How to Access Blocked Sites with Safari on Mac and iPhone

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A step-by-step guide to unblocking sites in Safari

Co-authored by Darlene Antonelli, MA Reviewed by Luigi Oppido

Last Updated: November 6, 2024 Fact Checked

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Removing Parental Restrictions on an iPhone/iPad

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Removing Parental Restrictions on a Mac

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Access Sites Blocked by Region or Network

Need to access a website blocked on your Mac, iPhone, or iPad? We'll show you various ways to access blocked sites in Safari, including those restricted by your school, work, or internet provider's network. We'll also show you how to unblock sites you've blocked yourself by changing parental controls.

Blocked Sites on Safari

The most common cause of not being able to access a website is parental controls. If you set up the parental controls, you can disable them in Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions > Content Restrictions > Web Content on iOS.

Section 1 of 3:

Removing Parental Restrictions on an iPhone/iPad

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1
Open your iPhone or iPad's Settings
. It's the gray gear icon on your home screen.^{[1]
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- Use this method if you or someone else is restricting access to certain websites using the tools built into your iPhone or iPad.
- You're going to need the Content & Privacy Restrictions passcode to disable website blocking.
It's in the second group of settings.^{[2]
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This is the passcode associated with content restrictions and Screen Time, not the password you use to unlock your iPhone or iPad.^{[3]
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A list of restriction types will appear.^{[4]
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Now you'll see a list of restriction types, as well as any websites that are blocked specifically.^{[5]
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Choose Unrestricted Access to unblock all sites. This makes it possible to visit any website that's accessible in Safari and other browsers, except for any sites listed under "Never Allow."
- If you want to continue blocking some websites, you can skip this step.
If the website you want to visit appears in the "Never Allow" section, swipe left on the site and select Delete. If not, you can add it to the "Always Allow" section by tapping Add Website and typing its address.

Section 2 of 3:

Removing Parental Restrictions on a Mac

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1
Open your Mac's System Settings. You'll find this option in the Apple menu at the top-left corner of the screen.
- If the Mac is set up to use Family Sharing and the restrictions were created by a parent's account, you'll need to log into the Mac using the parent's account to make this change.^{[6]
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- If you're using MacOS Monterey or older, you'll see "System Preferences" instead.
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Click Screen Time. It's the option with an hourglass.
- If you're using Family Sharing, click the menu in the sidebar and select the account you want to edit.
All restriction types will appear.
If you want to remove all restrictions from your account, switch this toggle off, and you're done. Continue following these steps to adjust the content allowed in Safari.^{[7]
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Now you'll see all of the current web restrictions.^{[8]
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Select Unrestricted Access to disable all website blocking. If you choose this option, no website will be blocked for this account.
- If you want to keep blocking certain websites, you can skip this step.
If you'd rather unblock a particular website while limiting other content, you can remove that site from the "Restricted" list (if it's there). If the site is not specifically restricted already, you can prevent it from being blocked by adding it to the "Allow" list.^{[9]
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Section 3 of 3:

Access Sites Blocked by Region or Network

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Try a free online proxy. If it's just one or two websites you want to visit, try visiting a free proxy site in Safari. While you shouldn't use a free proxy site to do anything super private, such as banking or making payments, they are generally safe for web browsing in a pinch. Some popular options are Proxfree, Hide.me, and VPNBook. You can find more by searching the web for "free safe proxy."
- Some networks and providers may block your access to free proxy sites, so your mileage may vary.
- This method might not work if your parents, school, or company have set up parental controls on your computer, phone, or tablet.
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Use a VPN. If the site you want to access is restricted by your business or school network, router, or internet provider, you can usually still access the site using a VPN. If the website you want to view is restricted to certain countries, choose a VPN service with servers in that country so you can fake your location.
- The best, safest, and most reliable VPN services are not free, but many have free trials and/or very affordable subscription prices. Some popular options are NordVPN, Private Internet Access, and ExpressVPN.
- If your parents, company, school, or other authority has restricted your ability to install software on your Mac, iPhone, or iPad, you won't be able to install a VPN.
- Once you sign up for a VPN service, you can download the service's Mac or iPhone/iPad software for a painless setup.
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Browse the web with Tor. If you're able to install software on your Mac, you can install the Tor web browser and use that to browse restricted sites. The Tor browser uses its own set of networks so that you can access websites anonymously. Download Tor from https://www.torproject.org/download/.
- While there is no official Tor browser for iPhones or iPads, the developers of Tor recommend using Onion Browser https://onionbrowser.com, a free Tor-based browser you can install from the App Store.^{[10]
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- Some networks will block the Tor network, so this might only be effective for some.