WebHandbrake – Website Blocker & Time Limits

Block distracting sites or slow them down with a short pause. Time limits, schedules and focus sessions. No account, no tracking.

WebHandbrake is a website blocker with a gentler side. Block the sites that pull you in, so that they do not open at all: always, or only at the hours you choose or after a daily time limit. Or just slow them down with a question or a few seconds’ wait, so that you go in only when you mean to. It takes a minute to set up, it is free and open source, and it needs no account: everything stays on your device. BLOCK DISTRACTING SITES COMPLETELY • Start from a ready-made list (social media, video, news, shopping, games or forums) or add your own sites. • Block them always, or only when they get in the way: at set hours such as weekdays from 9 to 5, or after some time or a number of visits each day. • Keep what you need: an exception allows a single page or section of a blocked site. OR JUST SLOW THEM DOWN A short pause is often enough to stop opening a site out of habit. Instead of a block, choose: • Ask first: say what you want to do and for how long. When the time is up, it asks again. • Wait: a short countdown to take a breath before the page opens. • Challenge: type random characters or a phrase, or solve a small sum. • Filter: greyscale, blur or fade make a page less appealing. TIME LIMITS AND FOCUS SESSIONS • Limit your time or your visits per hour, per day or every few days. • The toolbar icon and a small timer on the page show how much time is left. • Start a focus sessionr: it blocks the sites of your rules, a list of your own, or everything except the sites you need. FIRM WHEN YOU NEED IT In a weak moment, the easiest way around a blocker is to switch it off. With WebHandbrake you decide in advance how hard that is, rule by rule: • a simple confirmation; • a wait before the change applies, from a few seconds to 30 days; • a password that someone you trust keeps for you; • a code from a friend’s authenticator app; • no changes until a date you choose, or never. Making a rule stricter always works straight away. Changing the system clock will not get you around it, and with a firm protection the browser’s extension and settings pages stay closed too. If you overdo it, the emergency exit always works and needs nobody else. SEE WHERE YOUR TIME GOES • Insights shows your time by day and by hour, by rule and by site, and how many times you chose not to go in. • Save a blocked page for later, and find it when the site is allowed again. • “Why?” tells you which rule applies to a page and when that will change. PRIVATE BY DESIGN • No account, no server, no ads, no analytics. WebHandbrake makes no network requests of its own. • Your rules and statistics stay in your browser. Export them or delete them at any time. • Free and open-source software, licensed under the GPL. ALSO INCLUDED • Light and dark themes, high contrast, and keyboard and screen-reader support. • Import your existing block lists, including hosts files and common filter-list formats. • Automatic backups, keyboard shortcuts, a right-click menu and built-in help that works offline. Questions, ideas and source code: https://github.com/fabiomolignoni/WebHandbrake