u/GooDeeJAY — reddlx

I’ve struggled with the “I’ll just check one thing” loop for a while.

YouTube is useful, but the homepage and Shorts can easily turn a small task into wasted time. Instagram is similar: you open it for a message and end up in Reels or Explore.

I didn’t want to block these platforms completely because I still use them for useful things.

So I built RotCure, a browser extension that tries to reduce the addictive parts without removing the useful parts.

It can:

Redirect YouTube Home/Shorts to intentional destinations like Watch Later, Subscriptions, Library, or a custom playlist
Redirect Instagram Home/Reels back to your own profile
Hide Shorts, Reels, and Explore entry points
Limit Shorts/Reels scrolling per session
Set daily time limits for YouTube and Instagram
Give one 10-minute grace window per day
Track usage locally, without a backend

It works on Chrome, Edge, and Firefox.

Website:
https://rotcure.com

I’m curious if this approach makes sense to people here: not full blocking, but removing the easiest paths into the loop.

I built this extension myself, so I’m tagging it as self-promo.

It’s called RotCure, and I’d appreciate feedback from people who use or build browser extensions.

The idea is simple: instead of blocking YouTube or Instagram completely, it redirects or hides the surfaces that usually trigger autopilot scrolling.

Current features:

- YouTube Home/Shorts can redirect to Watch Later, Subscriptions, Library, or a custom playlist

- Instagram Home/Reels can redirect back to your own profile

- Shorts/Reels/Explore entry points can be hidden

- Shorts/Reels scrolling can be limited per session

- YouTube and Instagram can have separate daily time limits

- Usage tracking stays local

- No backend required

It works on Chrome, Edge, and Firefox.

Website: https://rotcure.com

I’m mainly looking for feedback on:

- whether the UX feels clear

- whether the feature set feels useful or too much

- any extension edge cases I should think about