Tech Lockdown uses Santa, an open source security extension, to block browsers on a Mac when Block other browsers is turned on.
When you disconnect your Mac from Tech Lockdown, browser blocking stops, but the Santa app may still be installed. You may see a Santa icon in the menu bar. Follow these steps to remove Santa completely.
Use the same steps if your Mac was disconnected while it was turned off or offline, or if your Tech Lockdown account has been deleted. In those cases Santa may still be blocking some browsers until you finish Step 2.
You'll need: an administrator account on the Mac (its name and password). If your child uses a standard account, log in to an administrator account first.
Step 1: Remove the Tech Lockdown profile
This step is already completed if you clicked the "Disconnect" button in the dashboard.
- macOS Sequoia 15 or later: Apple menu > System Settings > General > Device Management.
- macOS Sonoma 14: Apple menu > System Settings > Privacy & Security > Profiles. You may need to scroll down.
Select Tech Lockdown Device Management, click the Remove (–) button, and confirm. If you're asked for an administrator name and password, enter them.
If there's no Tech Lockdown profile, it has already been removed. Go to Step 2.
Step 2: Restart your Mac
After the restart, Santa no longer blocks any browsers.
Step 3: Check that Santa has stopped
Open Terminal (Applications > Utilities > Terminal) and run:
systemextensionsctl list
- If you see a line containing
com.northpolesec.santa.daemonthat says activated enabled, the Tech Lockdown profile is still installed. Go back to Step 1. - If there's no such line, or it says terminated waiting to uninstall on reboot, continue.
Step 4: Remove the Santa app
Open your applications folder and delete the Santa app.
Step 5: Confirm Santa is gone
Run:
ls /Applications/Santa.app
You should see No such file or directory, and the Santa icon is gone from the menu bar.