It seems like we put so much effort into blocking things like pop-ups and ads when we’re browsing the web that we forget about sites that actually use pop-ups for good reasons. It could be a shopping site where you get a confirmation, a CMS where you can use tools, or a social site where you log in.
In Safari on iPhone or iPad, you can allow pop-ups globally; and on Mac, you can even allow them just for the specific sites you want. Here’s how to do both.
Allow pop-ups in Safari on iPhone and iPad
On iPhone and iPad, you cannot currently specify which sites you want to allow pop-ups for. It’s a global setting that you can enable or disable. The best option to allow pop-ups for a particular site is to turn off the setting, visit the website you want to see the pop-ups for, and then turn the setting back on.
Open Settings and select Safari. Turn off the toggle for Block Pop-ups.
When you finish visiting the site whose pop-ups you want to see, you should strongly consider turning the Block Pop-ups setting back on. Otherwise, you could end up inundated with ads or even unsafe pop-ups on your device.
Related: How to increase privacy in Safari on iPhone and iPad
Allow pop-ups in Safari on Mac
You have a couple of ways to allow pop-ups in Safari on Mac for the sites you trust. You can do this in the Preferences or with the site active in Safari. By taking a few moments to configure certain sites, you’ll save some aggravation later, waiting for that pop-up that never comes.
Allow when on the website
Suppose you clicked a link that triggered a new pop-up window. But if you have restricted pop-up windows in Preferences, the pop-up window won’t open and display a message temporarily in the Safari address bar. Besides that, it will show a tiny pop-up icon. Simply click that icon in the address bar, and it will open the blocked pop-up window.
When starting a live chat with Apple Support or downloading booked train tickets, I always use this method to allow the website to open the requested pop-up window.
Allow pop-ups in Preferences
- Open Safari and click Safari > Preferences from the menu bar.
- Select the Websites tab.
- On the left, scroll down to and pick Pop-Up Windows.
- To the right, you have your Currently Open Websites at the top with any Configured Websites at the bottom. Next to each, select the drop-down box and pick Allow for those you want to allow pop-ups.
For any sites that you don’t want to allow or that you want to be notified, select either Block or Block and Notify in that drop-down box.
At the bottom, next to When visiting other websites, you have a drop-down box with those three options as well. This is a global setting that covers all other sites you visit that you have not yet configured.
Allow pop-ups in the Safari window
- Right-click the address bar for the site you’re viewing and select Settings for site name or Settings For This Website.
- In the small window that appears, go down to Pop-up Windows.
- Use the drop-down box to choose Allow to see pop-ups for that website. Obviously, you can choose Block or Block and Notify for those you don’t want to see pop-ups.
When you use this method to adjust pop-ups for particular websites, these sites will then be added to the Configured Websites list in your Preferences, as explained above.
Hopefully, Apple will offer the ability to configure pop-ups for specific sites in Safari on iPhone and iPad at some point, just like on Mac. But in the meantime, you do have a way to allow pop-ups for the sites you want on all your devices.
Which types of websites do you want or need to see pop-ups for? And will you take the time to make sure you can? Let us know!
More Safari tips: