Guide
How to turn off the feed in your browser
How do you stop endless scrolling on a computer?
Remove the feed instead of blocking the site. News Feed Eradicator replaces social feeds with a quote while the rest of the site still works; Unhook strips YouTube recommendations, Shorts and autoplay while search still works; OneTab collapses dozens of open tabs into one list. Add a time budget like StayFocusd only if you still slip.
Checked 2026-10-27
Why remove the feed and not block the site
Blocking a site you also need (for messages, groups, work, or a video tutorial) does not last. You unblock it on day three, and the feed comes back with it. Removing only the feed keeps the useful part and takes away the trap. That is the pattern behind most of the KEEP cards on our extensions shelf.
The four extensions, in the order to try them
| Extension | Stamp | What it does | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| News Feed Eradicator | KEEP | Replaces the infinite feed with a quote; the site still works | Covers major feeds only; the phone app remains the phone app |
| Unhook for YouTube | KEEP | Strips recommendations, Shorts and autoplay; search still works | You will feel the pull for a week; that is the extension working |
| OneTab | KEEP | Collapses all open tabs into one list instantly | The list becomes its own graveyard; purge monthly |
| StayFocusd | WORTH A LOOK | Daily time budgets per site, with a nuclear option for deadline days | Browser-level only; a motivated you bypasses it |
Step by step: a feed-free browser in ten minutes
- Install News Feed Eradicator and open the social site you scroll most. Check that messages and groups still work.
- Install Unhook and open YouTube. Search for something you need; confirm the sidebar and end-screen recommendations are gone.
- Install OneTab. Click it once now and watch every open tab collapse into a single list.
- Decide on a monthly OneTab purge date and put it in your calendar.
- Only if you still lose evenings: add StayFocusd with a daily budget for the one site that gets through.
What about the phone?
Extensions only cover the browser. Our News Feed Eradicator card says it bluntly: the phone app remains the phone app. Two moves help. Use the mobile website in a browser instead of the app for the worst offender, and move the remaining app off your home screen. For full phone-level blocking apps, our sister site scores focus and blocker apps; this shelf stays with the browser.
Reading instead of scrolling
Removing the feed frees time. Some of it can go to reading, which is easier when the thing you want to read is one click away. Save articles to a read-later app (Pocket is gone; see where the read-later pile goes now), and keep a library ebook loaded. Dark Reader, another KEEP card, gives you dark mode everywhere for late reading sessions.
When extensions are not enough
If you remove every feed and still lose hours, the problem is bigger than a browser setting, and that is worth taking seriously. Body doubling can help with starting tasks (see what is body doubling), and a clinician is the right person for anything beyond that. Nothing on this site is medical advice.
If you share a computer
Extensions install per browser profile. On a shared family computer, give yourself your own profile so your feed-free setup does not surprise anyone else, and so theirs does not undo yours. The same goes for work: install them in the profile you work in, not only the one you browse in at night.
Cards in this piece
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
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
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
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
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
Questions
- Q. Does News Feed Eradicator block the whole site?
- A. No. It replaces the feed with a quote; messages, groups and the rest of the site still work.
- Q. Can I still search YouTube with Unhook?
- A. Yes. Search still works; recommendations, Shorts and autoplay are removed.
- Q. What does OneTab do?
- A. It collapses all your open tabs into one list you can restore later, which frees memory and clears the tab bar.
- Q. Do these extensions work on my phone?
- A. No. They are browser extensions. On a phone, use the mobile site in a browser instead of the app, or a phone-level blocker.