Safari 9: Can't disable private browsing

Hello there, Edward.

It seems you're trying to restrict what sites can be accessed in Safari and were trying to do this by removing Private Browsing. Mac OS X El Capitan provides some great features that allow you to limit the access your child has to websites and the like. The following Knowledge Base article provides some great information to look over to accomplish just that:

OS X El Capitan: Set up parental controls

As a parent, you want your kids to have a safe and happy experience on the Mac. Using Parental Controls preferences, you can manage, monitor, and control the time your kids spend on the Mac, the websites they visit, and the people they chat with.

Turn on parental controls

1. Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Parental Controls.

   Note: When you open Parental Controls preferences, if you see the message “There are no user accounts to manage,” see Add a managed user.

2. Click the lock icon to unlock it, then enter an administrator name and password.

3. Select a user, then click Enable Parental Controls.

   If the user isn’t in the list, click the Add button , then fill in the name, account, and password information to create a new user.

Set restrictions

1. Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Parental Controls.

   Note: When you open Parental Controls preferences, if you see the message “There are no user accounts to manage,” see Add a managed user.

2. Click the lock icon to unlock it, then enter an administrator name and password.

3. Select a user, then click a button at the top.

   • Apps: Prevent the child from using the built-in camera. Restrict a child’s contact with other people through Game Center and Mail. Specify which apps the child can access.

   • Web: Limit access to websites, or allow unrestricted access.

   • Stores: Disable access to the iTunes Store and the iBooks Store. Limit a child’s access to music, movies, TV shows, apps, and books to only those with age-appropriate ratings.

   • Time: Set time limits for weekdays, weekends, and bedtime.

   • Privacy: Allow the child to make changes related to privacy.

   • Other: Block using Dictation, access to printer settings, and burning CDs and DVDs. Hide profanity in the dictionary and other sources. Prevent the Dock from being modified. Provide a simplified view of the Mac desktop.

Additionally, this article provides some more Safari specific recommendations as well:

OS X El Capitan: Web pane of Parental Controls preferences

Use this pane to help prevent children from viewing inappropriate content on the Internet when they are using Safari. Parental controls can try to block known adult websites and filter other inappropriate content. However, it isn’t always possible to determine the suitability of information on the web.

To open Parental Controls preferences, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Parental Controls, then click Web.

Allow unrestricted access to websites	Safari can access all Internet content.
Try to limit access to adult websites	Safari tries to filter inappropriate Internet content.
Customize	Allow or block access to specific websites. To always allow a specific website, click the Add button under the “Always allow these websites” list, then enter the URL of the website. To never allow a specific website, click the Add button under the “Never allow these websites” list, then enter the URL of the website. To remove a website from the list, select it, then click the Remove button .
Allow access to only these websites	Allow Safari to access only specific websites. To add a website, click the Add button , choose Add Bookmark from the pop-up menu, then type a bookmark name and webpage address. To add a bookmark folder, click the Add button , choose Add Folder from the pop-up menu, then type a name for the folder. To remove an item, select it, then click Remove button .
Logs	Monitor a child’s use of the Mac. Click Logs to get information on the child’s app and Internet activities. For more information, see Monitor children’s computer usage.

Set up parental controls

Set up a simplified Finder

Thanks for reaching out to Apple Support Communities.

Kind Regards.

I need the same help. Can someone please show how to disable Private Window. It shouldn't be this difficult.

This would be very useful!!!!

We can never recommend that users attempt to reverse engineer, or remove components from within an Apple application bundle. These applications are signed, and may have internal dependencies that when removed, or altered, render Safari unusable — or unstable. The worst case scenario is that you do not have a backup of this version of Safari, and would be required to reinstall OS X to retrieve a functional version of Safari.

You do not own OS X. Apple does, and only licenses it to you for your use as long as you abide by the OS X licensing terms.

Those posts that you read on the Internet simply ignored (at least) section M about reverse engineering the operating system, or its applications. Listing the steps to do so here, would violate the terms of use for the Apple Support Community, as it also violates the OS X reverse engineering clause in the associated licensing.

The hosts can and do enforce violations of the Apple Support Community terms of use. Unless someone has a true Darwin award affliction, you are not going to see any reverse engineering steps for Safari, or Safari private browsing removal posted here.

Edward Kris wrote:

I understand. However, I have read tons of posts on how to do so, without any problems. Only issue is, those were for older versions of OSX and Safari. I am not sure whether it is possible to remove private browsing on El Capitan and Safari 9, as I can't find the MainMenu.nib, but it would really be useful if I could. I can't seem to find any other way I can restrict my child from inappropriate websites and Google searches as long as private browsing exists. The only other way would be if I could keep an account logged in on private browsing, but I doubt that that's possible, considering that cookies aren't saved. I would love a solution to this.

Thank you.

Most search engines have a Safe Search function you can enable that will filter out explicit results, both in images and text. So, if you don't want the little munchkins Googling the word "boobs," Google's Safe Search function will inhibit that. OS X's Parental Controls has a feature that allows you block certain websites, and if they try to access them, they won't be able to. I've tested it on my system, and it works. I enabled Parental Controls on my Guest account, added in a bunch of adult websites I could think off the top of my head, plus sites like Facebook and Twitter, then switched to that Guest account, opened up Safari, and typed in one of the addresses. I got nowhere. It wouldn't let me connect to that site. You can also download another browser that might allow you to turn off Private Browsing, then block them from using Safari in Parental Controls.

There are solutions, very easy solutions right there on your computer already, if you'd just utilize them.

Edward,

I too have been looking for help on this same issue!

One option is to configure your DNS server to force SafeSearch (seen here) even when you're using incognito mode. This would be ideal, because you wouldn't alter your system's functionality at all. Unfortunately, I'm a networking neophyte, and yet to figure out how to do that on my early 2011 Macbook and Airport Express. Apparently there's a program called DNS Enabler that could potentially allow you to do this, but I haven't gotten there... yet.

After many hours of searching, I think I may have found an alternative solution...

1) You can disable Google chrome's Incognito mode. In this video, Bryce shows you how using Pref Setter.

2) Since I couldn't disable private browsing in Safari I stopped using the program and switched over to just using Chrome. If you're savvy you can find a way to delete Safari, but I won't recommend it because this is an Apple thread.

Does that help? Let's hope so.

Edward,

I tried DNS Enabler, but I didn't have much luck with it. I think it may be possible with ample patience and tinkering, neither of which I have after the many hours I've spent trying to solve this problem.

Instead, I found a much simpler and more elegant solution: Editing your mac's hosts file. My insight came when reading the first comment in this OpenDNS thread.

1. Visit this tutorial to edit your Mac's hosts file

2. With the hosts file open, add the entry 216.239.38.120 www.google.com, adding any others you'd like. (Like Robblitz says in the Open DNS thread, the IP address 216.239.38.120 points to forcesafesearch.google.com)

Mine hosts file looks something like this..

3. Save the hosts file following the instructions in the tutorial.

Now when you visit google.com in a private browsing window, it automatically points to safe search! In fact, you can't turn off safe search. It's pretty magical.

I hope this helps!