Protect a Mac device with Safe Surfer
It’s easy with Safe Surfer to block harmful online content on a Mac device. On your first protection installation, it will take around 20 minutes for the full installation, or 30 minutes for the entire guide.
We demonstrate the installation process on a device running macOS 15 Sequoia (released in 2024), although the steps will be very similar if you are installing protection on a Mac running an older version of macOS. Where applicable, we mention general menu locations for older, commonly used versions of macOS. The oldest version we support is macOS 11 Big Sur.
If you were directed to this guide from the online Safe Surfer dashboard, skip ahead to step 2.
On the device to be protected, open the Safari app (or any other web browser app, such as Google Chrome).
Visit the Safe Surfer dashboard (https://my.safesurfer.io) and log in to your account. Click the Devices menu on the left-hand sidebar, then click the New device option.
Click the option labelled "This device".
Enter a name for the device, then click the Accept button.
If you're not already reading this guide on a mobile device, it's easiest to do so on mobile. Scan the QR code with your Camera app, where you can then proceed with the rest of the guide.
Click the Download button.
Click the Allow option on the prompt that appears.
Click the OK button on the second prompt that appears.
Open the System Settings app.
On older versions of macOS, System Settings is called System Preferences.
Click the Profile Downloaded menu on the left-hand sidebar.
On macOS 11 (Big Sur) and 12 (Monterey), you'll need to click the Profile menu. On macOS 13 (Ventura) and 14 (Sonoma), you'll need to click the Privacy & Security menu on the left-hand sidebar > Profiles.
Double-click the Safe Surfer profile listing. This might take a short moment to load.
Click the Install button at the lower-left corner.
Click the Install button on the prompt that appears.
Enter the login details for this user account, then click the OK button.
Great work! The protection has now been installed, but there are still a few things we need to do.
Back on the Safe Surfer dashboard, click the Done button.
If you like, you can change the block settings now by clicking the Blocking menu on the left-hand sidebar (or you can do this later on your own device through the Safe Surfer dashboard). Once you're finished, click the three-dot button at the upper-right corner of the dashboard > Log out.
Back in the System Settings app, click the Users & Groups menu on the left-hand sidebar.
Click the Add User button.
Enter the login details for this user account, then click the Unlock button.
Create a new administrator account using the following options:
New User: Administrator
Full Name: Admin
Account Name: admin
Set a password and verify it, then click the Create User button.
Great work, we've now created a new administrator user account. Next we'll switch this user account (and any other applicable accounts) to Standard-level permissions, so that the protection can't be uninstalled.
If you're not planning to change the user account settings, you'll still need to restart the Mac to apply the protection installation for all web browser apps.
Click the Apple logo at the upper-left corner of the screen, then click the Log Out option.
Click the Log Out button.
Sign in to the Admin user account (you can skip through all the account setup options when prompted), then open the System Settings app.
Click the Users & Groups menu on the left-hand sidebar.
Click the "i" icon found next to your child's user account. (We'll repeat this for any other applicable user accounts afterwards.)
Click the switch for the option labelled "Allow this user to administer this computer" to disable it.
Enter the password you used for the Admin user account, then click the Unlock button.
Click the OK button on the prompt that appears.
Click the OK button.
Repeat this process for any other applicable user accounts, then continue with the following instructions.
Click the Apple logo at the upper-left corner of the screen, then click the Restart option.
Click the Restart button.
Once the Mac has restarted, log in to your child's user account, then open the System Settings app.
Click the Screen Time menu on the left-hand sidebar.
Click the Communication Safety menu.
If it's not already turned on, click the switch found next to Communication Safety.
Click the back option.
Click the Content & Privacy menu.
If it's not already turned on, click the switch found next to Content & Privacy.
Click the Store, Web, Siri & Game Center Content menu.
We suggest using the following options:
Access to Web Content: Limit Adult Websites
Allow Explicit Language in Siri and Dictionary: Off
Allow Web Search Content in Siri: Off
Allow Music Profiles: Off
Allow Music & TV Shared Libraries: Off
Once you're finished, click the Done button.
Click the Store Restrictions menu.
We suggest using the following options:
Movies: M (that is, PG-13 or the equivalent for your region) or Don't Allow
TV Shows: M (that is, PG-13 or the equivalent for your region) or Don't Allow
Apps: 12+
Allow Explicit Books: Off
Allow Explicit Music, Podcasts and News: Off
Allow Music Videos: Off
Once you're finished, click the Done button.
Click the back option.
If it's not already turned on, click the switch found next to Lock Screen Time Settings.
Set a Screen Time passcode.
If you like, you can specify an Apple Account to use for Screen Time Passcode Recovery. If you don't want to do this, click the Skip button.
If you clicked the Skip button, click the following Skip button on the prompt that appears.
Visit the Safe Surfer website and check the protection bubble at the top of the page to verify that this device is protected.
To see blocking in action, try visiting ExampleAdultSite.com. This is a safe website for testing to see if pornographic websites are being blocked. If it's not blocked, review the previous steps.
Great work! This device is now fully protected. To start monitoring protected devices, visit our easy-to-use online dashboard.
If you have any other Apple Mac devices you would like to protect, simply start again from the top of the guide. If you would like to protect a different kind of device, visit our Guides page.
We demonstrate the installation process on a device running macOS 15 Sequoia (released in 2024), although the steps will be very similar if you are installing protection on a Mac running an older version of macOS. Where applicable, we mention general menu locations for older, commonly used versions of macOS. The oldest version we support is macOS 11 Big Sur.
Step 1: Visit the Safe Surfer dashboard
If you were directed to this guide from the online Safe Surfer dashboard, skip ahead to step 2.
On the device to be protected, open the Safari app (or any other web browser app, such as Google Chrome).
Visit the Safe Surfer dashboard (https://my.safesurfer.io) and log in to your account. Click the Devices menu on the left-hand sidebar, then click the New device option.
Click the option labelled "This device".
Enter a name for the device, then click the Accept button.
Step 2: Install protection
If you're not already reading this guide on a mobile device, it's easiest to do so on mobile. Scan the QR code with your Camera app, where you can then proceed with the rest of the guide.
Click the Download button.
Click the Allow option on the prompt that appears.
Click the OK button on the second prompt that appears.
Open the System Settings app.
On older versions of macOS, System Settings is called System Preferences.
Click the Profile Downloaded menu on the left-hand sidebar.
On macOS 11 (Big Sur) and 12 (Monterey), you'll need to click the Profile menu. On macOS 13 (Ventura) and 14 (Sonoma), you'll need to click the Privacy & Security menu on the left-hand sidebar > Profiles.
Double-click the Safe Surfer profile listing. This might take a short moment to load.
Click the Install button at the lower-left corner.
Click the Install button on the prompt that appears.
Enter the login details for this user account, then click the OK button.
Great work! The protection has now been installed, but there are still a few things we need to do.
Back on the Safe Surfer dashboard, click the Done button.
If you like, you can change the block settings now by clicking the Blocking menu on the left-hand sidebar (or you can do this later on your own device through the Safe Surfer dashboard). Once you're finished, click the three-dot button at the upper-right corner of the dashboard > Log out.
Back in the System Settings app, click the Users & Groups menu on the left-hand sidebar.
Click the Add User button.
Enter the login details for this user account, then click the Unlock button.
Create a new administrator account using the following options:
New User: Administrator
Full Name: Admin
Account Name: admin
Set a password and verify it, then click the Create User button.
Great work, we've now created a new administrator user account. Next we'll switch this user account (and any other applicable accounts) to Standard-level permissions, so that the protection can't be uninstalled.
If you're not planning to change the user account settings, you'll still need to restart the Mac to apply the protection installation for all web browser apps.
Click the Apple logo at the upper-left corner of the screen, then click the Log Out option.
Click the Log Out button.
Sign in to the Admin user account (you can skip through all the account setup options when prompted), then open the System Settings app.
Click the Users & Groups menu on the left-hand sidebar.
Click the "i" icon found next to your child's user account. (We'll repeat this for any other applicable user accounts afterwards.)
Click the switch for the option labelled "Allow this user to administer this computer" to disable it.
Enter the password you used for the Admin user account, then click the Unlock button.
Click the OK button on the prompt that appears.
Click the OK button.
Repeat this process for any other applicable user accounts, then continue with the following instructions.
Click the Apple logo at the upper-left corner of the screen, then click the Restart option.
Click the Restart button.
Once the Mac has restarted, log in to your child's user account, then open the System Settings app.
Click the Screen Time menu on the left-hand sidebar.
Click the Communication Safety menu.
If it's not already turned on, click the switch found next to Communication Safety.
Click the back option.
Click the Content & Privacy menu.
If it's not already turned on, click the switch found next to Content & Privacy.
Click the Store, Web, Siri & Game Center Content menu.
Apple content restrictions
We suggest using the following options:
Access to Web Content: Limit Adult Websites
Allow Explicit Language in Siri and Dictionary: Off
Allow Web Search Content in Siri: Off
Allow Music Profiles: Off
Allow Music & TV Shared Libraries: Off
Once you're finished, click the Done button.
Click the Store Restrictions menu.
Apple store restrictions
We suggest using the following options:
Movies: M (that is, PG-13 or the equivalent for your region) or Don't Allow
TV Shows: M (that is, PG-13 or the equivalent for your region) or Don't Allow
Apps: 12+
Allow Explicit Books: Off
Allow Explicit Music, Podcasts and News: Off
Allow Music Videos: Off
Once you're finished, click the Done button.
Click the back option.
If it's not already turned on, click the switch found next to Lock Screen Time Settings.
Set a Screen Time passcode.
If you like, you can specify an Apple Account to use for Screen Time Passcode Recovery. If you don't want to do this, click the Skip button.
If you clicked the Skip button, click the following Skip button on the prompt that appears.
Step 5: Verify protection
Visit the Safe Surfer website and check the protection bubble at the top of the page to verify that this device is protected.
To see blocking in action, try visiting ExampleAdultSite.com. This is a safe website for testing to see if pornographic websites are being blocked. If it's not blocked, review the previous steps.
Protection complete
Great work! This device is now fully protected. To start monitoring protected devices, visit our easy-to-use online dashboard.
If you have any other Apple Mac devices you would like to protect, simply start again from the top of the guide. If you would like to protect a different kind of device, visit our Guides page.
Updated on: 21/01/2025
Thank you!