To block websites on a kid's Chromebook, use Google Family Link on the child's supervised account, where a parent can block sites, allow only approved sites and decide whether the child can add extensions; on a school or work Chromebook, blocking is set by the admin in the Google Admin console. To block distracting sites on your own Chromebook without Family Link, install a website blocker from the Chrome Web Store in the Chrome browser, such as Redirect, the Chrome extension, which sends a site to your goals and makes each pause cost a small task. Redirect only works inside Chrome, not in Android apps on the Chromebook, keeps data local and is free for one site.
On this page
Search "block websites on Chromebook" and you get two kinds of answers mixed together. Half of them are for parents who want to keep a child away from certain sites. The other half are for people who want to stop opening YouTube during homework or work. Those are different problems, and they need different tools.
The difference is who holds the key. A parent or school admin can set rules that the person using the Chromebook cannot turn off. A rule you set for yourself will always be something you can undo, so it has to work in a different way: by catching the reflex, not by locking you out.
First: who is the block for?#
| Situation | Best tool | Who can undo it | Where it applies |
|---|---|---|---|
| A child's Chromebook, signed in with a supervised Google Account | Google Family Link | The parent | Chrome, and some Android apps, for that child's account |
| A school or work Chromebook | Google Admin console (set by the admin) | The admin | Managed Chrome browsers and ChromeOS devices |
| Your own Chromebook, for your own focus | A website blocker extension from the Chrome Web Store | You, with some effort | The Chrome browser, in the profile where you install it |
If you are a parent, read the next section. If the Chromebook is yours and the distraction is yours, skip ahead to blocking websites on your own Chromebook.
How to block websites on a kid's Chromebook#
On a child's Chromebook, the most reliable option is Google Family Link. It works through the child's Google Account, so the controls come from the parent's account and not from the Chromebook itself.
According to Google For Families Help, when a child's device is a Chromebook, a parent can use Family Link to:
- Choose a content filter for Chrome: allow all sites except the ones you block, try to block explicit sites, or only allow sites you approve.
- Add specific sites to an approved list or a blocked list.
- Approve or deny the child's requests to visit a blocked site.
- Decide whether the child can install extensions from the Chrome Web Store.
Google's help page also notes that Incognito mode is turned off when a child is signed in to Chrome with an account managed by Family Link. Google itself says no filter is perfect, so the explicit site filter is a safety net, not a guarantee.
The exact screens in the Family Link app change over time, so follow Google's help page for the current steps rather than an old screenshot. In broad terms, you open Family Link, pick your child, and find the Chrome and web controls, where the site lists live.
School and work Chromebooks
If the Chromebook belongs to a school or employer, it is usually managed. Admins can block and allow URLs for managed Chrome browsers and ChromeOS devices from the Google Admin console, using a blocklist and an allowlist (Chrome Enterprise and Education Help). That is set centrally, not from the Chromebook's own settings.
Two practical notes. If you are a student and a site you need for class is blocked, ask the school, since you cannot change it yourself. And if you are a parent with a school issued Chromebook, the school's rules may already apply, and they may limit what you can add on top.
Can you block websites on a Chromebook without Family Link?#
Yes, but be honest about what you want.
If you want to block sites for a child and do not want to use Family Link, there is no tool on the Chromebook that is both easy and hard for a determined kid to get around. A website blocker extension installed in the child's profile can be removed by anyone who can open the extensions page, and Redirect in particular has no password lock and no uninstall prevention. Filtering on your home network, through your router or a DNS service, is another route, and it covers every device at home, but it does not follow the Chromebook to school or a friend's house. For a young child, Family Link is still the better answer.
If you want to block sites for yourself, you do not need Family Link at all, and it is not designed for that. What you need is something in your own browser that interrupts the habit. That is where an extension fits.
How to block websites on your own Chromebook#
A Chromebook's browser is Chrome, and Chrome extensions are installed from the Chrome Web Store the same way on a Chromebook as on any other computer. Redirect, the Chrome extension, is a regular Chrome Web Store extension, so this is the setup:
1. Install Redirect from the Chrome Web Store
Open the Redirect listing on the Chrome Web Store in Chrome and add it. If the Chromebook is managed by a school or work, the admin may not allow new extensions, and there is nothing an extension can do about that.
2. Add your first rule
Open the dashboard and add the site that eats your time. Recommended sites add YouTube, Instagram, Reddit, X, TikTok, Facebook, Netflix and Twitch in one click. A whole site rule for youtube.com also covers its subdomains.
If only part of a site is the problem, use a path rule instead. A rule for youtube.com/shorts blocks Shorts and leaves regular videos alone. See block YouTube Shorts and block Instagram for common setups.
3. Choose where you land
When you open a blocked site, Redirect sends you to your Focus dashboard, which shows up to three goals, or to a custom URL you pick, like your class portal or task list. You land somewhere useful instead of on a wall.
4. Pick a pause task
You will sometimes need the site. Before a pause, Redirect asks you to finish a task you choose per rule: the typing challenge, reason prompt, math challenge, breathing pause, 60 second wait, or no task. Pause lengths run from 1 to 60 minutes, and you can add a daily pause limit. When a pause ends, any open tab on that site is redirected right away, even mid scroll.
5. Add a schedule
Each rule can run on the weekdays and hours you choose, including overnight windows. A common Chromebook setup is weekdays during homework or work hours, with evenings left open. See how to block websites during work hours for sample schedules.
What an extension on a Chromebook will not do#
It is worth knowing the limits before you rely on it:
- Android apps are not covered. Many Chromebooks can run Android apps from Google Play. Redirect works inside the Chrome browser, so an Instagram or YouTube app installed from Play is not affected. If the app is your problem, uninstall it and use the website, where the rule applies.
- Incognito needs a setting. Like any Chrome extension, Redirect only runs in Incognito windows if "Allow in Incognito" is turned on for it in chrome://extensions.
- It lives in one profile. Extensions belong to the profile where you installed them. Signing in as someone else, or using a guest session, starts without your rules.
- It is not a lock. You can always remove an extension you installed yourself. Redirect is built around that: turning off all redirects requires typing a long paragraph, and loosening or deleting an active rule requires that rule's task, so undoing it on a whim takes a minute of effort.
That last point is on purpose. Blocks that feel like a cage tend to get switched off, which we cover in why website blockers don't work. A small, consistent cost at the moment of the urge tends to last longer.
A simple setup for students on a Chromebook#
- Add a whole site rule for your biggest distraction, or a path rule if only part of it is the problem.
- Add exceptions for pages you need, like a YouTube channel your teacher uses.
- Schedule the rule for school days, from when you start homework until you finish.
- Choose the reason prompt with 10 minute pauses and a daily pause limit of two.
- Put your next assignment as one of your three goals, so it is what you see when you are redirected.
Redirect is free for one site, with Pro and Lifetime plans for unlimited sites (see pricing). For the full walkthrough of rules, exceptions and schedules on any computer, see how to block websites on Chrome, and if the pull is more of a reflex than a choice, how to stop mindless scrolling goes into why.
Sources
- Google For Families Help: Chrome & your child's Google Account (checked September 2026)
- Chrome Enterprise and Education Help: Allow or block access to websites (checked September 2026)
- Redirect, Chrome Web Store (official listing) (checked September 2026)
Close the tab. Open your goals.
Redirect sends distracting sites to the goals you wrote down, and makes every pause a choice.
Questions, answered
How do I block websites on my child's Chromebook?
Use Google Family Link with your child's supervised Google Account. On a Chromebook, a parent can choose a content filter for Chrome, add approved and blocked sites, review requests for blocked sites and decide whether the child can install extensions.
How do I block websites on a Chromebook without Family Link?
For your own focus, install a website blocker extension from the Chrome Web Store, such as Redirect, and add a rule for the site. For a child, an extension alone is easy to remove, so Family Link or network filtering is a better fit.
Can I block websites on a school Chromebook?
Usually not yourself. School Chromebooks are normally managed, and the admin sets blocked and allowed sites in the Google Admin console. The admin may also stop you from installing extensions.
Does Redirect work on a Chromebook?
Redirect is a Chrome Web Store extension, and a Chromebook's browser is Chrome, so you install it the same way as on any computer. It only acts inside Chrome, not in Android apps installed from Google Play, and a managed Chromebook may block extension installs.
Will blocking YouTube in Chrome also block the YouTube app on my Chromebook?
No. An extension works inside the Chrome browser only. If you installed the YouTube Android app from Google Play, remove it and use youtube.com, where your rule applies.