How to Configure Per-Site Permissions for Camera, Microphone, and Location in Safari on Mac

Modern web applications increasingly request access to sensitive hardware interfaces—including webcams for video calls, microphones for voice transcription, geographic GPS location for navigation, and screen sharing permissions. Granting these permissions globally compromises personal privacy, while repeatedly dismissing permission prompts on trusted work platforms causes frustration.

Safari on macOS provides a granular, per-site permission architecture. Rather than relying on all-or-nothing global switches, Safari allows users to define custom hardware permissions (Camera, Microphone, Location), page zoom scales, content blockers, and automatic Reader View settings on a domain-by-domain basis.

Configuring Permissions for the Current Website

The quickest way to adjust access rules for an active web page:

1. Open Safari on your Mac and navigate to the target website (for example, teams.microsoft.com or meet.google.com).
2. Click the Safari menu in the top menu bar and select Settings for This Website… (or right-click the address/search bar and choose Settings for This Website…).
3. A contextual preferences popover card appears directly beneath the address bar.

Customising Hardware Access: Camera, Microphone, and Location

In the site settings popover card, configure access levels for sensitive devices:

• Camera:
  • Ask: Safari prompts every time the site requests video input (default).
  • Allow: Automatically grants camera access without prompting (ideal for trusted video meeting portals).
  • Deny: Permanently blocks the domain from accessing your webcam.
• Microphone: Configure Ask, Allow, or Deny for voice capture.
• Location: Configure whether the website can query your Mac’s geographic location.
• Screen Sharing: Manage whether browser-based collaboration apps can share your desktop screen.

Configuring Visual and Reading Preferences per Website

In the same per-site settings card, you can tailor visual presentation for individual domains:

1. Page Zoom: Adjust the default magnification level (from 50% to 300%) for readability without affecting other browser tabs.
2. Use Reader when available: Tick this checkbox on news and documentation websites to automatically format articles into distraction-free reading typography whenever you visit.
3. Enable content blockers: Toggle content blockers on or off for specific domains where ad blockers might disrupt interactive functionality.
4. Pop-up Windows: Select Block and Notify, Block, or Allow to manage modal alerts.

Auditing and Managing All Per-Site Permissions Globally

To review, edit, or revoke permissions across all previously configured domains:

1. Open Safari > Settings (or press Cmd + ,).
2. Click the Websites tab in the top navigation bar.
3. The left-hand sidebar lists all manageable permissions: Camera, Microphone, Location, Downloads, Notifications, and Pop-up Windows.
4. Click any category to view configured domains in the right-hand panel, inspect their active rules, or click Remove to reset permissions back to default.