Safari randomly restricting webpages, despite Screen Time being disabled

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Level 1

8 points

Safari randomly restricting webpages, despite Screen Time being disabled

Since perhaps 6 months back, I've been getting random issues with Safari blocking access to webpages and referring to this being due to Screen Time restrictions.

However, Screen Time is disabled on my Mac.

When this happens, OS X (or Safari) suggests "adding the page to a list of exceptions", which leads to the Settings.app > Screen Time asking for username/password. However, it has no effect whatsoever. The page remains blocked.

There's no real pattern for which pages this appears on, but it typically happens on Google searches (e.g. when searching for development-oriented questions, such as "https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=flutter+bottom+sheet+slide+up&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=active"). If I then amend the search string with a single character, the filter is not applied (e.g. https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=flutter+bottom+sheet+slide+ups&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=active).

Looking at the source code of the Safari page that blocks the content, it mentions "com.apple.parentalcontrols.webcontentfilter.accessrestricted".

Reloading the page after having "added an exception" still shows a Safari error page; when inspecting its source, it mentions:

"Webpage blocked by a content filter" (WebKitErrorDomain: 105)

(Translated by me, so exact English message might differ)

I've searched through a lot of forums trying to understand how to get rid of this annoying problem, but no solution yet.
I've tried enabling/disabling Screen Time settings, but without effect
Using Chrome works perfectly fine, so it seems like it is indeed related to Safari.
It's an MBP, running OS X 10.15.4, Safari Version 13.1 (15609.1.20.111.8)
I do not have any ad blockers or similar installed; the only Safari plugin is 1Password
Not sure if it's related, but for quite some time, the "New private browsing window" option has been disabled in Safari...

Any ideas how to get rid of this annoying behavior?

---

Screenshots of the issue (for the Google search above).

Posted on May 6, 2020 11:47 PM

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Answer 1

MoonJ.

Community Specialist

May 7, 2020 1:09 PM in response to sommestad

sommestad,

To be sure, check your Mac in safe mode: How to use safe mode on your Mac You can also try a new user as well: How to test an issue in another user account on your Mac

- If it only happens in your user and not in safe mode, try removing login items: Open items automatically when you log in on Mac
- If it happens in both safe mode and a new user, back up your Mac and reinstall macOS using Recovery: How to reinstall macOS from macOS Recovery

If you're still having issues, reach out to Apple Support directly: Contact Apple Support

Take care.

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Answer 2

Eric Root

Level 10

685,643 points

May 9, 2020 9:51 AM in response to sommestad

Are you running any anti - virus programs? Using a VPN?

It may not help, but try running this program when booted normally and then copy and paste the output in a reply. The program was created by Etresoft, a frequent contributor. Please use copy and paste as screen shots can be hard to read. Click “Share Report” button in the toolbar, select “Copy to Clipboard” and then paste into a reply. This will show what is running on your computer. No personal information is shown. If the log won’t post, try posting it in Pastebin and provide a link in a reply. After pasting the report in a PasteBin page, go to the top of the page, and copy the address in the URL bar. Paste that in a new reply. Pastebin.

Etrecheck – System Information.

Web site version if required. https://etrecheck.com

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Answer 3

cp from OH

Community Specialist

May 8, 2020 1:55 PM in response to sommestad

sommestad,

It's indeed possible. Try looking at your login items, especially any that control content blocking and/or Safari: Open items automatically when you log in on Mac

If there isn't anything there or there are still issues, reach out to Apple Support directly: Contact Apple Support

Enjoy.

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Answer 4

sterling r

Community Specialist

May 7, 2020 12:45 PM in response to sommestad

Hello sommestad,

Welcome to the Apple Support Communities. From your post, it appears there are issues with restrictions being applied unexpectedly on webpages in Safari. I'll do what I can to help.

This might also be related to Content Blockers that are specifically attached to Safari. This link might be helpful: If you can’t open a website in Safari on Mac

Also, make sure there are no configuration profiles installed that may control content: Use configuration profiles to standardize settings on Mac computers

Best regards.

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Answer 5

sommestad Author

Level 1

8 points

May 9, 2020 1:21 AM in response to cp from OH

Unfortunately, that didn't help either.

I've spent 1 hour on the phone with Apple's support and we've jumped through all the hoops, but without result.

The issue seems to lie with my Mac user (not the iCloud User), since it works when I log in with other users on the same machine.

The suggested next step is to reinstall OS X, which I'm of course not thrilled about. I'm trying to see if there might be any other Safari settings that control this, but no luck yet. I even tried out the steps outlined in https://www.macissues.com/2015/06/22/how-to-fully-reset-safari-on-your-mac/, but without success.

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Answer 6

sommestad Author

Level 1

8 points

May 9, 2020 1:23 AM in response to sommestad

Worth mentioning is that I can't clear the browser cache, history or open private browsing windows. So it does seem like some privacy setting is corrupt.

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Answer 7

sommestad Author

Level 1

8 points

May 7, 2020 12:54 PM in response to sterling r

Thanks for the reply.

Unfortunately, neither of those solve my problem; there are no profiles installed and none of the suggestions in https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/safari/ibrw1071/mac help.

What's potentially interesting is that the "Reload" option only offers "Reload with plugins", rather than "without content blockers" claimed by the article.

I'm wondering if there could be some weird Screen Time configuration file somewhere on the OS? That's the only reason used for the content being blocked.

This should be unrelated, but the first time I saw these issues were when I configured a new iPhone (with my Apple ID) for one of my kids and actually did apply restrictions on that specific device (to disallow sending text messages and changing passcode, for example). But none of that should have found its way to the mac, regardless of what my Apple ID syncs...?

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Answer 8

sommestad Author

Level 1

8 points

May 7, 2020 10:46 PM in response to MoonJ.

Thanks for the suggestions. However, the problem still persists.

I restarted in safe mode; the problem still persisted
I tried using another user on the same Mac, but did not get the content block on the URL I used above

So, it seems like there are some issues related to my user?

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Safari randomly restricting webpages, despite Screen Time being disabled

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