Plain-English guide
What a free website blocker should actually mean
A free install button does not tell you whether the useful features expire, your list requires an account, or the product is funded by data and advertising. Read the business model before the blocklist.
Fact-checked August 24, 2026
“Free website blocker” can mean four different things
Free trial
The product works temporarily, then asks for payment.
Restricted free tier
Basic blocking is free; schedules, more sites, or syncing are paid.
Service-funded free
No direct payment, but an account, advertising, or data processing supports the product.
Actually free software
No expiry, paid tier, account, advertising, or feature gate.
None of the first three models is automatically dishonest. The problem is ambiguity. A product should state which model it uses before you build a routine around it.
Free and private are separate questions
A blocker can cost nothing and still collect usage information. Conversely, a paid blocker may need browsing data to provide analytics or cross-device features. Price alone does not determine privacy.
- Check whether the extension records browsing activity or only blocked domains.
- Check whether your blocklist stays in local storage.
- Check for account, advertising, analytics, and telemetry SDKs.
- Separate analytics on the marketing website from code running inside the extension.
What “free” means for torwache
The complete blocker is free. There is no trial, paid plan, site limit, licence key, account, advertising, or upgrade screen. The extension makes no network requests and its source is published under a permissive licence.
Five questions before installing any free blocker
- Which features stop working after the trial?
- How many websites can the free tier block?
- Is an account required to save or sync the list?
- What browsing or usage data does the extension handle?
- Can the business model be understood from the website and store listing?
If source availability matters too, continue with the guide toopen-source website blockers.