getintention.com

Intention is a Chrome and Firefox extension that pauses distracting sites before you open them, then asks how long you want to unlock them. To control your overall usage, you set a daily limit that tracks time across all distracting sites, build a streak for each day you stay under that limit, and customize which days and times you want to stay focused. You'll need the extension installed and added to your browser first; the site offers "Add to Chrome" and notes it is "Also available on Firefox."

What Intention does before you browse

The core loop has three steps, as described on the site:

1. Stop before you start — when you visit a distracting site, Intention intervenes "for a chance to change your mind."
2. Set a time limit — to continue, you tell Intention "how long you'd like to unlock distracting sites."
3. Reclaim your focus — when your time limit runs out, Intention pauses your browsing "to restore your focus."

The daily limit and schedule features sit on top of this loop: they govern how much total time you're allowed across distracting sites each day, and when the intervention is active at all.

Set a daily limit

The daily limit is the cap on your combined time across all distracting sites, not a per-site cap. The site describes it as: "Keep track of the time you spend across all distracting sites."

To use it:

• Input: Decide a realistic total — for example, 30 minutes a day across social media and news sites combined.
• Action: Set that number as your daily limit in the extension.
• Expected result: Intention tracks your cumulative time on distracting sites against that number, so a few short unlocks add up rather than resetting per visit.

A practical starting point is to log a normal day first and set the limit slightly below it, then tighten it over a week. The unlock prompt from the three-step loop is what feeds this total, so every "how long would you like to unlock" choice counts toward the cap.

Build a streak

The streak is a light accountability mechanic: "Watch your streak grow for every day you stay under your limit."

• Input: Your daily limit from the step above.
• Action: Stay at or under it for a day.
• Expected result: The streak increments; a day over the limit breaks it.

Because the streak is tied to the daily limit, it only works once a limit exists. If you want the streak to mean something, keep the limit achievable — a limit you blow through every day produces a streak of zero and no useful signal.

Customize your focus schedule

The schedule controls the days and times you want to stay focused: "Choose the days and times you'd like to stay focused."

• Input: The days and time windows when distractions are most costly — for example, weekday mornings during deep work.
• Action: Select those days and hours in the schedule settings.
• Expected result: Intention applies your focus setup during those windows, so the intervention matches when you actually need it rather than running uniformly all week.

A common approach is to align the schedule with your work hours and leave evenings looser, so the extension doesn't feel like a wall you fight against. The schedule and the daily limit are complementary: the schedule decides when the guardrails apply, the limit decides how much total time you get.

Verify it's working

• Visit a site you've marked as distracting and confirm the intervention appears before the page loads.
• Choose a short unlock time and confirm browsing pauses again when it expires.
• Check that time spent on a second distracting site counts toward the same daily total.
• After a day under your limit, confirm the streak increased; after a day over, confirm it reset.
• Outside your scheduled focus windows, confirm the behavior matches what you configured.

Common snags

• Setting the limit before knowing your baseline. You'll either set it too high to matter or too low to keep. Measure first.
• Treating the limit as per-site. It tracks time "across all distracting sites," so three 10-minute unlocks on three sites consume 30 minutes of one budget.
• Forgetting the schedule governs timing, not volume. A generous schedule with a tight limit still caps you; a strict schedule with no limit still lets long unlocks through during off-hours.
• Expecting it to work outside Chrome or Firefox. The site lists only those two browsers.

Reviews on the Chrome Web Store echo the design intent. Pranab Sachi notes that unlike on/off blockers, "you can set little 'breaks' if needed and set your intentions before browsing a page," and Satyajeet Pal values "a visceral reminder of the time I'm spending on distracting sites." That framing is the best guide to setup: pick a limit you can live under, schedule the hours that matter, and let the streak show whether the numbers are honest.

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

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.

Intention (getintention.com) is a Chrome and Firefox extension that doesn't just block distracting sites—it interrupts the moment before you open one and asks you to set a time limit before continuing. That single design choice is the main difference from a standard on/off blocker: instead of a hard wall you can't pass, you get a short, deliberate "break" you choose yourself. It suits people who want to cut mindless browsing without losing access to a site entirely; a plain toggle-style blocker is a better fit if you want sites fully unavailable with no negotiation.

The core difference: a pause instead of a wall

The site describes a three-step loop that runs every time you visit a distracting site:

1. Stop before you start — Intention intervenes before the page loads, giving you a chance to change your mind.
2. Set a time limit — To continue, you tell Intention how long you want to unlock the distracting site.
3. Reclaim your focus — When that time runs out, Intention pauses your browsing again to pull you back.

A simple on/off blocker skips all three. It's either blocking or it isn't, and the decision was made once, in advance. Intention moves the decision to the moment of temptation, which is why one reviewer on the Chrome Web Store called it different from "other site blocker apps that are just on/off"—they liked being able to set "little breaks" and state an intention before browsing.

What you get beyond the toggle

The extension layers ongoing tracking on top of the per-visit pause:

A single toggle has none of this—no running total, no streak, no time-of-day rules. Reviewers specifically valued the feedback: one described a "visceral reminder" of time spent on distracting sites and said they can now "choose when I want to be distracted instead of falling into it."

Which one fits you

Choose Intention if:

• You want to keep occasional access to distracting sites but make each visit a conscious choice.
• Seeing accumulated time and a streak motivates you more than an absolute block.
• You want focus enforced only on certain days and hours via a schedule.

Choose a simple on/off blocker if:

• You want a site completely unavailable with no way to unlock it in the moment.
• You don't want to make a decision each time you visit—you'd rather the tool decide once.
• Tracking, streaks, and schedules are noise rather than motivation.

The trade-off is real: Intention's timed unlock means a determined user can always grant themselves more time, so it relies on the friction of the pause and your own follow-through. A hard blocker removes that choice but also removes the flexibility that reviewers said made Intention usable day to day.

Getting started

Intention is added through the Chrome Web Store ("Add to Chrome") and is also available on Firefox. Once installed, the setup that matters is the daily limit and schedule—set both so the per-visit pause has a budget to work against. If you only want the interruption without a cap, the pause still runs on its own.

Intention is available as a browser extension for Chrome and Firefox. To install it, open getintention.com and use the Add to Chrome button on the page; the same page notes it is "Also available on Firefox." The reviews quoted on the site come from the Chrome Web Store.

Install on Chrome

1. Go to getintention.com.
2. Select Add to Chrome. This is the primary install button shown on the site.
3. Confirm the installation in your browser when prompted.

Expected result: Intention is added to Chrome and can begin intervening when you visit distracting sites.

Install on Firefox

The site states that Intention is "Also available on Firefox," but it does not describe a separate Firefox install flow. If the Chrome button does not apply to your browser, look for the Firefox option or listing referenced from the same page.

What Happens After Installing

Once active, Intention works in three steps described on the site:

1. Stop before you start — when you visit a distracting site, Intention intervenes so you have a chance to change your mind.
2. Set a time limit — to continue, you tell Intention how long you want to unlock distracting sites.
3. Reclaim your focus — when the time limit runs out, Intention pauses your browsing again.

The extension also supports a daily limit across all distracting sites, a streak that grows for each day you stay under your limit, and a customizable schedule for the days and times you want to stay focused.

Common Questions

Is there a mobile app? The site only describes browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox; no mobile app is mentioned.

Does it cost anything? The site does not list pricing or payment details, so cost and any account requirements are not confirmed here.

Where do the reviews come from? The testimonials on the page are labeled as reviews from the Chrome Web Store.