---
title: "What a free website blocker should actually mean"
canonical_url: https://torwache.com/guides/free-website-blocker/
md_url: https://torwache.com/guides/free-website-blocker/index.md
---
[Guides & comparisons](https://torwache.com/guides/)

Plain-English guideFact-checked August 24, 2026

# 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.

On this page

[Four meanings of free](https://torwache.com/guides/free-website-blocker/#four-meanings)[Free and private](https://torwache.com/guides/free-website-blocker/#privacy)[What is free in torwache](https://torwache.com/guides/free-website-blocker/#torwache)[Questions to ask](https://torwache.com/guides/free-website-blocker/#questions)

## “Free website blocker” can mean four different things

01

### Free trial

The product works temporarily, then asks for payment.

02

### Restricted free tier

Basic blocking is free; schedules, more sites, or syncing are paid.

03

### Service-funded free

No direct payment, but an account, advertising, or data processing supports the product.

04

### 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, product-imposed site limit, licence key, account, advertising, or upgrade screen. Chrome's own dynamic-rule and regular-expression capacities still apply. The extension loads no remote assets, makes no background network requests, and publishes its source under a permissive licence.

**The website and extension are different surfaces**

This website uses cookie-free Fathom Analytics for aggregate page views. That script is not packaged with the extension. The extension itself contains no analytics or background network client.

## Five questions before installing any free blocker

1.  Which features stop working after the trial?
2.  How many websites can the free tier block?
3.  Is an account required to save or sync the list?
4.  What browsing or usage data does the extension handle?
5.  Can the business model be understood from the website and store listing?

If source availability matters too, continue with the guide to[open-source website blockers](https://torwache.com/guides/open-source-website-blocker/).

## Block the site. Keep everything else.

torwache is free and open source, keeps its blocklist local, and has no account, ads, timers, streaks, or analytics inside the extension.

[Add to Chrome](https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/ibffnlnhgaoppogfnaejknianccnknlj)

[Read the source](https://github.com/alexgutjahr/torwache)