Bonk
How to block YouTube but keep YouTube Music
Free, takes under a minute · Updated
Plenty of people want YouTube gone for the working day and still want music playing. Blocking the whole site takes your music with it, and leaving it open means one video turns into an hour.
Bonk has a YouTube setting built for this. It blocks YouTube and leaves YouTube Music working. It's free and needs no account.
Block YouTube and keep the music in four steps
- Add Bonk to Chrome from the Chrome Web Store.
- Click the Bonk icon in Chrome's toolbar. If you can't see it, click the puzzle piece icon and pin Bonk.
- Open Categories and YouTube.
- Under YouTube, pick All but Music.
Any YouTube page now opens Bonk's blocked page instead, and YouTube Music still works. The setting shows its own hint under the buttons, so you can see what each choice does before you pick it.
The five YouTube settings
- Off: YouTube stays open.
- All of YouTube: the whole site is blocked, music included.
- Just Shorts: only Shorts are blocked. See how to block YouTube Shorts.
- All but Music: YouTube is blocked, but YouTube Music still works.
- Audio only: videos play as audio, with Bonk's character covering the picture.
Listen without watching: audio only
Some YouTube is worth keeping, like a talk or a long mix, but the picture is what pulls you into the next video. Audio only lets the video play and covers the screen with a character, so you hear it without watching it.
Only block YouTube while you work
You don't have to block YouTube all day. Add a schedule for work hours and YouTube is blocked then, and open again in the evening. Or give it a daily time limit so it blocks itself once you've had your share.
Hide the feed and comments instead
If you need YouTube for work but not what it recommends, Bonk Pro can hide parts of the site, like feeds and comments, while the videos you search for keep working. That's a Pro feature. The YouTube settings above are free.
Questions
Does YouTube Music keep working when YouTube is blocked?
Yes. With All but Music selected, YouTube is blocked and YouTube Music still works.
Is this free?
Yes. The YouTube settings are part of free Bonk, with no account and no limit on how many sites you block.
Can I block only YouTube Shorts?
Yes. Pick Just Shorts instead. It blocks Shorts pages and leaves the rest of YouTube working.
Will this block YouTube in the YouTube app on my phone?
No. Bonk is a Chrome extension, so it blocks YouTube in Chrome on the computer where it's installed.
How do I get YouTube back?
Open Categories and YouTube and pick Off. If you've started hard mode, the settings are locked until it ends.