How to Stop Wasting Time on YouTube
Last updated: August 2026
Quick answer: You do not need more willpower; you need fewer hooks. Install the free Dehook extension and remove the three biggest time sinks: turn on Hide Shorts, Redirect homepage to Subscriptions, and Hide comments. YouTube still works for everything you came for, but the machinery that turns one video into two hours is gone.
“I opened YouTube for one tutorial and lost two hours” is possibly the most relatable sentence on the internet. The mechanism is not weakness; every surface on that site is optimized to extend the session.
Remove the hooks, keep the tool
The Dehook setup targets machinery, not content. Shorts gone, homepage replaced by your finite subscriptions feed, comments hidden, weak-spot topics filtered. You still watch what you came for; the site simply loses its ability to decide what you watch next.
The compounding effect
There is a second benefit: everything you no longer see is engagement the algorithm no longer receives. Your recommendation profile drifts toward your intentional viewing, so even the surfaces you did not remove get calmer over weeks.
The anti-time-sink setup
- Install Dehook. Add the free extension to your browser.
- Hide Shorts. The infinite scroll format is the single biggest time sink. One toggle removes it.
- Redirect the homepage. Land on your subscriptions instead of the recommendation wall. A finite feed ends; an algorithmic one never does.
- Hide comments. The second scroll trap under every video. Summarize instead when you are curious.
- Block your weakness topics. Add the two or three topics you binge and regret. The AI keeps them out of sight.
Dehook↑ hooks removed, YouTube still works
The full focus setup in the Dehook popup.
FAQ
Why not just block YouTube completely?
Because most people need it: tutorials, courses, music, work references. All-or-nothing blockers force a false choice. Removing the addictive machinery while keeping the utility is more sustainable, and you will not be tempted to disable it the first time you need a how-to video.
What is actually eating my time on YouTube?
Rarely the video you came for. It is the Shorts shelf, the recommendation wall, the up-next sidebar, and the comment scroll: surfaces designed to extend your session. Remove those and the average visit shrinks to the length of the video you wanted.
Will this feel restrictive?
Most people report the opposite: relief. Everything you deliberately look for still works, including search and subscriptions. What disappears is only the ambush.
Does this work for ADHD-prone browsing?
The setup removes exactly the surfaces that exploit attention: infinite scroll, autoplay bait, and high-stimulation thumbnails. Many users say it is the difference between YouTube being a tool and a trap, though no extension replaces personal strategies that work for you.