If you searched for how to block a website in Chrome, you probably expected a setting called "Block this site". There isn't one. Chrome on a personal computer has no switch that stops you opening a particular address, which is why so many people end up installing something. This guide covers what Chrome does and does not give you, the ways to block a whole site, and a quieter option for the common case where the site is fine and the endless feed is the problem.
Key points:
- Chrome has no built-in per-site blocker for a personal profile. Its site settings control things like pop-ups and notifications, not whether a page can open.
- Blocking a whole site is the right tool when you never need the site. Many people do need it, and only want the scrolling gone.
- Stillfeed's free extension hides the feeds on eight sites (it does not block arbitrary websites) and adds a daily limit, session timer, quiet hours, a pause before opening and grayscale.
What Chrome gives you out of the box
Open Chrome's settings and look for a block list and you will not find one. Google's own help page on site settings describes controls for pop-ups, redirects and notifications. You can add an address to a "not allowed" list so it cannot show pop-ups or send you notifications, and that is useful, but the site itself still opens. Nothing in that menu stops you typing the address and scrolling.
Blocking whole sites exists in Chrome in two places, and neither is aimed at someone managing their own habits. The first is on work or school devices, where an administrator can apply a policy that blocks addresses and users cannot change it. The second is parental supervision: parents can manage which sites a child's account can reach through Google's family tools. If you are an adult on your own laptop, you are outside both, and you need something else.
That gap is the reason extensions, operating system controls and network settings all exist. None of them is a perfect answer, so it helps to know what each one actually does.
Ways to block a website
A blocker extension
The most common route is a Chrome extension that keeps a list of addresses and replaces those pages with a notice. You add a site, it stops loading, and many of them add schedules or a password. This is the right shape of tool for a site you want gone for a while, such as a news site during a work deadline. The trade-off is that anything you can install you can also turn off, and for most people the moment to disable it is exactly the moment the urge is strongest.
Operating system controls
Phones and computers each ship with some form of screen time or parental control. On a computer these generally limit app use or filter content categories rather than letting you list a single address. They are a good fit when you want the limit to apply to every browser and every app at once, and a worse fit when you want a precise rule such as "this one site, evenings only".
The hosts file or a network filter
Technical users can edit the hosts file on their computer so that a site's address points nowhere, or use a router or DNS filter that blocks categories for every device on the network. These are strong because they sit outside the browser, and clumsy for the same reason: they are blunt, easy to forget, and awkward to undo on a day you need the site. They also affect everything on that computer or network, including anyone else using it.
Browser profiles
A lighter trick is a separate Chrome profile for work with no bookmarks, no saved logins and no history for the distracting sites. It does not block anything, but friction matters. If you have to sign in again from scratch, you will often skip it.
When a full site blocker is the right call
Blocking is the correct choice when you do not need the site at all, or you need it only at set times. A few common cases:
- A site you have decided to leave. If you are quitting a forum, a shopping site or a news habit, a block turns "I will not open it" into "I cannot open it today".
- A fixed work window. Blocking a list of sites from nine to five is a clean rule that is easy to explain to yourself.
- A shared or child device. Here the supervision tools above, not an extension you can switch off, are the better fit.
The honest weakness of blocking is that it treats the whole site as the enemy. Some sites are useful and harmful in the same tab. You may need YouTube for a tutorial, Reddit for a technical answer, LinkedIn for a message from a recruiter or Instagram for a message from a friend. Block the domain and you lose the useful part along with the part that eats your evening. Then comes the cycle most people recognize: block, get annoyed, switch the blocker off, scroll for an hour, feel bad, block again.
When you only want the feed gone
For many people the real problem is narrower than "this website". It is the surface that has no bottom: the Reels tab, the Shorts shelf, the For You page, the popular front page, the trending list. Those are the parts built to keep you scrolling, and they sit next to features you came for. If that sounds like you, the useful question is not "how do I block this site" but "how do I keep the site and lose the loop".
That approach has a practical advantage. You never have to override it to do something legitimate, so you are less tempted to switch it off. A tool that removes the infinite part of a site but leaves search, messages, profiles and the videos you open on purpose does not need willpower to coexist with. If you want to understand why those surfaces are so sticky, the guide on how to stop doomscrolling covers the mechanics, and Reels addiction covers the short-video version.
What the Stillfeed extension does
Stillfeed is a free browser extension for desktop. It has no account and no sign-up, and everything runs inside your browser: it sends nothing to Stillfeed or anyone else and has no analytics. It works on eight sites, Instagram, YouTube, X, Reddit, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn and Snapchat, and it is clear about what that means: it is not a general website blocker. It will not block an arbitrary address. It hides the feed surfaces on those eight and adds time tools.
The hiding is on by default for each site, and you can switch any site off from the toolbar popup. A few examples of what that covers:
- Instagram: sends the Reels page to your home page, hides Reels in the left menu, collapses Reels and suggested posts in your feed, and hides the Explore grid. Search still works.
- YouTube: hides or blocks Shorts in the menu, in shelves and on Shorts pages.
- X: opens your home timeline on Following and hides Trending and the trends in the right column.
- Reddit: blocks r/popular and r/all.
- TikTok: hides For You, Explore, LIVE and Short dramas in the menu and sends you to Following.
Your messages, profiles, posts you open, search and sign-in are left alone. Facebook, LinkedIn and Snapchat each have their own short list; the extension page has the full set.
Because blocking alone does not help with time, the same extension adds five time tools that work on all eight sites. A daily limit sets a total for the day; when it is used up, those sites close until midnight, with five extra minutes available once per visit. A session timer gives each visit two, five, ten or fifteen minutes. Quiet hours are named schedules that close chosen sites on chosen days, including overnight. Pause before opening makes you wait five or ten seconds before a site loads, which is often enough to ask whether you wanted it. Grayscale drains the colour from the page so scrolling is less rewarding. These limits apply in the browser you installed it in.
How to install it
Go to the extension page. In Chrome, Brave, Edge, Opera and Arc, install it from the Chrome Web Store in one click. In Firefox, install it from Firefox Add-ons.
The page links both stores. If you would rather start with a habit than a tool, the social media detox guide gives a plan you can run with or without any software.
Stillfeed also has an iPhone app that does the same job in a distraction-free browser on your phone. It is the main product, and the extension is the free desktop companion.
Common questions
Does Chrome have a built-in website blocker?
Not for a personal profile. Chrome's site settings handle pop-ups and notifications, and blocking addresses is available only through administrator policies on managed devices and through parental supervision of a child's account.
Is the Stillfeed extension a website blocker?
No. It does not block arbitrary websites. It hides feed surfaces such as Reels, Shorts, For You and r/popular on eight named sites and adds time limits for those sites.
Can I turn it off for one site?
Yes. Each site has its own switch in the toolbar popup, so you can keep the hiding on for Instagram and off for YouTube.
Is it free?
Yes. The extension is free with no account, and the time tools are part of it.
Does it see what I browse?
It runs only on the eight supported sites and sends nothing anywhere. Its settings and your minutes of use stay on your device.
More guides
- Instagram on a computer without Reels
- How to see only the accounts you follow on X
- LinkedIn without the feed
- Reddit on a bigger screen without the endless scroll
More browser extension guides
- How to Block YouTube Shorts on Chrome (and Other Desktop Browsers)
- How to Set a YouTube Time Limit in Chrome (and Other Desktop Browsers)
- Unhook YouTube Extension vs Stillfeed: What Each One Does
- A Website Blocker for Firefox That Blocks the Feed, Not the Whole Site
- Instagram on a Computer Without Reels, Explore or Suggested Posts
- How to Hide Reels on Facebook on a Computer
- Snapchat Web: Use It for Chat Only, Without Stories or Spotlight
- News Feed Eradicator Alternative: Hide Feeds on 8 Sites, Plus Time Limits
- How to Block r/popular and r/all on Reddit in Your Browser
- Block Distracting Sites on Edge, Brave, Opera and Arc (Free Extension)
