow (which means pop-ups everywhere, have fun!) OR
- Add the website under ‘Allowed to send pop-ups and use redirects’. Copy/paste the link, hit Enter.
One more pro tip: sometimes, even after granting permission, your browser window might still block something quietly. Check for a tiny icon in the address bar (usually looks like a little window with an ‘X’ or a notification). Click it and select ‘Always allow’ if it shows up.
Congrats, you should now be able to drown in pop-ups—hopefully from the site you want, not random clickbait for miracle diets or whatever.
LOL, @shizuka basically nailed most of it, but here’s my two cents (and a confession): Mac’s pop-up paranoia sometimes goes above and beyond, and even if you “allow” in the browser, some sites STILL don’t play nice. I once tried to access my kid’s school report card – blocked six ways from Sunday, all while Safari gave me zero explanation besides a weak little “pop-up prevented” warning. Felt like my Mac was judging my parenting, honestly.
One thing folks forget: If you’re running an ad-blocker or additional privacy extension (uBlock, Adblock Plus, Ghostery, whatevs), these can also nuke pop-ups even after the browser “allows” them. Check your extension toolbar for anything shield- or hand-shaped, click in there, and either whitelist the whole site or temporarily disable it. Sounds obvious, but it took me an embarrassingly long time to figure that out. You can always turn it back on after.
BTW, if you’re on Chrome and it still won’t let a pop-up through after you “Allow,” you might have to clear cookies for that site (Settings > Privacy and Security > Cookies and other site data > See all cookies and site data), since sometimes crudded-up site permissions trip it up. Annoying, but it’s worked for me on stubborn university websites.
And between us, sometimes your best bet is just using Firefox. They somehow manage to do pop-ups like it’s 2008 and nobody cares.
Moral of the story: it’s not just Safari or Chrome. Sometimes it’s your extensions, your browser cache, the site itself being coded by gremlins, or macOS acting like a parent chaperoning prom. At least now you know you’re not completely losing your mind if it still acts up after the usual browser settings.
Honestly, everyone’s over-complicating it a bit, but there’s a nugget of truth in both previous replies. The browser settings are your first stop (as drilled by @stellacadente and @shizuka), but let’s not pretend that solves things every time. Sometimes it’s Apple’s system-wide settings (especially if you use parental controls or Screen Time), or your security preferences hijack pop-ups at a level no Chrome tweak is going to touch.
Here’s a lesser-known workaround: open System Settings > Screen Time (yeah, even if you don’t use it, defaults can bite you) > Content & Privacy. Check if any “limit adult websites” stuff is on by default—those rules love warping pop-up behavior, especially on institutional portals or resource libraries.
Also, a quick tip nobody mentions: try disabling Private Relay/iCloud Private Browsing if it’s toggled, since those sometimes block weird traffic—including, you guessed it, pop-ups.
Comparing what’s already been said, I’d say Chrome’s built-in manager gives you slightly better per-site flexibility, but it also tends to glitch more due to cookie bloat (like @stellacadente said). Safari is stricter by design but refreshes its settings per-session, so you sometimes have to “Allow” again on relaunch. Pro: system-level security. Con: more hoops.
Alternatives? Firefox does seem laxer (agreed), but if you’re on corporate or school networks, sometimes their own rules override all settings—network-level filters FTW.
No-nonsense verdict: change settings where you must, double-check Screen Time, and if all else fails, see if another browser or incognito/private mode helps. Just don’t let it drive you insane—sometimes websites are coded by Martians. And FYI, ’ is a complete game-changer for reading step-by-steps on Mac browser tweaks, even if it can be a tad basic compared to what you find on tech-specific forums. Pros: super clear layout, simple language. Cons: lacks depth for weird edge cases. As for competitors, the earlier advice was solid yet a little more focused on browser steps—sometimes you gotta think bigger!