How to Block Instagram Reels on Chrome (Laptop)
Reels is the part of Instagram that turns a quick message check into half an hour. On a laptop you can take it away without losing the rest. Redirect, the Chrome extension, blocks just the instagram.com/reels path, and because Instagram changes pages without reloading, it catches the jump to Reels from your feed or a message too.
By Monish Meher · Updated
Block Instagram Reels in under a minute
- 1
Install Redirect
Add Redirect to Chrome from the Chrome Web Store. Blocking one site is free and needs no account.
- 2
Add a rule
Open the dashboard, choose specific path and enter
instagram.com/reels - 3
Choose how pauses work
Pick pause lengths and a task to finish first. Wait it out. A 60 second countdown is longer than most reels, which is usually enough for the urge to pass.
Why Instagram Reels is hard to put down
Reels is ranked to keep you watching. In Adam Mosseri's explanation of how Instagram works, Reels are ranked largely on entertainment, with signals like how likely you are to watch a reel all the way through, and most of what you see comes from accounts you do not follow. Each clip is short, the next one is already queued, and one scroll plays it, so there is never a point that feels like the end. On a computer the Reels tab sits in the same sidebar as your messages, which is why checking one DM so often ends in the Reels feed.
A Reels setup that keeps Instagram useful#
- Install Redirect from the Chrome Web Store and open the dashboard (Alt+Shift+F opens it too).
- Add a rule, choose Specific path and enter instagram.com/reels. Point it at your Focus dashboard, or a custom URL like your Instagram inbox at https://www.instagram.com/direct/inbox/.
- Add a second path rule for instagram.com/explore, since Explore plays reels as well.
- Choose the 60 second wait as the pause task, with 5 minute pauses and a daily pause limit of one. Or turn pausing off if you never need Reels.
- Optional: add a schedule, for example weekdays during work hours, if evenings are fine.
Because the rule only matches the Reels path, messages, your profile and posts from people you follow keep working. For a two minute walkthrough, watch how to stop watching Reels on your laptop. If you want Instagram fully out of your workday, use a whole site rule for Instagram with a schedule instead.
A few honest notes. A single reel shared with you usually opens at an address starting with instagram.com/reel (no s), which this rule does not match, so a friend's link still works; add a second path rule for instagram.com/reel if you want those caught too. Like any Chrome extension, Redirect only runs in Incognito if you turn on Allow in Incognito in chrome://extensions. Redirect is free for one site, which is enough for this rule, with Pro and Lifetime plans for unlimited sites (see pricing). If short video in general is the pull, add rules for TikTok and YouTube Shorts, and read how to stop doomscrolling for the habit behind the swipe.
Make it stick
- Add a second path rule for instagram.com/explore, since Explore is the other endless feed and also plays reels.
- Leave messages open. A path rule only matches Reels pages, so instagram.com/direct keeps working.
- If Reels never help you, turn pausing off for this rule. Turning the rule off later still needs that rule's task.
- Add rules for TikTok and YouTube Shorts too, so short video does not just move to another tab.
instagram.com/reelsBlockingWait it out. A 60 second countdown is longer than most reels, which is usually enough for the urge to pass.
Questions about blocking Instagram Reels
Can I block Instagram Reels but keep messages?
Yes. A path rule for instagram.com/reels only matches Reels pages. Your inbox, profile and posts keep working. Add instagram.com/explore as a second path rule if Explore pulls you in as well.
Does it catch Reels opened from the feed or a message?
Yes. Instagram switches pages without a reload, and Redirect watches those in-app changes, so opening the Reels tab or tapping into a reel from inside Instagram redirects right away.
Can I block Reels in the Instagram app on my phone?
Not with Redirect. It is a Chrome extension for desktop and laptop computers, in Chrome and Chromium browsers like Arc, Brave and Edge. It does not change the Instagram app.
What happens if I pause and keep watching reels?
When the pause ends, any open Instagram Reels tab is redirected right away, even mid scroll. Redirect checks open tabs when a pause expires, when you switch tabs and every 30 seconds.
Go deeper
The full guides behind this setup.
How to Stop Mindless Scrolling and Start Doing
Most scrolling is not a choice you make. It is a reflex that fires before you notice. You stop it by working on the reflex, not by trying harder.
Read the guide →How to Stop Doomscrolling (When Willpower Keeps Losing)
Endless feeds are built so there is never a natural place to stop. The fix is to put stopping points back in, on purpose.
Read the guide →How to Stop Watching YouTube Shorts: Break the Habit, Keep YouTube
This is the habit guide: why Shorts are hard to stop, how to catch the urge, and what to do instead. You do not have to give up YouTube, just break the loop at the right spot.
Read the guide →Sources
- Instagram: Shedding More Light on How Instagram Works (Adam Mosseri, 2021) (checked September 2026)
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