OneTab
Status: KEEPCollapses 60 shame tabs into one list, instantly; RAM and dignity restored.
The catch: The list becomes its own graveyard; schedule a monthly purge.
Added 2026-08 · Checked 2026-08
Best focus extensions
OneTab, Unhook, and News Feed Eradicator are the free trinity: tabs tamed, YouTube defanged, feeds gone. Dark Reader for sensory relief. StayFocusd adds budgets but bypasses easily; it is a speed bump, not a wall.
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| Item | Stamp | Band | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| OneTab | KEEP | free | Sixty tabs into one list |
| Unhook for YouTube | KEEP | free | YouTube without the spiral |
| News Feed Eradicator | KEEP | free | Feeds, gone |
| Dark Reader | KEEP | free | Sensory relief |
| StayFocusd | WORTH A LOOK | free | Time budgets per site |
No. 1
Best for: Sixty tabs into one list
No. 2
Unhook for YouTube
Status: KEEPStrips YouTube recommendations, shorts, and autoplay; search still works, the spiral doesn't.
The catch: You will feel the pull for a week; that is the extension working.
Added 2026-08 · Checked 2026-08
Best for: YouTube without the spiral
No. 3
News Feed Eradicator
Status: KEEPReplaces the infinite feed with a quote; the site still works, the trap doesn't.
The catch: Covers major feeds only; the phone app remains the phone app.
Added 2026-08 · Checked 2026-08
Best for: Feeds, gone
No. 4
Dark Reader
Status: KEEPDark mode everywhere; sensory relief for light-sensitive late sessions.
The catch: Occasionally mangles a site; the per-site toggle is one click.
Added 2026-08 · Checked 2026-08
Best for: Sensory relief
No. 5
StayFocusd
Status: WORTH A LOOKDaily time budgets per site with a nuclear option for deadline days.
Band: free
Tags: blockers, focus
Confidence: Tested briefly
The catch: Browser-level only; a motivated you bypasses it. Pattern-interrupt, not a wall.
App-level blockers are software; carded here one line only.
Added 2026-08 · Checked 2026-08
Best for: Time budgets per site
| Leak | Extension | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Too many open tabs | OneTab | Collapses tabs into one list |
| Social feeds | News Feed Eradicator | Replaces the feed with a quote |
| YouTube rabbit holes | Unhook | Hides recommendations, shorts and autoplay |
| Time on specific sites | StayFocusd | Daily time budgets per site |
| Bright screens at night | Dark Reader | Dark mode on every site |
Start with one extension
Pick the extension that removes your biggest leak: tabs (OneTab), feeds (News Feed Eradicator), video recommendations (Unhook) or time on specific sites (StayFocusd). Install one, live with it for a week, then add another if needed. Installing five at once makes it hard to tell what helped, and easy to disable them all on a bad day.
Know the limits
Browser extensions only work in the browser and profile where they are installed, and a determined you can switch them off. Treat them as a speed bump, not a wall. Install them in the profile you work in, and remember that the phone app is untouched. Our guide to turning off the feed has the setup.
Pick by situation
Your browser has more tabs than you can count: OneTab, and a monthly purge. Social feeds steal your breaks: News Feed Eradicator. YouTube turns one video into an evening: Unhook. You lose hours on specific sites but do not want them blocked outright: StayFocusd with modest daily budgets. You work late and bright pages hurt: Dark Reader. You want all of these: install one per week, in that order of whichever leak costs you most, and keep notes on what changed.
Which leak are you plugging?
Each extension on this list fixes one kind of leak, so start by naming yours. If you keep dozens of tabs open because closing them feels like losing them, OneTab collapses them into one list. If a social feed eats the first ten minutes of every break, News Feed Eradicator replaces the feed with a quote while leaving the rest of the site usable. If YouTube's recommendations pull you from one video to the next, Unhook removes them along with shorts and autoplay. If you lose track of time on specific sites, StayFocusd sets a daily time budget per site. If bright screens late at night are the problem, Dark Reader darkens every site. One leak, one extension.
Install safely
Browser extensions can read and change the pages you visit, so install them carefully. Get them only from the official store for your browser, or from a link on the developer's own website, and check that the publisher name matches. Read the permissions it asks for: a dark mode tool needs to change pages, but a tab manager asking for access to your email is a warning sign. Check the number of users, the last update date and recent reviews. Extensions occasionally change owners, and a new owner can change what it does, so remove any extension you no longer use. Fewer extensions also means a faster browser.
Use a work profile
Most browsers let you create separate profiles, each with its own bookmarks, logins and extensions. A work profile with the focus extensions installed, and a personal profile without them, gives you a clear line: open the work profile and the feeds are gone; switch to personal on purpose when you want them. This also stops you from disabling everything on a bad afternoon, because the extensions belong to the work profile rather than the whole browser. If you share a computer, profiles keep your settings from affecting anyone else.
The phone is a separate problem
Desktop extensions do nothing for the apps on your phone, and most phone browsers support few or no extensions. If the phone is where the feeds get you, use the phone's own tools instead: screen time limits, focus modes, moving distracting apps off the home screen, or deleting the app and using the website when you really need it. Our guide to turning off the feed in your browser covers the desktop side step by step. For a physical alternative to timer extensions, the desk timers shortlist keeps time off the screen entirely.
A monthly five-minute maintenance
Extensions need a little upkeep to stay useful. Once a month, open OneTab and delete everything older than a month in one go; the list is meant to be temporary, and our card warns that it becomes its own graveyard. Check that each extension still works after browser updates. Remove any you have switched off more than you have used. If an extension stops working or leaves its store, our quarterly check flips its card to RETURNED with the reason published, under the desk rules.
When extensions are not enough
Extensions add friction, and friction helps, but a determined you can get round any of them in seconds. If you notice yourself switching them off daily, that is useful information: the pull is stronger than a speed bump can handle in that moment. Pair extensions with something outside the browser: a desk timer so work happens in blocks, a body doubling session for the hardest tasks, or simply working from a different room or device for focused work. App-level blockers that lock you out for set periods exist for people who need a wall rather than a speed bump; our sister site bestadhdapps.com covers focus apps.
Common mistakes
Installing five extensions in one afternoon, then disabling them all on the first stressful day. Installing them in a profile you do not work in. Keeping OneTab's list forever. Using a blocker so strict that you switch it off, instead of a budget you can live with. And forgetting that the phone is untouched by all of them. One extension, the right profile and a monthly tidy cover most of the benefit.
How we choose
Stamps are earned per the desk's criteria: KEEP means still in use after 30 days or more, WORTH A LOOK means real merit with a situational fit. This list is re-checked quarterly and the table above carries the date. Stamps follow the desk's published criteria, and the returned entry explains itself.
Questions
- Q. Do I need all five?
- A. No. Install the one matching your actual leak: tabs, YouTube, or feeds. Five extensions installed on the same afternoon is a project, not a fix.
- Q. Are these checked against current browsers?
- A. Yes, quarterly. An extension that stops working or leaves its store flips to RETURNED with the reason published.
- Q. Are focus extensions safe to install?
- A. Generally, if you install from the official browser store, check the publisher and permissions, and remove extensions you no longer use. Extensions can read the pages you visit, so be selective.
- Q. Do focus extensions work on my phone?
- A. Mostly not. They run in desktop browsers. On a phone, use built-in screen time limits and focus modes, or move distracting apps off the home screen.
- Q. What is the best Chrome extension for ADHD focus?
- A. The one that plugs your biggest leak: OneTab for tab overload, News Feed Eradicator for social feeds, Unhook for YouTube. Install one, use it for a week, then decide on the next.
- Q. Can a blocker extension be bypassed?
- A. Yes, in seconds, by switching it off. Treat browser extensions as a speed bump. If you need a wall, look at app-level blockers or work on a different device or profile.