GrivunHow to block websites on Chrome
Chrome has no built-in site blocker for a normal account. These are the five methods that actually work, what each one costs you, and how to pick.
1. Family Link, for a child's account
If the account is a supervised Google account for a child, Family Link lets a parent block specific sites, or allow only an approved list, and Chrome enforces it on every device where the child signs in. It is the only blocking Chrome itself provides, and it cannot be switched off from the child's side.
It does not apply to your own account. Google will not let you supervise yourself.
2. The hosts file
Every computer has a text file that maps names to addresses, and the system checks it before asking any DNS server. Point a domain at your own machine and it stops resolving, in every browser at once.
On Windows the file is C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts; on macOS and Linux it is /etc/hosts. Open it as administrator and add one line per host:
127.0.0.1 www.reddit.com
127.0.0.1 reddit.comFree and browser-independent, but blunt: no schedule, no limits, you have to list every subdomain yourself (old.reddit.com is not covered by reddit.com), the browser shows a connection error rather than an explanation, and undoing it takes ten seconds of editing.
3. DNS filtering
Services such as NextDNS, or a Pi-hole on your network, let you block domains for every device that uses that DNS, phones included, with a schedule if you want one. Setup is a few minutes per device, or one change in the router.
The limit is the same as with hosts: it works at domain level. It can block youtube.com; it cannot hide the Shorts shelf while leaving the video you searched for.
4. Chrome's own policy list
Chrome reads a URLBlocklist policy meant for company-managed machines, and nothing in the browser can override it: not an extension, not incognito, not a settings page. On Windows it lives in the registry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome\URLBlocklist, one string value per pattern ("1" = "reddit.com"). On macOS it is a configuration profile, or a defaults write on com.google.Chrome.
This is the hardest block to undo on a whim, which is exactly why some people like it. Chrome will show "managed by your organization" from then on, and there is no schedule or limit: it is on until you edit the registry again.
5. An extension
An extension is the only option that understands what happens inside a page. That is what makes schedules, daily limits, focus sessions and "keep the site, hide the feed" possible at all.
The honest downside: any extension can be uninstalled. Chrome does not let an extension prevent its own removal, and one that claims otherwise is not telling you the truth. What a good one can do is make the block hold while it is on, with a strict session that cannot be paused or edited until the timer runs out.
Two things to check before installing any blocker:
- Permissions. If the install prompt says "read and change all your data on all websites", the extension can see every page you visit. A blocker does not need that. It can ask for each site you add instead.
- Accounts and servers. A block list is a very personal document. It should not leave your computer.
Blocking a site with Grivun
- Install Grivun from the Chrome Web Store.
- Open the site, right-click anywhere and choose Block this site with Grivun, or click the Grivun icon and press Block this site. Chrome asks permission for that one domain, and nothing else.
- Pick the kind of block you want: the whole site, only its feed (YouTube, X, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Reddit and LinkedIn), or a daily limit in minutes.
- Optional: start a focus session in strict mode when you need it to hold.
Free covers three sites and feed mode on one platform, and every install starts with seven days of full Pro. Daily limits, schedules and the strict lock are Pro.
Which one should you use?
| You want | Use |
|---|---|
| To block sites for a child | Family Link |
| Something that cannot be undone in a weak moment | The policy list, or DNS at the router |
| Every device on the network, phones included | DNS filtering |
| Schedules, limits, or the site without its feed | An extension |
| Free and quick, and you don't mind the bluntness | The hosts file |
They combine well. Plenty of people run DNS filtering for the sites they never want, and an extension for the ones they need with the addictive part removed.
Questions
Does Chrome have a built-in website blocker?
No, not for a normal account. Family Link for supervised children's accounts, and the enterprise URLBlocklist policy, are the two mechanisms Chrome itself enforces.
Can I block a website so that I cannot unblock it?
Not fully, on a machine you administer. The policy list and router-level DNS are the hardest to reverse. An extension's strict session holds until its timer ends, and that is usually enough to get past the urge.
Do these methods work in incognito?
Hosts, DNS and the policy list apply everywhere. Extensions only run in incognito if you allow it in chrome://extensions, so do that.
Can I block just part of a site, like YouTube Shorts?
Only an extension can. It is covered in the YouTube guide.
Try it on the site that costs you the most
Grivun is free for up to three sites and feed mode on one platform, with seven days of full Pro to start. No account, and nothing leaves your browser.
Add to Chrome — free