How to Block Websites on Brave, Edge, Opera GX, Arc and Vivaldi

You switched browsers for speed, privacy or a nicer sidebar, and now you want the site blocker you had in Chrome. The good news: Brave, Edge, Opera, Opera GX, Arc and Vivaldi all run on Chromium, the open source project Chrome is built on. That means most Chrome extensions work in all of them, including website blockers.

This guide covers each browser in turn: what it can do on its own (usually less than people expect), and how to install a site blocker from the Chrome Web Store. The examples use Redirect, the Chrome extension that sends distracting sites to a page with your goals instead of showing a "blocked" wall, but the install steps are the same for any Chrome extension.

Which browsers can use Chrome website blockers?#

One option works in every browser at once: the hosts file on your computer. It is covered at the end, along with why it is a blunt tool.

How to block websites on Brave#

Brave does not include a tool for blocking sites you pick. Brave Shields is built to block ads, trackers and fingerprinting, not to stop you from opening YouTube at 2pm. For that, use an extension.

1. Open the Chrome Web Store in Brave

Brave installs Chrome extensions directly, with no setting to change. Open the Redirect listing in Brave.

2. Add the extension

Click Add to Brave and confirm. Pin the icon from the extensions menu so it is easy to reach.

3. Add your first rule

Redirect opens its dashboard. Pick a site from the recommended list (YouTube, Instagram, Reddit, X, TikTok, Facebook, Netflix, Twitch) or type any site. From now on, opening that site in Brave takes you to your Focus dashboard with your goals.

How to block websites on Microsoft Edge (Windows 11 and Mac)#

Edge has one real built-in option, but it is for families. With Microsoft Family Safety, an organizer can block specific sites for family members. Microsoft says the web filters work in Edge, that family members must be signed in to their Microsoft accounts, and that unsupported browsers are blocked while filtering is on (Microsoft Support). It is not built for blocking sites for yourself.

For your own focus, an extension is simpler. Edge installs Chrome Web Store extensions with one extra click.

1. Open the Chrome Web Store in Edge

Go to the Redirect listing in Edge.

2. Allow extensions from other stores

Microsoft's instructions say that if you are prompted to allow extensions from other stores, select Allow (Microsoft Support). You only do this once.

3. Get the extension

Select Get extension, review the permissions, then select Add extension. The steps are the same on Windows 11, Windows 10 and Mac, because they happen inside Edge.

How to block websites on Opera and Opera GX#

Opera and Opera GX do not have a built-in site blocker for sites you choose. Opera GX's controls are about limiting the browser's own RAM, CPU and network use, not about which sites you can open. Both browsers can run Chrome extensions, with one helper first.

1. Install "Install Chrome Extensions" from Opera add-ons

Opera explains that you first get its "Install Chrome Extensions" add-on from the Opera add-ons store (Opera blog). The same helper works in Opera GX.

2. Open the Chrome Web Store

Go to the Redirect listing and click Add to Opera.

3. Confirm in the extensions manager

Opera asks you to confirm the install in its extensions manager (Ctrl+Shift+E, or Cmd+Shift+E on Mac). Once installed, add your rules from the Redirect dashboard.

If gaming sites are the issue, block Twitch is a common first rule for Opera GX users.

How to block websites on Arc#

Arc has no built-in blocker for sites you choose. It installs Chrome extensions directly from the Chrome Web Store with no extra step.

1. Open the Chrome Web Store in Arc

Go to the Redirect listing and click Add to Chrome. The button may still say Chrome; it installs into Arc.

2. Open the dashboard and add rules

Press Alt+Shift+F from any tab to open the Redirect dashboard, then add a rule.

How to block websites on Vivaldi#

Vivaldi's built-in blocking is for ads and trackers. For blocking sites you choose, install an extension. Vivaldi supports the Chrome Web Store directly.

1. Open the Chrome Web Store in Vivaldi

Go to the Redirect listing and click Add to Chrome.

2. Confirm and add rules

Confirm the install, then add your first site from the dashboard.

What to set up once it is installed#

Installing is the easy part. The setup below is what makes a blocker stick instead of getting switched off by Thursday. It works the same in every Chromium browser.

1. Write up to 3 goals

Your Focus dashboard shows up to 3 goals. Every time you open a blocked site, you land there instead. Seeing "finish the draft" beats seeing an error page.

2. Block the trap, not the whole site

Redirect has three rule types: a whole site (youtube.com covers m.youtube.com too), a path rule (youtube.com/shorts blocks Shorts only), or a wildcard pattern. If Shorts is the problem, block Shorts. See block YouTube Shorts and block Reddit for ready-made setups.

3. Add a schedule

Each rule can have a schedule with its own weekdays and hours, and overnight windows work. Blocking websites during work hours has a sample week.

4. Choose what a pause costs

You will sometimes need the site. Before a pause, you complete a task you chose for that rule: type a paragraph exactly, write a reason, solve arithmetic in your head, do a 4-7-8 breathing cycle, sit through a 60 second wait, or no task for sites you trust. Pauses last 1 to 60 minutes, and a daily pause limit caps how many you get. When a pause ends, Redirect sends you back to your goals right away, even mid scroll.

That small bit of friction matters. In a 2023 PNAS study of the one sec app, people closed a target app in 36% of attempts after a short pause, and opened those apps 37% less often after six weeks.

Honest limits#

• Rules stay in the browser you set them up in. Redirect stores everything locally and has no sync across devices or browsers. If you use Brave and Edge, set rules up in both. Export your rules to a JSON file in one browser and import them in the other to save time.
• Not Firefox or Safari. Redirect is a Chrome extension (Manifest V3) and only runs in Chromium browsers.
• Desktop only. It does not affect phone apps or mobile browsers.
• Private windows. Like any extension, Redirect only runs in Incognito or private windows if you allow it on the browser's extensions page.
• Not a parental control. There is no password lock. For a child's account, use Microsoft Family Safety on Edge or Google Family Link.

The hosts file: blocking in every browser at once#

Windows 11 and macOS both have a hosts file that can point a domain nowhere. On Windows it lives at C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts; on Mac it is /etc/hosts. A line like 0.0.0.0 www.reddit.com stops that address from loading in every browser.

It is free and browser independent, but it is blunt: you need admin rights to edit it, each subdomain needs its own line, there is no schedule and no way to allow one page while blocking the rest, and turning it off means editing the file again. For most people it works as a hard block for one or two sites, alongside an extension for everything else.

Which approach should you use?#

If you want to block sites for yourself in Brave, Edge, Opera GX, Arc or Vivaldi, an extension is the practical answer, since none of these browsers includes a personal site blocker. If you are a parent, use Family Safety or Family Link. If you want one hard block that works everywhere, use the hosts file.

For the full list of Chrome methods, see how to block websites on Chrome, and for a comparison of extensions, the best website blockers for Chrome. Redirect is free for one site, with Pro and Lifetime plans for unlimited sites (see pricing).

Close the tab. Open your goals.

Redirect sends distracting sites to the goals you wrote down, and makes every pause a choice.

Add to Chrome, free to start