TrashBlock

About

TrashBlock - Block Distracting Sites with a Typing Challenge

Stop mindlessly opening distracting websites. TrashBlock lets you block the sites you choose and makes you manually type a custom phrase before a blocked site can be opened for 10 minutes.

HOW IT WORKS

1. Add any website domain to your block list (e.g., twitter.com, reddit.com, youtube.com, x.com)
2. When you try to visit that domain or one of its subdomains, you'll see a full-page challenge instead of the site
3. Type your unlock phrase exactly to get 10 minutes of access
4. After 10 minutes, the site is blocked again automatically

The friction of typing a phrase like "I should be working on something productive" is enough to break the autopilot habit of opening distracting sites — without being so strict that you can never access them.

KEY FEATURES

- Custom unlock phrase: Set any phrase you want. Changing it requires typing the current phrase first, so you can't cheat in a moment of weakness.

- Day scheduling: Choose which days of the week blocking is active. Block social media on weekdays but allow it on weekends.

- 10-minute unlock window: Successfully typing the phrase gives you 10 minutes of access, then blocks again automatically. Long enough to check something specific, short enough to prevent rabbit holes.

- Domain + subdomain blocking: Blocking "twitter.com" also blocks "mobile.twitter.com" and other "*.twitter.com" subdomains. Separate domains like "x.com" should be added separately.

- Full-page block screen: No tiny popups or notifications. A clean, focused challenge page that makes you think about whether you really need to visit the site.

- Protected settings: Removing a site from the block list, changing your phrase, or changing active days requires completing the typing challenge. No quick toggles to disable in a moment of weakness.

- Manual typing challenge: The unlock phrase must be typed exactly on the challenge page. Pasting is disabled.

PRIVACY FIRST

TrashBlock is private and local-first:
- It checks page URLs locally to know when to show the block page
- No browsing data or page content is sent anywhere
- No analytics, no tracking, no third-party services
- All settings stored locally on your device
- Open source: https://github.com/Arxtage/trashblock

PERMISSIONS EXPLAINED

- "Read and change all your data on all websites" / host access — Required because you can choose any site to block. TrashBlock only compares page URLs to your block list and redirects matching sites to the challenge page.

- "Read your browsing history" / webNavigation — Used only to detect top-level navigation to a blocked site in rare fallback cases. TrashBlock does not build or transmit browsing history.

Built for people who want a simple, honest tool to manage their attention — not another app that tracks you.