The quick answer
For a daily usage budget, add the individual Mac app to Screen Time App Limits and enable blocking when its allowance ends. For fixed work hours, use Downtime only if most apps should be unavailable, or use a scheduled Atten block when you need to select a smaller set of distracting apps. Focus silences interruptions but does not stop an app opening.
Blocking a Mac application can mean two different things. You might want only 20 minutes of a game each day, or you might want chat and social apps unavailable from 9:00 to 11:00 while writing. Choose the rule first: a daily allowance and a clock-based work period need different controls.
Choose the rule you need
Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.
| Goal | Start with | Important limit |
|---|---|---|
| Use an app for only a set number of minutes per day | Screen Time App Limits | The limit is a usage budget, not a 9-to-5 schedule. |
| Make most apps unavailable at set hours | Screen Time Downtime | Review Always Allowed before it begins. |
| Block a selected set of apps for a work period | A scheduled Atten block | Test the selected apps and required work tools first. |
| Silence messages and banners | Focus | Focus controls notifications; it is not an app-access block. |
If the distraction lives in a browser, use the separate Mac website blocking guide. A desktop app and its website are separate paths, so check both when the same feed is available in each.
Set a daily limit for one Mac app
Apple's current Mac guide says Screen Time must be enabled before App Limits can be added. Menu wording can differ on an older macOS version.
- Open System Settings, choose Screen Time, then open App Limits.
- Turn App Limits on and choose Add Limit.
- Search for the application, or expand its category, and select the individual app.
- Enter an allowance. Choose the custom option only if each weekday needs a different amount.
- Enable Block at end of limit, then choose Done.
A category can include software you need, so expand it before selecting the whole group. The clock starts from actual use; setting 30 minutes does not mean the app is blocked for the first 30 minutes of the workday. Read the setting back after saving so the chosen app and allowance are visible.
Block apps during fixed hours
Mac Downtime can cover a daily start and end time, or a custom schedule by weekday. It affects the device broadly, while apps selected as Always Allowed remain available. With a Screen Time passcode, Apple provides a Block at Downtime option. That is useful for a broad evening cutoff; it can be cumbersome when work needs many apps and only two are distracting.
For a smaller selection, create a scheduled block in the currently released Atten app. Choose the distracting applications and the recurring work window, while leaving your documents, password manager, authentication tools and necessary communication available. Atten is available today; Remind is the coming name. See the Mac app blocker page for current product context.
You can pair either access rule with a Mac Focus to reduce notifications. Apple lets a Focus allow or silence selected people and apps and run on a time schedule. A scheduled Focus still does not stop you from opening the app itself.
Worked example: a weekday writing block
Suppose writing runs from 9:00 to 11:00 Monday through Friday. Keep the editor, cloud drive, browser, password manager and work calls available. Put the social client, game and personal chat in the scheduled block. If the browser also opens those services, add their sites separately or the distraction will simply move to a tab.
Run a ten-minute version before the first real session. Open the draft, follow its sign-in flow, receive a required verification code, and try each selected distraction. If a shared chat app is needed for work, blocking the entire app may be the wrong rule; silence nonessential notifications or plan a check-in instead. The iPhone schedule guide covers the matching phone window.
Test the result before depending on it
- Confirm the rule begins and ends at the intended local time and on the intended days.
- Try the desktop app, its website, and another Mac user account if that account matters.
- Check that documents, calls, accessibility software and authentication remain usable.
- Observe what the Mac shows when a limit ends; do not assume the option was saved.
- Review the rule after a real session and remove anything that blocks the work itself.
Common questions
Can I block one Mac app only during certain hours with Screen Time?
App Limits give an individual app a daily allowance. Downtime supplies clock-based hours but is a broader time-away rule. For selected apps at exact work hours, use a blocker with scheduling and verify the selection before relying on it.
Will Focus block an application from opening?
No. Use Focus for interruptions and Screen Time or an app blocker for access.
Should I select an entire category?
Only after expanding it. Categories can contain useful and distracting apps together. Selecting individual applications gives you a smaller rule that is easier to test.
Sources
Primary documentation checked 31 August 2026: