Configuring Safari Push Notification Permissions on macOS

This article provides a quick, step-by-step guide on how to configure the Safari web browser on macOS to manage Web Push notification requests. By adjusting your browser settings, you can ensure websites must ask for your permission before sending notifications, or manage existing permissions for a controlled and distraction-free browsing experience.

By default, Safari allows websites to prompt you for permission to send notifications. If you have previously disabled this feature, or if you want to verify that Safari is actively configured to ask for your permission, follow these steps:

  1. Open Safari on your Mac.
  2. Click on Safari in the top-left corner of your screen in the Apple menu bar.
  3. Select Settings (or Preferences on macOS Monterey and earlier) from the drop-down menu. You can also use the keyboard shortcut Command + , to open this menu.
  4. Click on the Websites tab located at the top of the window.
  5. Scroll down the left-hand sidebar and select Notifications.
  6. At the very bottom of the window, locate and check the box next to Allow websites to ask for permission to send notifications.

When this box is checked, any website capable of sending Web Push notifications will display a pop-up prompt when you visit it. You must explicitly click "Allow" on that prompt before the website can send alerts to your Mac.

Managing Existing Website Permissions

Within the same Notifications settings menu, you will see a central list of websites that have previously requested your permission. You can modify how Safari handles these specific sites at any time:

  • To force a website to ask for permission again: Select the website from the list and click the Remove button located beneath the list. The next time you visit that website, it will trigger a new permission prompt.
  • To manually change a website's status: Click the drop-down menu next to a specific website in the list and toggle the setting between Allow and Deny.
  • To block all future permission prompts: Uncheck the Allow websites to ask for permission to send notifications box at the bottom of the window. Websites you have previously allowed will still send notifications, but no new websites will be able to ask for your permission.