I built a Chrome extension that blocks distracting websites forever and forces you to justify every video before it plays
What does it do?
FocusGuard blocks websites like Reddit, TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, etc. instantly — the moment you navigate there, you're redirected away. No loading, no "just one quick check." It's gone before your brain even registers it.
There's also an option to hard-block YouTube Shorts and remove them from your feed entirely. Shorts are basically a slot machine engineered to keep you scrolling indefinitely, so FocusGuard kills them with zero bypass — they just don't exist anymore.
The more interesting feature: every regular YouTube video pauses behind an overlay that asks "Why are you watching this?" You have to type a reason that actually matches the video. Typing "Bored" gets rejected. Typing "Music video" when it's actually a music video gets accepted. Typing "I need to study calculus" when the video is NBA highlights also gets rejected.
The reason gate sounds annoying — that's entirely the point. That 5 second pause forces a moment of actual conscious thought before your brain goes on autopilot. Half the time you realize you have no real reason for watching and just close the tab. The other half you watch guilt-free because you justified it.
I've been using it myself for the past few weeks and it's genuinely changed how I use YouTube. I sit down to study and actually study instead of losing an hour to Shorts and recommendations.
It's completely free, no account required, no tracking. Just install and it works.
To find it, search FocusGuard — Block Distractions & Focus in the Chrome Web Store. Happy to answer questions or take suggestions!
