Show HN: I built a Chrome extension to block Instagram's feed and keep only DMs
chromewebstore.google.comHey HN, I built this because I kept opening Instagram to reply to a DM and resurfacing 30–40 minutes later deep in Reels. The problem wasn't willpower, it was that Instagram puts the addictive stuff between you and the useful stuff.
Mindful Instagram replaces the Instagram home page with a quiet overlay: an inspirational quote, your DM notifications (fetched from Instagram's own API), a daily open counter, and a 1-minute breathing exercise. Messages, Create, and Profile are always accessible. Everything else — Reels, Explore, Search, Suggested Posts — is permanently blocked.
The core mechanic is intentional friction: – Home Feed, Stories, and Notifications can each be toggled on, but only 3 times per day. After that, they stay off until tomorrow. – Every toggle-on has a 5-second cooldown before it activates. Just enough time to ask yourself "do I actually need this?" – A 10-minute reminder and 20-minute auto-off prevent runaway sessions. – Focus Lock disables all toggles for 24 hours. Irreversible. For the days you really need it. Technical notes for the curious: – Manifest V3, vanilla JS, zero dependencies. The entire extension is ~300 lines of content script + a popup. – Zero data collection. No analytics, no telemetry, no external API calls beyond Instagram's own endpoints. Settings sync via chrome.storage.sync. That's it. – The UI is inspired by Teenage Engineering's hardware design language — beige chassis, monospace type, orange accents, hardware-switch-style toggles. I wanted it to feel like a physical device, not another app competing for your attention. – DM notifications are fetched from Instagram's inbox API endpoint and displayed as names on the overlay, so you can see who messaged you without touching the feed. This is v3.3. I'm a solo builder and this started as a tool for myself. It's free, no premium tier, no plans to monetize. Would love feedback from this community — especially on the 3-use-per-day limit (too strict? not strict enough?) and whether the Focus Lock UX makes sense.
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