How to Lock Yourself Out of Facebook on Google Chrome

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Blocking yourself from accessing Facebook can help you be more productive, especially if you frequently find yourself checking the social media site when you should be working. Google Chrome does not feature a native site-blocking function, but does allow you to install third-party blocking extensions such as Block Site, StayFocusd and tinyFilter. These free extensions either prevent Chrome from accessing particular sites or pages, or restrict your browsing to a list of pre-approved sites.

1 Using Block Site

2 Go

Go to the Block Site page of the Chrome Web Store (link in Resources), click the “Free” button, and then select “Add” on the following pop-up window to install the Block Site browser extension.

3 Click Window

Click “Window,” and then select “Extensions” from the drop-down menu to view a list of the extensions that Chrome is currently running.

4 Click Block Site's

Click Block Site's “Options” link, and then enter “facebook.com” (without quotes) into the “List of Blocked Sites” box.

5 Click Add Page

Click “Add Page” to prevent Chrome from accessing Facebook.

6 Using StayFocusd

7 Go to the StayFocusd page of the Chrome Web Store -LRB- link in Resources -RRB- to the StayFocusd page of the Chrome Web Store -LRB- link in Resources -RRB

Go to the StayFocusd page of the Chrome Web Store (link in Resources), click the “Free” button, and then select “Add” on the following pop-up window to install the extension. A StayFocusd icon appears on the Chrome toolbar.

8 Click the StayFocusd icon

Click the StayFocusd icon, and then select “Settings” from the drop-down menu. The StayFocusd Options menu displays.

9 Click Max Time Allowed

Click “Max Time Allowed,” and then change the number in the Minutes box to zero. Click “Set” to save your changes.

10 Click Blocked Sites

Click “Blocked Sites,” and then enter “facebook.com” (without quotes) into the box.

11 Click the Add Blocked Sites button

Click the “Add Blocked Sites” button to prevent Chrome from accessing Facebook.

12 Using tinyFilter

13 Go to the tinyFilter page of the Chrome Web Store -LRB- link in Resources -RRB- to the tinyFilter page of the Chrome Web Store -LRB- link in Resources -RRB

Go to the tinyFilter page of the Chrome Web Store (link in Resources), click the “Free” button, and then click “Add” on the following pop-up window to install the extension. A tinyFilter icon appears on the Chrome toolbar.

14 Open the Facebook website in Chrome

Open the Facebook website in Chrome.

15 Click the tinyFilter icon

Click the tinyFilter icon, and then select “Block This Site” from the drop-down menu.

  • These extensions will not affect your ability to access Facebook through other browsers or devices.
  • You can use StayFocusd to limit the amount of minutes per day that you can spend on Facebook, rather than blocking the site altogether. Select “Max Time Allowed” from the extension's “Settings” menu, and then enter the number of daily minutes that you want to limit your Facebook use to into the box. Click “Set” to save your changes.
  • If you try to access Facebook via Chrome after blocking the site using a browser extension, a message advising that the site is blocked appears.

Andy Walton has been a technology writer since 2009, specializing in networking and mobile communications. He was previously an IT technician and product manager. Walton is based in Leicester, England, and holds a bachelor's degree in information systems from the University of Leeds.

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