How to Block JavaScript on Certain Websites (and Why You Should Do It)
JavaScript is a double-edged sword: it adds a lot of useful features to your favorite websites, such as interactive maps, loading images in the background, updating site content without reloading the page, and much more. At the same time, advertisers and tracking companies use it to deliver ads, pop-ups and malware , and to collect your data. Blocking JavaScript helps improve your privacy, but can break many websites. Luckily, there is a workaround – disabling JavaScript on some sites, but not all.
What happens if you disable JavaScript
Disabling JavaScript has several big benefits . It often loads pages faster, blocks invasive tracking, and sometimes even lets you bypass paywalls . Unfortunately, this will make some modern websites look like they were created in the 1990s; in the absence of JavaScript, they can fall back to basic HTML markup. Additionally, forms may not work, you may not be able to log into sites, and interactive web pages may not work at all. You’ll also notice that your favorite websites look different when JavaScript is blocked. This is because many sites also use it to render fonts.
Clearly, disabling JavaScript globally is a last resort option for most people.
Solution: Disable JavaScript on certain websites.
By disabling JavaScript on some sites, you can still use JavaScript on sites that don’t work without it, while getting improved privacy, ad blocking, and a cleaner layout on other sites.
Disable JavaScript on a per-site basis in Chrome, Edge, Vivaldi, Opera and other Chromium browsers.
You can use the built-in feature to disable JavaScript for certain websites in Chrome and other Chromium browsers such as Microsoft Edge, Vivaldi, Opera, Arc Browser, etc. To get started, open this URL: chrome://settings /content/javascript . Although this is a way to open Chrome’s JavaScript settings page, it works in all Chromium-based browsers.
On this page, select “Prevent sites from using JavaScript” . JavaScript will be disabled by default, but you can add exceptions to the rule. Under JavaScript Allowed , click Add to select the sites you want to enable it on. Alternatively, you can leave the default setting of “Allow sites to use JavaScript” and blacklist the sites you want to block it from. You can do this by clicking “Add” in the “No JavaScript” section.
If you think this is too complicated, you can use a great extension for your browser , NoScript . It blocks JavaScript by default, but you can easily ask the extension to trust certain domains.
For Chrome on Android, follow our detailed guide to disabling JavaScript on certain web pages .
Block JavaScript on certain sites in Safari
Safari allows you to block JavaScript everywhere or not block it at all. To block Javascript on all sites in Safari on your Mac, you can go to Safari > Preferences > Security and uncheck Enable JavaScript . On your iPhone, this option is available in Settings > Safari > Advanced . You can uncheck JavaScript .
This option will seem overkill for most people, but you can take a more moderate approach by installing the StopTheScript extension. It costs $6 and works with Safari on your Mac, iPhone, and iPad. This extension allows you to block JavaScript on sites of your choice. The developer has created a good tutorial explaining how to use StopTheScript, and you can follow the instructions to get it set up quickly.
Disable JavaScript for some sites in Firefox
When you use Firefox, NoScript is the extension you need. The extension stops JavaScript on every site by default; you can click the icon in the toolbar to temporarily or permanently enable JavaScript on any site.
Stop JavaScript for specific sites in Orion Browser
The Orion browser, which allows you to install Chrome and Firefox extensions , makes it easy to enable or disable JavaScript for specific websites. You can go to Orion Settings > Websites > JavaScript to configure this. At the top, you’ll see an option to choose whether you want to enable or disable JavaScript by default. Select “Off” to turn it off by default, or “On” to resolve. Then click the + button to add sites to which the global default settings do not apply.