How to Block Amazon on Mac

Amazon is a different kind of distraction from social media. You don't open it to scroll — you open it to buy one thing, and the site is built to turn that one thing into a cart of seven. This guide covers how to block Amazon on your Mac, from the free built-in options to system-level blockers that hold across every browser.

Because Amazon shopping lives in the browser on a Mac, blocking the website covers your main route to it. The methods below go from simplest to most robust, with honest trade-offs for each.

Why blocking Amazon is worth it

Amazon's whole design is about removing the gap between impulse and purchase. One-click buying, stored cards, and personalized recommendations strip out every pause that might let you reconsider. Browsing feels like productive research — you might genuinely need that thing — while the related-items rail keeps you moving from page to page. The cost is double: the focus you lose during work and the money you spend on things you didn't plan to buy.

Blocking Amazon during focused work removes the easy escape. The impulse still fires; it just hits a wall instead of a checkout button.

Method 1: macOS Screen Time (built-in, free)

macOS can limit specific websites through Screen Time.

Setup:

1. Open System Settings → Screen Time
2. Turn on Screen Time, then enable App & Website Activity
3. Go to App Limits → +
4. Expand Websites and add amazon.com
5. Set the limit to 1 minute and click Done

Pros: built in, free, can apply across your Apple devices via iCloud.

Cons: only enforced in Safari — Chrome, Firefox, Arc, and other browsers load Amazon normally. The "Ignore Limit" button waves the block away with your passcode, and you can disable Screen Time entirely.

Verdict: a light nudge for Safari-only users. Not real blocking if you use other browsers.

Method 2: browser extension (free)

A blocker extension stops Amazon inside one browser.

Setup: install a blocker from your browser's store, add amazon.com to the blocklist, and start a block or schedule.

Pros: quick to install, most are free, some support schedules.

Cons: only covers the browser you installed it in — open Amazon in Safari and it's right there. Extensions disable in two clicks, and you need one per browser. If you only ever shop in Chrome, this can be enough; if you switch browsers when blocked, it isn't.

Verdict: fine for a single-browser shopper with moderate willpower. Too leaky if Amazon is a real money sink.

Method 3: edit the hosts file (free, system-level)

The hosts file maps domains to IP addresses. Point Amazon at your own machine and it's blocked in every browser.

Setup:

1. Open Terminal (Applications → Utilities → Terminal)
2. Type sudo nano /etc/hosts and enter your password
3. Add at the bottom:

127.0.0.1 amazon.com
127.0.0.1 www.amazon.com
127.0.0.1 smile.amazon.com

4. Press Control+O to save, Control+X to exit
5. Flush DNS: sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder

Add your regional domain — amazon.co.uk, amazon.de, and so on — if you shop on a country site.

Pros: works across all browsers, free, no software, hard to bypass on impulse.

Cons: manual, no scheduling, and you have to edit the file again to undo it. You need to be comfortable in Terminal.

Verdict: solid and free if you don't mind the command line and want a set-and-forget block.

Method 4: SelfControl (free, system-level)

SelfControl is a free, open-source Mac app that blocks sites via the hosts file and firewall. Its signature feature: once a block starts, you can't end it until the timer expires — not by quitting, deleting the app, or rebooting.

Setup: add amazon.com to the blocklist, set a timer, and click Start.

Pros: free, open-source, genuinely irreversible, works across browsers.

Cons: no scheduling, no timer or task features, dated interface, and the irreversibility cuts both ways if a real need comes up. It only blocks websites, not apps. If you like the irreversible model but want more around it, see our SelfControl alternative comparison.

Verdict: the best free pick if you need a block you truly cannot talk yourself out of.

Method 5: Focuh (free, system-level + timer + tasks)

Focuh is a free macOS app that pairs system-level website and app blocking with a focus timer and a task board.

Setup:

1. Download Focuh and install it
2. Add amazon.com (and your regional domain) to the blocked sites list
3. Grant Accessibility permission when prompted — a one-time step
4. Start a focus session; Amazon is blocked for its duration

Pros: free; system-level blocking across every browser via Accessibility APIs; can block native apps too, so Prime Video or Amazon Music can go on the list; blocking is tied to focus sessions rather than running all day; kanban task board; Google Calendar sync; live timer in the menu bar.

Cons: macOS only; blocking can be stopped by revoking Accessibility permission in System Settings; newer than the long-established tools.

Verdict: the best fit if you want Amazon blocked as part of an actual work session rather than a blanket all-day limit. Download Focuh to set it up.

Method 6: Cold Turkey (paid, system-level)

Cold Turkey is a paid blocker ($39 one-time) with the most aggressive locking on macOS.

Setup: create a blocklist with Amazon, then schedule blocks or lock them so they can't be disabled.

Pros: very hard to bypass in locked mode, detailed recurring schedules, blocks apps and sites across all browsers.

Cons: $39 for full features, limited free tier, no task or timer workflow, can feel heavy-handed.

Verdict: the strongest option if you'll pay and you keep finding ways around free tools. See Focuh vs Cold Turkey for the full side-by-side.

Which method should you use?

Quick and free: edit the hosts file — it covers all browsers and Amazon has no shopping app to worry about.

A block you can't undo: SelfControl. The irreversibility is the entire point for impulse shopping.

Blocking tied to focused work: Focuh. Timer, blocker, and task board in one free app, blocking only while you work.

You've bypassed everything else: Cold Turkey with locked mode.

A gentle Safari-only reminder: Screen Time — but be honest about whether a one-minute limit has ever stopped you mid-checkout.

Don't forget the rest of the cart

Amazon isn't only shopping. Prime Video, Amazon Music, Kindle, and Audible each run separately, sometimes on their own domains or as their own apps, so a block on amazon.com won't necessarily catch them. If binge-watching or background browsing pulls you in, add those domains and apps to a system-level blocker explicitly.

The broader point is the one behind blocking any distraction: close every easy door, not just the obvious one. If shopping is one of several things derailing your focus, block them together — our guide to blocking social media on Mac and the roundup of the best website blockers for Mac cover the rest of the list. The goal is to make your actual work the most available thing on the screen.

Download Focuh — free, blocks Amazon across every browser on your Mac, and ties the block to a focus session so it's there when you're working and gone when you're done.