What Is Intention (getintention.com)?

Updated

Intention is a browser extension for Chrome and Firefox that interrupts distracting sites before you open them, asks you to set a time limit, and pauses browsing again when that limit runs out. It fits people who want to cut mindless scrolling without blocking sites outright — the extension is built around short, deliberate "unlocks" rather than an all-or-nothing blocklist.

How it works

The extension follows a three-step loop each time you land on a site you've marked as distracting:

  1. Stop before you start. Instead of loading the site immediately, Intention intervenes and gives you a chance to change your mind and walk away.
  2. Set a time limit. If you decide to continue, you tell Intention how long you want to unlock the distracting site.
  3. Reclaim your focus. When the time limit runs out, Intention pauses your browsing again to pull you back to whatever you were doing.

The design point is that the pause is deliberate friction, not a wall. You can still get to the site — you just have to state an intention and a duration first.

Features beyond the pause

  • Daily limit — tracks the total time you spend across all distracting sites, not just per visit.
  • Streaks — a counter that grows for every day you stay under your limit, turning restraint into something you can watch accumulate.
  • Custom schedule — lets you choose the days and times you want to stay focused, so the intervention can match your work hours rather than run all day.

What users report

Reviews quoted on the site from the Chrome Web Store highlight the same theme: the value is in the middle ground between blocking and willpower. One reviewer (Pranab Sachi) contrasts it with on/off site blockers and singles out the ability to take small "breaks" and set an intention before browsing. Another (Satyajeet Pal) describes the time tracking as a "visceral reminder" of time spent on distracting sites. A third (Abby Wen Wu) calls it simple and useful compared with other productivity apps.

Who it's for — and who it isn't

Your goal Intention fits?
Reduce time on specific distracting sites without banning them Yes — the pause-and-unlock model is built for this
Build a daily habit with visible progress (streaks, daily totals) Yes
Keep focus only during set days/hours Yes — via the custom schedule
Hard-block sites with no override No — Intention deliberately allows timed unlocks
Blocking at the network or device level across all apps No — it's a browser extension, so it acts inside Chrome or Firefox

Practical notes before installing

  • Install from the official store. The site offers "Add to Chrome" and notes it is "Also available on Firefox" — use those store listings rather than third-party download pages.
  • Expect to configure it once. You'll need to tell it which sites count as distracting and, if you want it, set your schedule and daily limit; the intervention only works on sites you've flagged.
  • The friction is the feature. If an extra click to unlock a site would frustrate you more than help, a plain blocker may suit you better.

Intention is made by DK, the same developer behind Hide Feed (hides feeds) and Hide Likes (hides vanity metrics), so it's part of a small set of tools aimed at the same problem: making online environments less compulsive by default.