How to Block Websites on Chrome, With or Without Extensions

Chrome has no block list of its own for an ordinary account, so the right method depends on who you are trying to stop and on what device. A free extension will keep you off a site on a computer. It will not hold a child, so there Google’s Family Link is the tool. Phones are different again, because Chrome on Android and iPhone takes no extensions, and each has its own route further down.

Block a site with an extension

We would install LeechBlock NG first. It is free, needs no account, and lets you block sites all day or only after a time limit.

1. On its Chrome Web Store page, click Add to Chrome, then Add extension.
2. Click the LeechBlock button in the toolbar and select Options.
3. Open the Block Set 1 tab and, under What to Block, type each site on its own line, without the https:// part. For example: somesite.com.
4. Under When to Block, click All Day or type the hours, such as 0900-1300 for the morning. For a limit instead, leave the hours blank, enter a number of minutes and pick a period from the drop-down.
5. Scroll down and click Save Options.

Go to the site to check it worked: you should get LeechBlock’s blocking page instead. For the extension’s full features, LeechBlock’s documentation says Site access must be On all sites, which you set from its Details page at chrome://extensions.

Extensions stay out of Incognito until you let them in, so close that gap as well. Open the three-dot menu, go to Extensions > Manage extensions, click Details on the blocker, and turn on Allow in Incognito.

LeechBlock, BlockSite or StayFocusd

All three are live on the Chrome Web Store, and they suit different people.

LeechBlock has the most control for no money: up to 30 sets of sites with separate times, a countdown delay instead of a hard block, keywords, and a password or random code on its settings page to slow you down. Its settings are one long form, which is a fair price for something free.

Use StayFocusd, from Sensor Tower, if you keep undoing your own blocks. Its Nuclear Option blocks sites for the hours you pick and, by its own description, cannot be cancelled once on. Changing other settings means completing a challenge first.

BlockSite is the name most people search for, and it makes most sense if you want the same list on a phone. Its Chrome listing does not say which features cost money. Its Google Play listing does: block lists, schedules and focus mode are free, while password protection, uninstall prevention and blocking by category are premium. Without a password, anyone at the keyboard can just edit the list.

Search the store for “block site” and you will find several extensions with nearly the same name from different publishers, so check that the developer reads BlockSite LP if that is the one you want. Any blocker also needs permission to see the sites you visit, as StayFocusd’s own notice spells out, so install one you are willing to trust with that and remove the rest.

Focus or a child: why it changes the answer

A focus extension is a speed bump you put up for yourself, and it only has to work on the version of you that gives up quickly. A child is a different problem. They can try another browser or another Chrome profile, and an extension’s password does not stop either. For a child, put the rules on the account.

Block websites for a child with Family Link

Set the child up with a supervised Google Account in Family Link, then:

1. Open Family Link and select your child.
2. Tap Controls, then Google Chrome and Web.
3. Pick a filter: Allow all sites, Try to block explicit sites, or Only allow approved sites.
4. Under Manage sites, tap Approved sites or Blocked sites, tap Add a website, and enter the address.

Enter www.example.com to block that one address, or just example to catch its variations, such as other country domains and subdomains. Your own allow and block lists apply whichever filter is on. With a Family Link account, Incognito is off in Chrome, and Advanced settings has a switch for adding extensions.

Google is plain about the limits. These controls are strongest on an Android phone or a Chromebook. On Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone and iPad they cover Chrome only, and only while the child is signed in to Chrome with that account, while other browsers may not follow them. So on a shared family PC, Family Link alone is thin. For the whole of a child’s phone, we compare the options under child safety apps for Android.

SafeSearch is worth turning on too, but it only filters Google Search. It blocks no websites.

Blocking sites on Chrome for Android

You cannot add extensions here. Chrome Web Store Help says you can only use them on computers, and that switching a phone to desktop mode changes nothing. So any page promising a block site extension for Chrome on Android is wrong.

For a child, Family Link is the same as above, and on Android its filter also reaches some other apps. For yourself, Digital Wellbeing gives you a time limit per site without installing anything, on phones that have it: open Settings > Digital Wellbeing, tap the chart, choose Chrome, then tap the timer beside the site. It rations a site rather than blocking it, so set the limit low.

For a real block, the BlockSite app on Google Play uses Android’s Accessibility service to stop sites and apps opening. It contains ads, and its listing says it analyses de-identified data about your app use, so weigh that before you switch Accessibility on.

Blocking sites on Chrome for iPhone and iPad

No extensions here either. Family Link’s filter works in Chrome on iPhone and iPad, but only while the child stays signed in to Chrome. Apple’s Screen Time goes deeper. On iOS 27, Apple’s parental controls are set from your own iPhone, if your child is in your Family Sharing group:

• Settings > Family > your child > Apps & Websites > Restrictions > Filtering. Choose Limit Adult Websites, or Approved Websites Only for approval on every new site.
• Settings > Family > your child > Apps & Websites. Select a website, tap Block Website, then tap again to confirm.

Apple says Ask to Browse covers Safari and “other supported browser apps” from iOS 27, without naming them, and another of its guides describes site blocking as a Safari feature. So open Chrome on the device and try the blocked site. If it still loads, the same screen has Block App, and you can block Chrome itself so the child stays in Safari where the rules hold.

On iOS 26 and earlier the path is different, and it works for your own iPhone too. Go to Settings > Screen Time, tap your child’s name if it is for them, then Content & Privacy Restrictions, and turn that on. Tap App Store, Media, Web, & Games, then Web Content, select Limit Adult Websites, and tap Add Website below Never Allow. Test it in Chrome in the same way.

Another option for your own iPhone is the BlockSite app, which says it blocks sites in Safari, Chrome and Firefox using a VPN service on the phone. It is free with in-app purchases.

On a school or work computer

Blocks on a managed Chrome browser are set through the URLBlocklist policy by someone with an administrator account in the Google Admin console. That is how a school or company adds a site to the list, and it does not apply to an ordinary home account. Should you need a site changed on one of those machines, the person to ask is the administrator.