How to Stop Pop Ups on a Mac

Co-authored by Luigi Oppido

Last Updated: September 25, 2020 Tested

This wikiHow teaches you how to configure your internet browser settings to block pop-up windows that appear when you open or close a web page, using a Mac.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Using Safari

1
Open the Safari internet browser on your Mac. The Safari icon looks like a blue compass in your Applications folder.
2
Click the Safari menu. It's located on your menu bar in the upper-left corner of your screen. It will open a drop-down menu.
- If you see a different app's name in the upper-left corner, click on the Safari icon again.
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3
Click Preferences on the drop-down menu. This will open your Safari browser settings in a new window.
- Alternatively, press ⌘+, on your keyboard. When you press the Command and comma buttons at the same time, it will open Preferences.
4
Click the Security tab. It looks like a lock icon at the top of the Preferences window.
5
Check the box next to Block pop-up windows. Safari will now block all pop-up windows that appear when you open or close a web page. You can change it anytime by unchecking this box from Preferences.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Using Google Chrome

1
Open the Google Chrome internet browser on your Mac. The Chrome icon looks like a small blue circle with yellow, green, and red components wrapped around it. You can find it in your Applications folder.
2
Click the Chrome menu.^{[1]
X
Expert Source

Luigi Oppido
Computer & Tech Specialist
Expert Interview. 31 July 2019.} It's located on your menu bar in the upper-left corner of your screen. It will open a drop-down menu.
- If you see a different app's name in the upper-left corner, click on the Chrome icon again.
3
Click Preferences on the drop-down menu.^{[2]
X
Expert Source

Luigi Oppido
Computer & Tech Specialist
Expert Interview. 31 July 2019.} This will open your Chrome browser settings in a new tab.
- Alternatively, type chrome://settings in Chrome's address bar, and hit ↵ Enter on your keyboard. It will open the same page.
- You can also use the ⌘+, keyboard shortcut to open the Settings tab.
4
Scroll down and click Show advanced settings. This option is written in blue letters at the bottom of the Settings tab.
5
Click the Content settings button under Privacy. It will open your content options in a new pop-up window.
6
Scroll down to the Pop-ups section. This section is between Flash and Location.
7
Select Do not allow any site to show pop-ups. Chrome will now block all pop-up windows that appear when you open or close a web page.
8
Click Manage exceptions under Pop-ups. This option will open a new window with a list of all your pop-up exceptions. Chrome will not block pop-ups from websites saved in your pop-up exceptions list.
9
Click the X button next to a website on the list. An "X" button will appear on the right-hand side of the exceptions box when you hover over a website on the list. Click on it to delete this website from your pop-up exceptions.
10
Click Done. This will save your new exceptions settings, and close the pop-up window.
11
Click Done again in the Content settings window. This will save your new pop-up preferences.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Using Mozilla Firefox

1
Open the Mozilla Firefox internet browser on your Mac. The Firefox app looks like a blue world icon with a red fox wrapped around it. You can find it in your Applications folder.
2
Click the Firefox menu.^{[3]
X
Expert Source

Luigi Oppido
Computer & Tech Specialist
Expert Interview. 31 July 2019.} It's located on your menu bar in the upper-left corner of your screen. It will open a drop-down menu.
- If you see a different app's name in the upper-left corner, click on the Firefox icon again.
3
Click Preferences on the drop-down menu.^{[4]
X
Expert Source

Luigi Oppido
Computer & Tech Specialist
Expert Interview. 31 July 2019.} This will open your Firefox browser settings in a new tab.
- Alternatively, type about:preferences in Firefox's address bar, and hit ↵ Enter on your keyboard. It will open the same page.
- You can also use the ⌘+, keyboard shortcut for Preferences.
4
Click Content on the left panel. Firefox lets you navigate to different menus via a navigation panel on the left-hand side of the Preferences screen. The Content option is listed next to a page icon on the left panel.
5
Check the box next to Block pop-up windows. It's under the Pop-ups heading in the Content menu. Firefox will now block all pop-up windows that appear when you open or close a web page.
6
Click Exceptions. This button is located next to the Pop-ups heading. It will open a new window with a list of all your pop-up exceptions. Firefox will not block pop-ups from websites saved in your pop-up exceptions list.
7
Click Remove All Sites. This button is located in the lower-left corner of the pop-up exceptions list. It will remove all items on the exceptions list.
8
Click Save Changes. It's in the lower-right corner of the Pop-ups window. Firefox will now have no pop-up exceptions, and block all pop-up windows from all web pages.

Community Q&A

Question

I continually get annoying an Facebook password icon popping up on my Mac laptop screen. I must hit cancel repeatedly to make it go away - temporarily. How do I stop it permanently?

Brendan Pospischil

Community Answer

This may be due to your notification settings. Go into 'Systems Preferences' then click 'Notifications' and disable any unuseful app notifications.