How to Block Short-Form Video Across Every Site
SiteBlocker blocks short-form video one section at a time, so the rest of each site keeps working. YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, Reddit r/popular and Facebook Reels are blocked by address and their entry points hidden. TikTok and X For You are hidden rather than blocked. All six are free, on Chrome and Firefox.
Checked against the extension on . Element selectors have been measured against the live site for YouTube; the other five are derived from each site's URL structure.
Six sections, two behaviours
Four of these have an address of their own, so they can be blocked outright. Two do not, so they are hidden instead — and stay reachable. The difference is real, so it is stated rather than smoothed over.
| Section | What happens | Page |
|---|---|---|
| YouTube Shorts | Blocked by address, and its buttons and thumbnails hidden | How to |
| Instagram Reels | Blocked by address, and its buttons and thumbnails hidden | How to |
| Reddit r/popular | Blocked by address, and its buttons and thumbnails hidden | How to |
| Facebook Reels | Blocked by address, and its buttons and thumbnails hidden | How to |
| TikTok For You | Links into the feed hidden; the feed itself stays reachable | How to |
| X For You | Links into the feed hidden; the feed itself stays reachable | How to |
These four stop opening, and stop being offered
YouTube Shorts
Normal videos, at any length, Your subscriptions feed, Search and watch history keep working.
How to block it →Instagram Reels
Direct messages, Stories, Your main feed and profile keep working.
How to block it →Reddit r/popular
The subreddits you subscribe to, Your own home feed, Search, comments and messages keep working.
How to block it →Facebook Reels
Messenger, Groups and events, Marketplace keep working.
How to block it →These two get their entry points hidden
Both feeds are what their site serves by default, so no rule can separate them from the rest of the site. Hiding the way in is the most that can be done without blocking the whole thing — and if that is what you want, blocking the site takes one click.
Turning a section off
- 1
Install SiteBlocker
Free on Chrome and Firefox. No account is required to start.
- 2
Open the Block List tab
Scroll to "Distracting sections" and switch on the ones you want off.
- 3
Schedule it, or leave it on
Sections follow the schedule they are attached to, so you can have Shorts blocked during work hours and back in the evening.
Blocking short-form video: FAQ
Can I block Shorts, Reels and TikTok with one extension?
Yes. SiteBlocker covers six sections across six sites from one extension, and they can share a schedule. Four are blocked outright — YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, Reddit r/popular and Facebook Reels. The TikTok and X For You feeds are hidden rather than blocked, because neither has an address of its own.
Is section blocking free?
Yes, all six sections are free for everyone, with no account required to start. SiteBlocker Pro adds Locked Mode, daily time budgets, calendar-triggered blocking, keyword blocking and the full insights dashboard, from $2.99 a month.
What is the difference between blocking and hiding a section?
A blocked section has its own address, so visiting it redirects you to the SiteBlocker page, and its buttons and thumbnails are hidden as well. A hidden section has no separate address — it is the site’s default view — so only the links into it are hidden and it can still be reached.
Does it catch Shorts when I click into them from the feed?
Yes. Clicking into Shorts from inside YouTube does not reload the page, which is how most blockers miss the most common way in. SiteBlocker watches for that navigation on sites that own a configured section, and leaves every other page on the web untouched.
Can I block short-form video only during work hours?
Yes. Sections attach to a schedule, so you can have Shorts and Reels blocked from 9 to 5 on weekdays and available in the evening, the same way the rest of your block list works.
Does this need permission to read my browsing history?
No. SiteBlocker does the check inside the page itself rather than through a browsing-history API, so it never asks for that permission and collects no browsing data.
Prefer to block a whole site? See the Blocklist Marketplace, or read how to block Shorts, Reels and TikTok without quitting the apps. Every SiteBlocker feature is listed on the features page.
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