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How to block YouTube on Chrome

“Just one video” is how most lost evenings start. Flowly blocks YouTube in Chrome while you focus and asks why before you open it, so one video stays one video.

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Free · Works in Chrome, Edge, Brave and Arc

Pause.Focus mode active

You already tried to open this 3 times today
youtube.com is blocked right now.

Why are you opening this?

Check one message, then come back.

Return to focusAllow 5 minutes

Block YouTube in four steps

  1. 1

    Install Flowly

    Add Flowly to Chrome from the Chrome Web Store. It takes a few seconds and needs no account.

  2. 2

    Turn on YouTube

    Open Flowly settings. youtube.com is in the default blocklist, so it is already ticked.

  3. 3

    Start a focus session

    Click the Flowly icon and choose 25, 45 or 60 minutes. Or set a schedule, for example every weekday from 10:00 to 16:00.

  4. 4

    Open YouTube and see the pause

    During focus, YouTube shows the Flowly pause screen instead of your feed. Choose a reason, then return to focus or allow 5 minutes.

Why YouTube is so hard to close

YouTube is built to keep you watching. Autoplay starts the next video before you decide, and the sidebar always has something that looks more interesting than your task. Willpower loses that fight most days.

Blocking YouTube for set hours takes the decision away when you are tired, and the pause screen catches the moments when you open it out of habit.

Block YouTube without losing it completely

Many people need YouTube for work or study: a tutorial, a lecture, a client video. Flowly does not delete YouTube from your day. It only blocks it during focus time, and when you open it, you can still allow 5 minutes for a specific reason.

Over a week the daily report shows how many times you reached for YouTube and why. Seeing “I'm procrastinating” for the fifth time is often what changes the habit.

Frequently asked questions

Add to Chrome, it's free
Does this block YouTube on my phone too?

No. Flowly is a Chrome extension, so it blocks YouTube in your desktop browser.

Can I block YouTube only at certain times?

Yes. Use the focus schedule to block YouTube every day, on weekdays or on weekends during the hours you choose.

Will it block embedded YouTube videos on other sites?

Flowly blocks youtube.com pages. Videos embedded on other websites are not blocked.

Is blocking YouTube free?

Yes. YouTube is part of the free default blocklist.

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