How To Disable Pop Up Blocker On Mac

Tips
1

I’m trying to access a website that needs pop ups to log in, but my Mac keeps blocking them in every browser I try. I’ve checked settings in Safari and Chrome but I’m still missing something. Can someone walk me through how to completely disable the pop up blocker on a Mac so these sites work properly

2

This trips a lot of people up on macOS, because there are a few different places that block popups.

Try these step by step.

  1. Safari system setting
  1. Open Safari.
  2. Top menu: Safari > Settings.
  3. Go to the Websites tab.
  4. In the left list, click Pop-up Windows.
  5. At the bottom, set “When visiting other websites” to “Allow”.
  6. In the list above, find the site you want, set it to “Allow”.

Close the tab, reload your login page, then try again.

  1. Safari content blockers / extensions
  1. Safari > Settings > Extensions.
  2. Turn off any ad blockers or popup blockers.
  3. Also check Websites tab, sections like Content Blockers, and disable for that specific site.
  1. Chrome popup setting
  1. Open Chrome.
  2. Go to: chrome://settings/content/popups
  3. Turn “Allowed to send pop-ups and use redirects” ON.
  4. Under “Allowed to send pop-ups…”, click “Add”.
  5. Add the exact site URL, like:
    https://example.com
  6. Remove the site if it shows under “Not allowed to send pop-ups…”.

Reload the page.

  1. Chrome extensions
  1. Go to chrome://extensions
  2. Disable ad blockers, privacy blockers, “popup blocker” extensions.
  3. Try the login page again.
  1. Firefox, if you tried that too
  1. Open Firefox.
  2. Go to Settings > Privacy & Security.
  3. Scroll to “Permissions”.
  4. Uncheck “Block pop-up windows” or click “Exceptions” and add the site.
  1. macOS system level content filters

If you use any of these, check them:

• Little Snitch, Lulu, Radio Silence, etc.
• 1Blocker, AdGuard for Mac, NextDNS app, company VPN client.

Pause them and test the login page. If it works, add the site to their allowlist.

  1. Company or school Mac

If this is a work or school Mac, IT might enforce content filters through a profile.

  1. Go to System Settings > Privacy & Security > Profiles (or Profiles in older macOS under System Preferences).
  2. If you see things like “Web Content Filter” or “MDM”, that policy might block popups.
  3. In that case you need IT to allow the domain.
  1. Quick sanity check

On the login page, look for a small icon in the address bar:

• Safari: small popup icon on the right. Click and choose “Allow”.
• Chrome: small blocked popup icon. Click it, choose “Always allow pop-ups from this site”, then click “Done”, reload.

Do these one by one and test after each. Most of the time it ends up being either a browser extension or the site not added to the “Allow” list even when global popups look allowed.

3

Couple more things to check that @sonhadordobosque didn’t really dig into:

  1. Private / Incognito windows
    Some login popups just die in private mode because cookies or cross‑site tracking are blocked harder there.
  • Try the same site in a normal Safari or Chrome window.
  • If you must use private, in Safari go:
    Safari > Settings > Privacy
    • Temporarily uncheck “Prevent cross-site tracking”.
    • Reload and try again.
  1. Safari’s per-site settings “ghosting” you
    Safari can silently keep a bad setting for a site even if you changed the general popup rule.
  • Open the problem site.
  • Right‑click (or Ctrl‑click) the address bar.
  • Click “Settings for This Website…”.
  • Look for “Pop-up Windows” and explicitly set that to Allow.
  • While you’re there, set “Content Blockers” to off for that site.
    Then refresh.
  1. Chrome profile corruption / test profile
    Sometimes Chrome’s profile gets stuck with old content settings. Quick test:
  • In Chrome, click your profile icon > “Guest” or “Browse as Guest”.
  • In that guest window, go to the site and see if the popup works.
    If it does, your main profile has a messed‑up rule. You can:
  • Go to chrome://settings/reset > “Restore settings to their original defaults” (this keeps your bookmarks, but resets content settings and extensions), or
  • Make a new Chrome profile and use that for this site.
  1. Check “Always block” lists in security tools
    Not just adblockers. Some AV / “security” apps on Mac have their own web filter: Norton, Kaspersky, Avast, etc. They can kill popups even when the browser is fine.
  • Open the security app’s settings.
  • Look for “web protection”, “safe browsing”, “browser protection”, anything like that.
  • Temporarily disable it and test the login.
    If it works, add the site as a trusted/allowed url.
  1. DNS / network-level blocking
    If you use:
  • NextDNS, OpenDNS, CleanBrowsing, AdGuard DNS, or
  • A “privacy” Wi‑Fi (e.g. a work Wi‑Fi that strips ads),
    the popup domain might be blocked before the browser sees it.
    A quick way to test:
  • Share your phone’s hotspot.
  • Connect your Mac to the hotspot.
  • Try the login again.
    If it suddenly works, then your normal network is blocking either:
  • the main domain, or
  • a second domain used only for the popup (check the URL in the popup window when it finally opens on hotspot).
  1. The login might be a separate domain
    Some systems use something like:
  • main site: https://portal.school.edu
  • popup login: https://login.authprovider.com
    Even if you allowed the main site, the browser may still be blocking the popup domain.
    Workaround:
  • When the popup is blocked, most browsers show a little icon in the address bar.
  • Instead of just “Always allow popups from this site”, click to show the blocked url and copy it.
  • Manually add that domain to the allow list in Safari / Chrome.
  1. Time / date weirdness
    This sounds unrelated, but I’ve seen login popups fail because system time was off and cookies / auth tokens got rejected, so the popup kept getting reblocked in a loop.
  • System Settings > General > Date & Time
  • Make sure “Set time and date automatically” is on.
    Then quit the browser completely and try again.
  1. Nuclear test: different browser + fresh user account
    Just to know if it’s your user profile vs the whole Mac:
  • Install Firefox (if you haven’t) and don’t add any extensions.
  • Create a new macOS user (System Settings > Users & Groups > Add User).
  • Log into that user, open Firefox or Safari there, try the site.
    If it works in the new user, something in your main account’s settings or third‑party apps is the culprit.
    If it still fails, you’re probably dealing with a managed Mac or network policy and you’re stuck talking to whoever runs that setup.

None of this requires you to leave popups allowed globally forever. Once you get it working, I’d flip the global settings back to “Block” and just keep specific allows for the sites you trust, or this will turn the rest of your browsing into a carnival of junk windows.

4

Couple of angles that haven’t really been covered yet and that can matter a lot with stubborn login popups on macOS.

1. Check for system-wide “content filters” in macOS

Even if the browser is set to allow popups, macOS itself can be running a network filter that kills them silently.

  • Go to: System Settings > Network > click your active connection > “Details”.
  • Look for anything under “Filters” or “Content filter” (depends on macOS version).
  • If you see a security profile, VPN, or “filter” there, temporarily disable it and retry the site.
  • If it is a work/school Mac, a configuration profile may force this, in which case you need the admin.

This can override whatever Safari / Chrome are told to do.

2. Profiles & device management (especially on managed Macs)

Sometimes it is not your browser at all; it is a configuration profile pushing global restrictions.

  • Go to: System Settings > Privacy & Security > Profiles (or “Profiles” at the bottom of the sidebar, depending on version).
  • Look for anything mentioning “web content”, “restrictions”, “content filter”, or your org name.
  • If a profile is installed that enforces popup or content rules, you will not fully bypass it by toggling browser settings.

If that is the case, the only real fix is contacting whoever manages the device or using a personal Mac.

3. Extension-level blocking that survives setting changes

I slightly disagree with just resetting Chrome or browser settings as a first move. That can be overkill if the culprit is one aggressive extension.

In each browser:

  • Go to the extensions page.
  • Disable all blockers: ad blockers, privacy tools, script blockers, “productivity” blockers, etc.
  • Completely quit and reopen the browser.
  • Test the login.
  • Re-enable extensions one by one until the problem returns.

A few popular blockers inject “cosmetic filters” that hide popups visually even when the browser itself allows them.

4. JavaScript popups vs classic “new window” popups

Some login flows are single-page overlays that depend on JavaScript and cookies, not traditional popup windows. If scripts or cookies are restricted, the “popup” fails even with the popup setting on.

Safari:

  • Settings > Advanced > make sure “Show features for web developers” is on.
  • Now from the menu bar: Develop > Disable JavaScript is unchecked.
  • Also in Safari > Settings > Privacy, make sure you are not blocking all cookies.

Chrome:

  • Settings > Privacy and security > Site settings > JavaScript: make sure the site is allowed.
  • While you are there, check “Third-party cookies” and try allowing them temporarily for this site.

5. Clear site-specific data rather than nuking everything

If this has worked before and suddenly stopped, stale cookies / local storage can break the login popup loop.

Safari:

  • Safari > Settings > Privacy > Manage Website Data.
  • Search for the site’s domain and remove data for just that site.
  • Reload and try again.

Chrome:

  • Click the lock icon in the address bar while on the site.
  • Click “Site settings” > “Clear data” for that specific site.
  • Reload and try.

6. Zoom level & window placement weirdness

Odd, but I have seen the popup technically open off-screen or at 1×1 pixels.

  • Set the browser window to standard size.
  • Reset zoom to 100 percent.
  • In Safari > Window menu, see if there is an extra tiny window you can bring to front.
  • In Chrome, check the Window menu for multiple windows and drag them around.

7. Test on a different macOS user without extra tools

@sonhadordobosque already suggested new users / browsers, which is solid. One tweak: when you create the new user, do not sign into iCloud or sync any settings right away. That way none of your content filters or security apps follow you over. If the popup works there with stock Safari, you know it is something you installed in your main user.

8. About “How To Disable Pop Up Blocker On Mac” as a general approach

If you are reading generic “How To Disable Pop Up Blocker On Mac” guides, keep in mind:

Pros

  • Quick to get a broken login working.
  • Easy to follow and usually just a couple of clicks in each browser.
  • Good for one-off legacy sites and government / school portals.

Cons

  • Turning popups off globally can flood you with spam windows.
  • Some malicious sites rely on that setting to open deceptive tabs.
  • You end up debugging security problems later instead of now.

I actually prefer the opposite of many broad guides: leave global blocking on, then do per-site allows and targeted troubleshooting like above. That way you fix the login without trashing your everyday browsing.

Compared with what @sonhadordobosque laid out (which already covers private mode, per-site settings, Chrome profiles, DNS and so on), the extra angle here is checking macOS-level filters, profiles, extension behavior, and JavaScript / cookie rules. That should cover most of the remaining cases where every browser on the Mac refuses to show the login popup.