Add intentional friction to break mindless browsing habits
Users
28
+4 in 30 days
Rating
5.0 / 5
+5.00 in 30 days
Ratings
1
+1 in 30 days
Store rank
#136K
#114K among extensions
Version
1.1.0
updated 7 Jan 2026
Users
monthly, 10 months
Latest, 21 Oct 2026:28 usersMove the mouse over the chart for any month
Ratings count
monthly, 10 months
Latest, 21 Oct 2026:1 ratingsMove the mouse over the chart for any month
The Chrome Web Store rounds user counts down to the leading digit, so the user line moves in steps. The ratings count is exact and is the better signal of real adoption.
About Friction
FRICTION - Break Mindless Browsing Habits
Friction doesn't block websites - it makes you conscious of your choices.
HOW IT WORKS
Instead of hard blocks that you'll just disable, Friction adds escalating pattern interrupts each time you visit a distracting site:
- Visit 1: 10-second loading screen
- Visit 2: 20-second loading screen
- Visit 3: Type a philosophical quote to continue
- Visit 4: Type a longer quote
- Visit 5: Solve a visual puzzle
- Visit 6: Solve a harder puzzle
- Visit 7: Site locked for 5 minutes
- Visit 8+: Exponentially increasing lockout times
Each friction screen asks: "Do I actually want this, or am I just on autopilot?"
Everything resets at midnight for a fresh start each day.
WHY FRICTION WORKS
Most productivity tools either:
- Block sites completely (which you disable when you really want them)
- Rely on willpower (which is finite)
Friction uses behavioral psychology differently. It adds a COST to the dopamine hit. Your brain automatically does the math: "Is this scroll worth typing this quote?" Most of the time, the answer is no.
The friction makes you conscious instead of unconscious. That's all you need.
KEY FEATURES
✓ Escalating challenges that get harder each visit
✓ 14-day commitment lock - can't remove sites impulsively
✓ Clean, minimal black & white interface
✓ Daily reset for a fresh start
✓ No tracking, no accounts, no data collection
✓ 100% local - nothing leaves your browser
✓ Free and open source
SIMPLE TO USE
1. Click the Friction icon
2. Add sites like twitter.com, youtube.com, instagram.com
3. Try visiting those sites - experience the friction
4. Watch mindless browsing habits break
PRIVACY
Friction stores everything locally on your device. No tracking, no analytics, no data collection, no external servers. Your blocked sites list never leaves your browser.
THE PHILOSOPHY
We live in an attention economy designed to keep you scrolling. Every major platform exploits human psychology to maximize engagement.
Friction reverse-engineers the same behavioral principles to work FOR you instead of against you. It's an anti-algorithm - a cure that exploits human nature in a different way.
Simple. Effective. Free.
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Built by someone (linkedin.com/in/agleg) who was tired of mindlessly opening Instagram 20 times a day. Now shipping it free to help others reclaim their attention.