How To Unblock Pop Ups On Mac

Tips
1

I’m trying to enable pop ups on my Mac for a couple of trusted websites, but Safari and Chrome keep blocking them even after I change some settings. I need pop ups for work tools like online banking and scheduling, but I don’t want to open myself up to malware or annoying ads. Can someone walk me through the right way to unblock pop ups on macOS while still staying safe?

2

Happens a lot on Mac. The settings are in two places for each browser, global and site specific. Sounds like the site rules still block stuff.

Safari first:

  1. Open Safari.
  2. Go to the site where you need pop ups, for example your bank.
  3. In the top menu click Safari > Settings.
  4. Go to the Websites tab.
  5. On the left click Pop-up Windows.
  6. You will see “Currently Open Websites”.
    Next to your site pick “Allow”.
  7. At the bottom “When visiting other websites” set it to “Block and Notify” or “Allow” if you trust what you visit.
  8. Close the settings, reload the site, try again.

If it still fails, check:

  1. Safari > Settings > Privacy.
  2. Turn off “Prevent cross-site tracking” for a test.
  3. Also uncheck “Hide IP address from trackers” for a test.
  4. Reload and see if the pop up opens.
    If it works after that, turn those back on, then add the bank or tool to its own window or use their “Open in new window” link if they have one.

Chrome on Mac:

  1. Open Chrome.
  2. Go to the site that needs the pop up.
  3. Click the lock icon in the address bar.
  4. Click “Site settings”.
  5. Find “Pop-ups and redirects”.
  6. Set it to “Allow”.
  7. Close tab with settings, reload your work site.

Or through full settings:

  1. Chrome menu > Settings.
  2. Privacy and security > Site Settings.
  3. Scroll to “Pop-ups and redirects”.
  4. Under “Allowed to send pop-ups and use redirects” click “Add”.
  5. Add the site pattern like:
    https://yourbank.com
    or
    https://*.yourbank.com
  6. Save, reload site.

If Chrome still blocks stuff:

  1. Go to chrome://extensions/.
  2. Temporarily disable adblockers or privacy tools.
  3. Reload your site and test.
    Some extensions override the built in popup setting and keep blocking.

Also check for system or third party blockers on macOS:

  1. System Settings > Network > VPN or filters.
  2. If you have things like Little Snitch, AdGuard, 1Blocker, check their rules.
  3. Allow the site or turn their popup or ad blocking off for that site.

Quick test trick:

  1. Open a Private Window in Safari and a Guest profile in Chrome.
  2. Set pop ups to Allow there for your work sites.
    If it works in private or guest mode, some extension or custom profile setting in your main session causes the issue.

Once you get one site working, repeat the same steps for your scheduling tool and other work sites.

3

One extra angle to check that @viajantedoceu didn’t really get into: sometimes the popups are technically allowed, but the browser or the page is getting blocked at a different layer, so it looks like a popup problem even when the popup setting is right.

Couple of things to try:

  1. Check the little popup icon each time
    In both Safari and Chrome, when a popup gets blocked you’ll often see a tiny icon in the address bar:

    • Safari: a small window icon with a “x” or a notification in the smart search field.
    • Chrome: a little window-with-x icon on the right of the address bar.
      Click that when it happens. Sometimes the browser silently switched that specific attempt to “block” even if the general/site rule says “allow”. Manually choose “Always allow pop-ups from this site” there. That override sticks better than just using the main settings in some weird cases.

  2. Zoom / Reader / content mode conflicts (Safari)
    Safari occasionally treats certain custom window opens as “unwanted” when:

    • You have the page in Reader mode.
    • You changed the default page zoom or content settings only for that domain.
      Try this:
    • Go to the problem site.
    • In the menu bar: View > Uncheck “Use Reader Automatically on…” if it is checked.
    • Also reset zoom: View > Actual Size.
      Then try the action that should open the popup again.

  3. Disable “Click to Play” style features in Chrome
    If you have media or script settings tightened:

    • Go to chrome://settings/content/javascript and make sure your banking / scheduling domain is not in “Blocked”.
      Some “popup windows” are actually created by JS and if JS is partly blocked, nothing opens even if popups are allowed.

  4. Profile corruption trick
    Sometimes the browser profile is just… crusty.

    • In Chrome:
      Create a new Profile from the profile icon top right.
      In the fresh profile, only:
      • Log in to your bank / scheduler.
      • Set popups allowed for those two domains.
        If it works perfectly there, your main profile has some conflicting rule, extension remnant, or experimental flag. In that case, either:
      • Use the “clean” profile only for work sites, or
      • Gradually mirror its settings and extensions back in your main profile until you find the thing that breaks popups.
    • Safari:
      Try creating a new macOS user account and test the same sites once. If they work fine there, something under your main account’s Safari data or content blockers is interfering.

  5. Check macOS-level content filters
    This is separate from what @viajantedoceu mentioned about VPNs:

    • System Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy.
      If Content & Privacy is enabled, under “Content” or “Web Content” make sure:
      • You are not restricted to “Limit Adult Websites” with a custom list that accidentally catches your bank’s popup domain (some banks use totally different subdomains or CDNs for popups).
        If needed, briefly set to “Unrestricted Access” to test.

  6. Look at the actual popup URL
    On your bank / scheduling tool:

    • Right click the link or button that normally opens the popup.
    • Copy Link / Copy Link Address.
    • Paste into a text editor to see what domain it really goes to.
      Very often:
    • Main site: bank.com
    • Popup site: secure.bankcreditportal.com or some random third-party vendor domain
      In that case you must explicitly allow that domain in Chrome’s “Allowed to send pop-ups” and in Safari’s Websites > Pop-up Windows. Just allowing the main domain does nothing for the external one.

  7. Reset just popup & site data, not whole browser
    If all else fails and you do not want a full reset:

    • In Safari:
      Settings > Privacy > Manage Website Data.
      Search for your bank/scheduler domains and remove only those entries. Then re-open the sites, log in again, and re-allow popups when prompted.
    • In Chrome:
      Settings > Privacy and security > Clear browsing data.
      Use “Advanced” and clear only “Cookies and other site data” plus “Cached images and files” for a short time range for those sites (or use the padlock > Site settings > “Reset permissions” for that site).

It’s annoyingly common that people change the obvious popup settings and the real culprit turns out to be:

  • the popup is on a different domain,
  • a content restriction is silently blocking the actual target page, or
  • the browser once blocked it and stored that bad choice as a site-specific rule.

Once you get one site working, take a second to note exactly which domain opened in the popup. That makes adding the others way less trial and error and a lot less “why is this dumb thing still blocked”.

4

Couple of extra angles that build on what @viajantedoceu said, and a few places where I see it differently:

  1. Try a clean test browser
    Before going too deep into Safari / Chrome surgery, install a third browser (Firefox or Edge) and, without logging into sync or adding extensions, test your banking and scheduling sites there.

    • If pop ups work: the problem is almost certainly an extension, profile rule, or experimental flag in Safari or Chrome.
    • If they still fail: likely a macOS-level issue (Screen Time, security software, or the site itself).

  2. Look for “security” apps that silently filter pages
    A bunch of Mac utilities quietly act like content blockers:

    • Antivirus and “internet security” suites
    • Privacy firewalls
    • Some ad blockers that run system-wide, not just in the browser
      Temporarily quit them from the menu bar, then restart the browser and test.
      I actually disagree a bit with relying only on browser pop up icons here: if a system-level filter is blocking the destination URL, the browser never even gets the chance to show a popup warning.

  3. Deep check Safari content blockers
    In Safari:

    • Settings > Extensions
    • Turn off all content blockers, then test your banking popup.
      If it suddenly works, re-enable blockers one by one. Some “privacy” lists kill banking popups because they sit on third-party domains.

  4. For Chrome, inspect extensions more aggressively
    Go to the Extensions page and disable everything that touches:

    • Ads
    • Privacy
    • Productivity overlays (password managers are usually fine, but test anyway)
      Test after disabling, then re-enable one at a time.
      A lot of “productivity” overlays intercept clicks or open their own windows that conflict with legit popups.

  5. Check for awkward display setups
    With multiple monitors or virtual desktops, the popup can technically open but appear:

    • On another Space
    • As a very small, hidden window
      Try:
    • Mission Control and look for a tiny additional window from Safari or Chrome
    • Use Window > Merge All Windows in Safari to force strays back into view
      Popups sometimes masquerade as an extra window rather than a new tab, which looks like “blocked” when it is just out of sight.

  6. Test with a fresh macOS user profile before drastic resets
    I agree with @viajantedoceu on profile tests, but I’d start with a new macOS user before nuking browser data.

    • Create a new user in System Settings
    • Open Safari, test the same sites without syncing iCloud or migrating extensions
      If it works there, you know it is your original account’s configs or add-ons, not a systemwide or network problem.

  7. Treat popup problems as “workflow issues,” not just a setting
    For sites you use daily (banking, scheduling), once you get pop ups working, bookmark the exact popup URL path where possible. That turns annoying popup flows into predictable, “one click and done” behavior and reduces how often you have to fight the browser.

On the empty product title you mentioned, treating it as a generic “How To Unblock Pop Ups On Mac” guide:

Pros

  • Helpful as a focused reference when you forget where Mac / Safari hide specific toggles
  • Good for people who want quick, repeatable instructions
  • Can centralize both Safari and Chrome methods in one place

Cons

  • If it only covers basic settings and not extensions, Screen Time, and third-party filters, it will miss a lot of real-world failures
  • May get outdated quickly when browsers move menus around
  • Might encourage people to blanket-allow popups, which is not great for security

Compared with what @viajantedoceu already covered, use their domain / URL sleuthing plus all the “what else could be blocking this” checks above. That combo usually nails the weird edge cases where the popup toggle looks right but the window never appears.