FocusTube
FocusTube: Distraction Blocker
A privacy-first browser extension for reducing distracting social video and feed surfaces.
Supports YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, TikTok, Facebook Reels, and LinkedIn feed controls.
Install: Chrome | Firefox | Edge
Installation | Features | Configuration | Project Impact | Technical Highlights | Privacy
FocusTube is an open-source browser extension that helps reduce doomscrolling and stay focused. It blocks or hides distracting areas on supported platforms while keeping settings and usage data local to the browser.
The project supports Chromium browsers with a Manifest V3 build and Firefox with a separate compatibility manifest.
Features
Blocking Modes
- Strict Mode: Blocks distracting surfaces by redirecting or showing a blocking overlay.
- Warn Mode: Shows an interstitial before access where supported.
- Passive Mode: Allows normal browsing while visual hiding controls can still reduce distracting entry points.
Supported Surfaces
- YouTube: Blocks Shorts URLs and can hide Shorts navigation/shelves plus the English “Most relevant” shelf on the Subscriptions page.
- Instagram: Blocks Reels/Explore paths and can hide Reels navigation and Stories.
- TikTok: Blocks common feed/video surfaces while allowing safer areas such as messages and settings.
- Facebook: Blocks Reels paths and can hide Reels navigation, Stories, and People You Might Know suggestions.
- LinkedIn: Can hide the main feed and “Add to your feed” sidebar card.
Productivity Tools
- Built-in focus/break timer.
- Optional browser notifications when timers complete.
- Local blocked-count and time-saved estimates.
- Popup and options pages for browser-local configuration.
Installation
Official Stores
Manual Installation
Clone or download this repository, then choose the manifest for your browser.
Chrome, Edge, Brave, and other Chromium browsers
The Chromium build uses Manifest V3.
- Copy or rename
chrome-manifest.jsontomanifest.json. - Open
chrome://extensionsoredge://extensions. - Enable Developer mode.
- Click Load unpacked.
- Select the repository folder containing the renamed
manifest.json.
Firefox
The Firefox build currently uses Manifest V2 for compatibility.
- Copy or rename
firefox-manifest.jsontomanifest.json. - Open
about:debugging#/runtime/this-firefox. - Click Load Temporary Add-on….
- Select the copied/renamed
manifest.jsonfile.
Firefox temporary add-ons are removed when the browser restarts. Reload the manifest from about:debugging when testing changes.
Configuration
Click the extension icon to open the popup:
- Toggle FocusTube on or off.
- Toggle visual distraction hiding.
- Configure each supported platform.
- Start or stop the focus/break timer.
- Open the options page for timer settings, platform visibility, import/export, and reset controls.
Project Impact
Impact figures are approximate as of September 1, 2026. Store dashboards use different activity windows, so the combined audience is rounded:
- Approximately 700 users across the Chrome Web Store, Microsoft Edge Add-ons, and Firefox Add-ons.
- 32 GitHub stars and 4 forks.
- 5.0 from 7 Chrome Web Store ratings and 5.0 from 3 Firefox Add-ons reviews.
- Chrome Web Store Featured status.
- Published on all three stores: Chrome, Edge, and Firefox.
Development Note
AI tools contributed substantially to the implementation. The maintainer remains responsible for product direction, requirements, UX decisions, testing, debugging, publishing, maintenance, user feedback, and release management.
Technical Highlights
- Browser extension APIs for storage, alarms, notifications, popup UI, options UI, and content scripts.
- Cross-browser manifests for Chromium and Firefox.
- Site-specific content scripts for YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
- Shared DOM utilities for overlays, visual hiding, timer state, and SPA updates.
MutationObserver, browser navigation events, and timer-driven messaging for dynamic single-page applications.- Local browser storage for preferences, timer state, stats, and import/export data.
Privacy
FocusTube is designed to run locally in the browser.
- No analytics or tracking: The extension code does not include analytics SDKs or telemetry calls.
- No remote backend: The extension does not send browsing data or settings to a project-controlled server.
- Local storage: Preferences, timer state, stats, and settings backups use browser-local APIs such as
chrome.storage.local. - User-opened links only: The popup/options UI can open GitHub or store listing pages when the user clicks related buttons.
Contributing
See CONTRIBUTING.md for contribution guidance and CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md for community standards. TESTING.md covers automated commands and the browser matrix; ARCHITECTURE.md describes the runtime boundaries.
Security
See SECURITY.md for reporting security or privacy issues.