About LeechBlock NG
LeechBlock NG is a site blocker that costs nothing and asks for nothing. It looks plain, but the control underneath is deep: schedules, time allowances, delays and lockdown.
You list the sites that eat your day, then say when they are off limits. Block them during fixed hours, after an allowance such as ten minutes in every hour, or with a mix of both. You can keep up to 30 separate block sets, each with its own rules. A lockdown starts an immediate block for a set time, and a delay page makes you wait through a countdown before a site loads. You can also protect the options page with a password or a random access code.
It is a one-person hobby project by James Anderson, and the code is public on GitHub. The developer states that it does not collect, store or transmit personal information, and that settings stay on your computer unless you choose sync storage. The catch is that it cannot stop you disabling it, and it is not meant for parental control. If you want a free blocker you can inspect and configure in detail, this is the one to install.
Pros and cons
- Free and open source under the MPL-2.0 licence
- Up to 30 block sets, each with its own sites, hours and limits
- Lockdown, delay countdown and optional password slow you down
- Says it sends nothing to external sites; settings stay local unless you sync
- The settings page is dense and takes time to learn
- Not stricter than the browser: you can still disable the extension
- No Safari version; the macOS and iOS clone, ivBlock, is by another developer
Permissions
It reads tabs and browsing activity on all websites so it can check every address against your block list. Page content access is needed only for keyword blocking, and history access is optional.
