How to Block a Website on Chrome (So You Can’t Just Unblock It)

Chrome has no block button. It will load the same time-sink a hundred times a day and never once ask if you meant to, which is why a site you swore off keeps turning up in your tabs.

So blocking a site is not something you find in the settings. It is something you set up, and the right way to do it comes down to one question: are you blocking the site from yourself, or from someone else? A distraction you are trying to quit needs a setup that survives your own bad afternoons. A site you are blocking for a child needs one they cannot quietly switch off. Different jobs, different tools.

Start with your situation:

• Cutting your own distractions on a computer. A Chrome extension is the two-minute fix. If you keep switching your blocker off, use one with a lock.
• Blocking a site on your phone too. Screen Time on iPhone, or Family Link and a blocker app on Android.
• Keeping a site off every device in the house. Block it once at your router or through a filtering DNS.
• Blocking it for a child. Family Link or Screen Time, with a passcode so it stays put.

1. Block a Website on Chrome With an Extension

A website blocker for Chrome is the quickest way to shut a site down on a computer. You add a block site Chrome extension, enter the addresses you want gone, and Chrome sends you elsewhere whenever you try to open them.

1. Open the Chrome Web Store and search for a website blocker.
2. Click Add to Chrome, then Add extension.
3. Click the extension icon in the toolbar, and pin it with the puzzle-piece icon if it is hidden.
4. Add the sites you want blocked and save.

What to expect:

• It only guards Chrome, so the site still opens in another browser.
• It is switched off in incognito until you allow it there.
• It comes off in about three clicks, which matters if the block is for you.
• If you want the same site gone on your phone as well, it helps to know how to block it on any device.

2. Restrict Websites on Chrome With AppBlock

A block is only as good as how hard it is to switch off, and the person most likely to switch it off is you, an hour later. A block you cannot easily bypass is the one that actually holds, so you decide once and stop fighting that battle all day. AppBlock’s Chrome extension is free and built around exactly that.

Here is how to block with it:

• Add the sites you want gone to a blocklist, or flip to an allowlist that permits only the ones you choose.
• Block by keyword, not just full addresses.
• Schedule focus sessions so blocking turns on by itself.
• Turn on Strict Mode so a moment of weakness cannot switch it off.

AppBlock also has a mobile app, so you can lock the same distractions down on your phone, not just in the browser. It just puts enough friction between you and the site that reaching for it stops being automatic.

3. Block a Website on Chrome Without an Extension

If you would rather not install anything at all, the hosts file blocks a site for your whole computer, in Chrome and every other browser, and it is hard to undo by accident. You need an administrator account.

On Windows:

1. Search for Notepad, right-click it, and choose Run as administrator.
2. Open File, then Open, and go to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts. Switch the filter to All Files if the file is hidden.
3. At the bottom, add 127.0.0.1 example.com, then a second line for 127.0.0.1 www.example.com.
4. Save, then run ipconfig /flushdns in Command Prompt.

On Mac:

1. Open Terminal and type sudo nano /etc/hosts, then your password.
2. Add 127.0.0.1 example.com on a new line.
3. Press Control X, then Y, then Enter to save.
4. Flush the cache with sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder.

Worth knowing:

• It does not sync to your phone and does not work on a Chromebook.
• A VPN can slip past it.
• The same idea covers you if you want to block sites on a Mac across every browser.

4. Block a Website in Chrome on Your Phone

Chrome on your phone needs its own setup, and the tool depends on whose phone it is.

On iPhone, Chrome follows Screen Time, so one setting covers Chrome and Safari:

1. Open Settings, tap Screen Time, and turn on Content and Privacy Restrictions.
2. Tap Content Restrictions, then Web Content.
3. Choose Limit Adult Websites.
4. Under Never Allow, tap Add Website and enter the address.
5. Set a Screen Time passcode so it cannot be turned off without it.

On Android, Chrome’s built-in tools do not block individual sites, so you use:

• Google Family Link to block sites in Chrome on a child’s device.
• A blocker app for your own phone, which blocks sites and apps directly. Here are more ways to block on Android.

5. Block a Website Across Every Device at Once

Set this once and it covers every phone, tablet, and computer on your Wi-Fi, in any browser. It is the hardest kind to route around.

Through a filtering DNS:

1. Pick a provider. Cloudflare for Families uses 1.1.1.3 and 1.0.0.3 for malware and adult content, and free services like NextDNS let you build your own blocklist.
2. Open your router panel, usually 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1.
3. Enter the DNS addresses and save.

Through the router itself:

1. Log in to the router panel.
2. Find website filtering or access restrictions.
3. Add the addresses and save.

This is the sturdiest way to keep adult sites out for a whole household. Exact steps vary by router.

Which Method Fits You

What you need	Where to start
A quick nudge on your computer	A Chrome extension
A block you cannot easily switch off	AppBlock with Strict Mode
Coverage on your phone as well	Screen Time on iPhone, a blocker app on Android
The same site gone in every browser	The hosts file
Every device in the house covered	DNS or router blocking
Controls for a child	Family Link or Screen Time with a passcode

FAQ