How to Block Websites on Chrome
Block distracting websites on Chrome with a free extension, close the Incognito loophole, and use Screen Time or Family Link on phones.
You will end up with your distracting sites blocked in Chrome, in regular and Incognito windows, and you will know the phone and whole-computer options too.
Gloria Mark, who has studied this at UC Irvine since 2003, found that attention on a screen now averages about 47 seconds before we switch to something else. It was 2.5 minutes when she started, and 75 seconds in 2012. Mark says others have replicated the finding, with averages of 50 and 44 seconds. If you have ever opened a new tab to check one quick thing and lost 30 minutes to scrolling, you already know how quickly a small distraction turns into a big one.
Chrome does not come with a built-in website blocker. A free extension fixes that. You pick the sites you want off-limits, and the extension stops you from visiting them.
We checked these steps against Google's Chrome help pages in September 2026 and Apple's iOS 27 guides in October 2026.
Open the Chrome Web Store
Launch Chrome and go to the Chrome Web Store. Type BlockSite into the search bar at the top and press Enter. Its Chrome Web Store listing shows 1,000,000 users, and BlockSite calls it a free site blocker. You will see several results, and a few imitators with similar names. Check the publisher and the install count on the listing rather than going by the icon, because extensions change their artwork and the copies are designed to look like the original.
Install the extension
Click on BlockSite in the search results to open its listing page. Click the Add to Chrome button. A pop-up will ask you to confirm the permissions the extension needs. Click Add extension. Chrome will download and install it automatically. You will see a small notification in the top right confirming the extension has been added.
Good to know: If you would rather give yourself a daily time allowance than block a site outright, use StayFocusd instead. LeechBlock is the one to pick if you want separate block sets for different times and days.
Pin the extension to your toolbar
Click the puzzle piece icon in the top right corner of Chrome. This opens the extensions menu. Find BlockSite in the list and click the pin icon next to it. The BlockSite icon now stays in your toolbar, so you can reach it whenever you want to block a new site.
Add websites to your block list
There are two ways to block a site. The quickest way is to visit the website you want to block, click the BlockSite icon in your toolbar, and click Block this site. The page will immediately redirect to a block screen. The other way is to click the BlockSite icon, click the settings (gear) icon, and on the Block Sites tab click Add to Block List. Type the site you want to block and click Done. You can add multiple sites this way.
Good to know: Block the root domain (like reddit.com) rather than specific pages. This way BlockSite blocks every page on that site, not just the one you entered.
Enable the extension in Incognito mode
By default, Chrome extensions do not run in Incognito mode. That means you can open an Incognito window and visit every site on your block list without any restrictions. To close this gap, type chrome://extensions in the address bar and press Enter. Find BlockSite in the list and click Details. Scroll down and toggle on Allow in Incognito. Now the extension will enforce your block list in Incognito windows too.
Heads up: This toggle closes the Incognito gap, but anyone at the computer, including you in a weak moment, can still turn the extension off on chrome://extensions. For a block that cannot be switched off from inside Chrome, use the hosts file in FAQ 4.
Test the block right away. Open a regular window and then an Incognito window, and try one of the sites in each. If it still loads, FAQ 2 lists what to check. For a block that covers every browser on the computer and cannot be switched off from inside Chrome, edit your hosts file (FAQ 4). It needs administrator access and takes a little more effort to undo, which is the point. For parents looking to restrict browsing for children, Google Family Link offers purpose-built parental controls, and Google's page is clear that Incognito mode is turned off when a child is signed in to Chrome with an account managed by Family Link. That removes the biggest loophole in extension-based blocking. Google lists it as working on Android, Chromebook, iPhone, iPad, Windows, Mac, and Linux. The catch is in Google's own warning. On iPhone, iPad, and desktop computers, a child can sign out of Chrome, and the controls go with them. That is why Screen Time is the better bet on an iPhone, and why Family Link is at its strongest on Android and Chromebooks, where the account is tied to the device.
Questions we get asked about this
Answers from experience, not a textbook.
No. Chrome does not include a native website blocker for individual users. The site settings in Chrome manage permissions like camera access, location sharing, and notifications. They do not let you block yourself from visiting specific sites. The only built-in blocking is available through Chrome Enterprise policies, which IT administrators use to restrict access across managed devices. For personal use, you need an extension or a system-level workaround like editing the hosts file.
Check four things. The extension may not be allowed in Incognito windows, which is off by default (step 5 turns it on). You may have blocked a single page instead of the root domain (the tip in step 4). The extension may have been turned off on chrome://extensions. And a block in Chrome does nothing in another browser, which is where the hosts file in FAQ 4 comes in, since it applies to every browser on the computer.
Chrome on Android and iOS does not support browser extensions. On Android, you can use Google Family Link to block specific websites for a child's account, or download a standalone app like BlockSite from the Google Play Store. On iPhone, use Screen Time, which is built into Settings. In iOS 27, Apple documents a website block list for a child's device in Family Sharing. On the parent's iPhone, go to Settings, tap Family, tap your child's name, then tap Apps & Websites. Tap the Add button and enter the website you want to block. Apple says the block applies in Safari, so open the site in Chrome on your child's iPhone afterward and check that it is blocked there too. For your own iPhone, Apple's iOS 27 Screen Time page covers content ratings, built-in features, and Siri, and it documents no website block list. Use Time Allowances instead (Settings, then Screen Time, then Time Allowances) to cap the time you spend in an app category such as Social Media. Apple says that when an app declares an associated website, the allowance applies to both.
Yes. The hosts file is a system-level file that maps domain names to IP addresses. When you add a line like 127.0.0.1 followed by a domain name, your computer redirects all traffic for that domain to your own machine instead. This works in every browser on your computer and cannot be bypassed with Incognito mode or private browsing. On Windows, the file is at C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts. On Mac, it is at /etc/hosts. You will need administrator access to edit it.
Yes, if you use an extension that supports scheduling. BlockSite includes a schedule feature that lets you set time ranges when sites are blocked. StayFocusd takes a different approach and gives you a daily time allowance for specific sites. Once you use up your allowed time, those sites are blocked for the rest of the day. LeechBlock is another option that offers detailed scheduling with separate block sets for different times and days of the week.