Mac install steps
Installing 3Eyes on a Mac takes a few minutes. You download the app, give macOS permission to run it, sign in with your parent account, and pick which macOS user account to protect. After that it runs quietly in the background.
Before you start. Install on the Mac your child uses, and sign in to that Mac as an administrator. Have your 3Eyes parent account details ready. macOS asks for permission several times during setup, which is normal for software that filters the web and enforces screen time.
1. Download 3Eyes for Mac
On your child’s Mac, open the Download page and choose the Mac version. Safari saves it to your Downloads folder. When the download finishes, open the .dmg file to mount it.
2. Drag 3Eyes into Applications
The installer window shows the 3Eyes icon next to your Applications folder. Drag the icon onto the Applications folder to copy it across, then eject the installer from the Finder sidebar.
3. Open it and allow it to run
Open Applications and double-click 3Eyes. Because it was downloaded from the internet, macOS may say it cannot verify the developer the first time. If that happens:
- Open System Settings → Privacy & Security.
- Scroll to the Security section, where you’ll see a note about 3Eyes being blocked.
- Click Open Anyway, then confirm with your Mac password or Touch ID.
4. Give 3Eyes the permissions it needs
macOS protects these capabilities behind explicit permission, so 3Eyes will prompt for them as it starts. Each one is required for a specific part of the product:
- Install a configuration profile so web filtering applies across browsers.
- Accessibility and Screen Time access, which is how screen-time limits are enforced.
- Full Disk Access if prompted, so the background service keeps running after a restart.
Each prompt opens the right pane of System Settings. Switch the toggle on for 3Eyes and return to the app. You’ll be asked for your Mac password when approving these, since they are administrator changes.
5. Sign in as the parent
Enter the email and password you used at 3eyes.app. This is your parent account, the one that receives alerts and approves requests, not your child’s. If you don’t have an account yet, choose Sign up and create one, then come back and sign in.
6. Choose which account to protect
3Eyes lists the macOS user accounts on this Mac. Move your child’s account into the monitored column and confirm. That’s the account 3Eyes protects, so your own admin account stays untouched.
Don’t see your child’s account? They probably don’t have their own yet. Create one in System Settings → Users & Groups → Add Account, then reopen 3Eyes.
7. You’re protected
Once setup finishes, 3Eyes runs in the background and starts automatically with the Mac. Have your child log out and sign back in as their own account, and protection applies from the moment they do. Approve sites and set schedules from the mobile app or any browser.
If you skip any of the permission prompts, filtering or screen-time limits won’t be enforced. You can grant them later in System Settings → Privacy & Security, then restart 3Eyes.
Need a hand?
If a step doesn’t match what you see, or a permission prompt doesn’t appear, contact us and we’ll walk you through it. Installing on Windows instead? See Windows install steps.