Your Mac has a camera and a microphone that any website can ask for, and one careless click is enough to hand them over. Safari lets you refuse both by default, so no site gets the chance unless you say so.
Open Safari Settings, choose Websites, and set Camera and Microphone to Deny. Then check the site lists, because a permission you granted earlier overrides the default every time.
In this guide, I have covered:
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Block Camera and Microphone Requests in Safari on Mac
A site you have never dealt with asks for your camera, or you want the guarantee that nothing can switch it on quietly. Both cases come down to one place: Safari’s website permissions for the camera and microphone.
That setting covers websites only. macOS Privacy & Security is a second, separate layer. Safari decides whether a site may ask, and macOS decides whether Safari may reach the hardware at all. You can use either one, or both.
Set the Default Permission to Deny
If every site should be refused from the start, with the option to approve one later, set the default instead of chasing sites one at a time.
- Open Safari on your Mac.
- Click Safari in the macOS menu bar.
- Choose Settings….
- Select Websites in the Settings sidebar.
- Select Camera.
- Set When visiting other websites to Deny.
- Select Microphone.
- Set When visiting other websites to Deny.
You’ll know it worked when a site asks for the camera or microphone and Safari turns the request down. The setting applies the moment you pick it, so there is no separate Save button to look for.
TIP: Current Safari releases put these controls in Settings…, with a sidebar down the left. Older releases call it Preferences… and show a Websites tab. The camera and microphone choices inside are the same either way.
Review Websites You Previously Allowed
One old approval can outvote the default you just set. If a site you allowed months ago still reaches the camera, its own entry is the reason.
- Open Safari on your Mac.
- Choose Settings… from the Safari menu.
- Select Websites in the sidebar.
- Select Camera.
- Set any listed website that shows Allow or Ask to Deny.
- Select Microphone.
- Set any listed website that shows Allow or Ask to Deny.
You’ll know it worked when every entry in both lists reads Deny. Until then, treat the stricter default as unfinished business.
For the page sitting in your current tab, How to View Site Information and Permissions in Safari on Mac shows which permission that site actually holds.
Allow One Trusted Website
All or nothing is rarely what you need. A meeting page or a support call wants the exception, and everything else should stay locked, so grant the one site without loosening the rest.
- Open Safari on your Mac.
- Choose Settings… from the Safari menu.
- Select Websites in the sidebar.
- Select Camera or Microphone.
- If the trusted site is already listed, select it.
- Set its permission to Allow.
- If it was not listed, set When visiting other websites to Ask.
- If the site was not listed, visit it and choose Allow in Safari’s permission prompt.
- If the site was not listed, return to the permission pane and set When visiting other websites to Deny.
- Repeat the exception for the other device if you need it.
You’ll know it worked when the trusted site can use the device and every other site still gets refused without asking.
Doing this on an iPhone or iPad instead? Use Configure Camera and Microphone Access in Safari on iPhone & iPad for the iOS side.
Add a macOS Privacy Block for Safari
Website permissions live inside Safari, which means a site with an Allow entry gets through them. If you want a block no site setting can override, take it up a level and tell macOS to keep Safari away from the hardware.
For the rest of the browser’s own controls, Safari privacy and security settings covers the other panels in that window.
- Open the Apple menu.
- Choose System Settings….
- Select Privacy & Security.
- Select Camera.
- Turn off the Safari toggle.
- Return to Privacy & Security.
- Select Microphone.
- Turn off the Safari toggle.
You’ll know it worked when a site you explicitly allowed still cannot open the camera or microphone, because macOS stops Safari before the request reaches the device.
On older macOS releases these controls sit under System Preferences, Security & Privacy, then Privacy. Older Safari versions use the Preferences… and Websites layout described above.
Keep Private Browsing Separate From Device Permissions
Private Browsing is not a camera switch. It changes what Safari keeps from a session, not what a page can ask for, so a private window will not block the camera or microphone.
If device access is the goal, the permission controls above are the fix. The private window is a different job.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why can a website still request access after I set the default to Deny?
A site may have its own camera or microphone choice saved from an earlier approval. Check the Camera and Microphone lists under Websites, then change any separate Allow entry to Deny.
Can I allow one trusted website without allowing every site?
Yes. Give that site an individual Allow permission while keeping When visiting other websites set to Deny.
Will blocking camera and microphone access break video calls?
It can. A meeting that needs the camera or microphone will fail or throw a permission error, while pages that need neither device still load normally.
Does the Safari website setting block these devices for other Mac apps?
No. It controls website requests inside Safari. The macOS Camera and Microphone controls under Privacy & Security decide whether Safari itself can use the hardware.
Why does Safari show Preferences instead of Settings?
Your Safari version uses the older layout, where Preferences… opens a Websites tab holding the camera and microphone controls.
