How do I block websites on Brave on a Mac?

The reliable way is to block at the operating-system level with the free Focuh Mac app. You start a focus session and it blocks your chosen sites across Brave, Safari, Chrome, and Firefox at once using macOS Accessibility APIs. Because the block lives in the OS rather than inside Brave, switching browsers doesn't get around it. You can also install a Chrome extension in Brave, since Brave is Chromium-based, but that only covers Brave.

Does Brave have a built-in website blocker for focus?

Not for productivity blocking. Brave Shields blocks ads, trackers, and fingerprinting, which is about privacy, not stopping you from opening Reddit. Brave has no native 'block these sites during work hours' feature. To block distracting sites in Brave you either add a Chrome extension, which only covers Brave, or block at the OS level with a Mac app like Focuh, which covers Brave and every other browser at the same time.

Can I use Chrome extensions to block sites in Brave?

Yes. Brave is built on Chromium, so it runs Chrome Web Store extensions, including blockers like Focuh, LeechBlock NG, and StayFocusd. Installing one works exactly as it does in Chrome. The catch is the same too: an extension installed in Brave only blocks Brave. Open Safari or a native app and the block is gone. An extension is fine if Brave is the only place you get distracted; for blocking that survives switching browsers, you need OS-level blocking.

Is there a free way to block websites on Brave?

Yes. The Focuh Mac app is free and blocks sites system-wide, covering Brave along with every other browser during a focus session. There's no account, no telemetry, and no paid tier. If you only need Brave covered, the free Focuh Chrome extension installs in Brave directly since it's Chromium-based. Both are free, so the strongest setup — the extension in Brave plus the Mac app for everything else — costs nothing.

Will OS-level blocking break Brave's features?

No. The Focuh Mac app blocks specific domains during a focus session by intercepting navigation at the system level; it doesn't modify Brave or touch Shields, Brave Rewards, or your wallet settings. Brave works exactly as normal — the only difference is that blocked sites won't load while a session runs. When the session ends, those sites are reachable again with no leftover changes to the browser.

Can I block native Mac apps too, not just Brave tabs?

Yes. Because the Focuh Mac app blocks at the operating-system level, a focus session can block native apps like Messages, Slack, or a desktop YouTube app alongside websites in Brave and other browsers. A browser extension can never do this, since it has no reach outside the browser. If your distractions include both Brave tabs and desktop apps, OS-level blocking is the only thing that covers both at once.

How hard is it to bypass the Mac app's blocking?

Much harder than a browser extension. An extension can be turned off from Brave's extensions page in two clicks. The Focuh Mac app blocks through macOS Accessibility APIs and doesn't sit in Brave's settings, so disabling it mid-session takes deliberate effort rather than a quick toggle. That added friction is the point: it gives the urge time to pass instead of handing you an instant off switch.

Should I use the extension or the Mac app for Brave?

Use both if you can. The Focuh Chrome extension installs in Brave and is the fastest way to block Brave tabs specifically. The free Focuh Mac app blocks Brave plus every other browser and native app at the OS level, which is what you want if you'll switch browsers or open apps to get around a block. Together they cover the browser layer and the system layer, and both are free.

Brave browserMacwebsite blockersystem-level blockingfocus

How to Block Websites on Brave on Mac (2026)

June 28, 20269 min readFocuh

To block websites on Brave on a Mac reliably, use the free Focuh Mac app and block at the operating-system level — a focus session covers Brave, Safari, Chrome, and Firefox at once, so switching browsers doesn't get you around it. You can also install a Chrome extension directly in Brave, since Brave runs on Chromium, but that only blocks Brave. Here's how each approach works and when you need which.

Does Brave have a built-in site blocker?

Not the kind you're after. Brave's headline feature, Shields, blocks ads, trackers, and fingerprinting — that's privacy, not focus. It won't stop you from typing reddit.com when you're supposed to be working. Brave has no native "block these sites during work hours" setting, so blocking distractions means adding something on top.

You have two options: a browser extension that lives inside Brave, or a Mac app that blocks at the system level. They solve different sizes of the problem.

Can you block websites in Brave with an extension?

Yes — Brave is built on Chromium, so it runs Chrome Web Store extensions, including blockers like Focuh, LeechBlock NG, and StayFocusd. Installing one is straightforward: open the Chrome Web Store in Brave, add the extension, and set up your blocklist as you would in Chrome.

The problem isn't installing it — it's the ceiling. An extension installed in Brave blocks Brave and nothing else. Open Safari, open Chrome, launch a native app, and the block is gone. On a typical Mac with two or three browsers installed, that's not a hypothetical bypass; it's the first thing you'll reach for the moment Brave tells you no. So a Brave extension is genuinely useful if Brave is the only place you get pulled off task — and not enough if it isn't.

Why OS-level blocking is the reliable answer

The fix for the single-browser ceiling is to stop blocking at the browser and start blocking at the operating system. When a site is blocked at the OS level, it's blocked everywhere on the Mac at once — Brave, Safari, Chrome, Firefox, and native apps — because the block doesn't depend on any one browser cooperating.

The free Focuh desktop app for Mac does this with macOS Accessibility APIs. You start a focus session, and your chosen sites stop loading across every browser simultaneously. There's no per-browser setup and no gap to slip through by switching apps. For the full reasoning on why this matters, see system-level vs browser website blocking.

How to block websites on Brave with the Focuh Mac app

Download the free Focuh Mac app. No account, no email.
Grant the macOS Accessibility permission when prompted — this is what lets the app block across every browser, including Brave.
Add the sites you want blocked: youtube.com, reddit.com, x.com, or whatever pulls you off task.
Start a focus session and choose how long it should run.
Open Brave and try a blocked site — it won't load. Switch to Safari or Chrome and try the same site; it won't load there either. That's the difference OS-level blocking makes.

Brave keeps working exactly as normal otherwise — Shields, Rewards, and your settings are untouched. The only change is that blocked sites won't load while the session runs, and they're reachable again when it ends.

Brave extension vs Mac app: which should you use?

	Focuh extension in Brave	Focuh Mac app
Blocks Brave	Yes	Yes
Blocks Safari, Chrome, Firefox	No	Yes
Blocks native Mac apps	No	Yes
Setup time	Under a minute	A couple of minutes
Friction to bypass	Two clicks (extensions page)	Deliberate effort (OS-level)
Price	Free	Free

Read honestly, the extension wins on speed and the Mac app wins on coverage. If Brave is your whole world, the extension is plenty. If you'll switch browsers or open a desktop app to get around a block — which is what most people actually do — the Mac app is the one that holds. Since both are free, the strongest setup is to run them together: the extension for fast Brave blocking and the app for everything beyond it.

Blocking native apps, not just Brave tabs

One thing no Brave extension can do, no matter how it's configured: block a native Mac app. If your distraction is the Messages app, Slack, or a desktop client rather than a website, a browser extension has no reach there. Because the Focuh Mac app blocks at the OS level, a single focus session can block native apps right alongside websites in Brave and other browsers. For the app-blocking side specifically, see how to block apps on Mac.

Why the browser-switch trap hits Brave users

People who choose Brave tend to care about browsers, and people who care about browsers usually keep more than one installed — Brave for daily use, Safari for quick logins, maybe Chrome for a site that misbehaves. That's exactly the setup that defeats a single-browser block. You put a wall up in Brave, hit it, and your hand is already opening Safari before you've consciously decided to. The block didn't fail because it was weak; it failed because it only guarded one of three doors.

OS-level blocking closes all the doors at once. When the block lives in the operating system, it doesn't matter how many browsers you have or which one you open next — the site won't load in any of them while a session runs. If you want the wider picture, how to block websites across all browsers on Mac walks through the same idea for every browser at once.

The bottom line

Brave runs Chrome extensions, so blocking Brave tabs is easy — but an extension only ever blocks Brave, and switching browsers undoes it. Brave's own Shields won't help here, since it's built for privacy, not focus. For blocking that actually holds, use the free Focuh Mac app to block at the operating-system level, where one focus session covers Brave, Safari, Chrome, Firefox, and native apps together. Download Focuh for Mac free to block across every browser at once, and add the free Chrome extension in Brave for fast in-browser blocking on top.