StarBlocker / Use cases / YouTube
Block youtube on Mac, Windows, iPhone* and Android
Block YouTube, or give it a daily limit
StarBlocker can block YouTube outright, give it a daily budget that every device spends from, or allow only what you came for: a tutorial, a lecture, music in the background.
Rules you could write
- YouTube only for programming tutorials and lectures.
- Twenty minutes of YouTube a day, no Shorts at all.
A rule is a sentence. StarBlocker's AI reads what is on your screen every few seconds and judges it against the sentence. There is no list to maintain, and a new site is covered the day it appears.
How StarBlocker handles it
Allow the useful part
A rule can say what YouTube is for. The AI reads the title and the screen and judges a cooking tutorial differently from a reaction video, because you said to.
Block Shorts only
Shorts are a behaviour, not a site, so a list cannot block them on their own. A sentence can.
A budget, not a ban
A daily time limit counts every device together. When it is spent the screen is covered until tomorrow.
Missions
During a mission, YouTube is blocked unless the mission allows it. Research for an essay can allow it; writing the essay cannot.
Every device, one account
- MacStarBlocker for macOS
- WindowsStarBlocker for Windows
- iPhoneStarBlocker for iOS
- AndroidStarBlocker for Android
* On iPhone, StarBlocker judges everything you do in Safari. It cannot see inside other apps: those can be blocked or time-limited, but not judged.
Questions
Can I keep YouTube Music or background audio?
Yes. Describe the exception in the rule. What counts as music, a tutorial or a lecture is judged from what is on screen.
Does it block the YouTube app on my phone?
On Android, yes, the screen is judged. On iPhone, YouTube in Safari is judged and the YouTube app can be blocked outright or time-limited; iOS does not let an app see inside another app.
Does it block YouTube embedded in other sites?
Yes, because the AI judges what is playing on screen, not which domain served it.
Can I block it only during work hours?
Yes. Put a schedule on the rule, or a location, or a Wi-Fi network, and it turns itself on and off.
Related
One rule, every device.
Sign up, write a rule, and install StarBlocker on each device.
Get started free →