Chrome Extension Requires Users to Yell Im a Loser to Access Social Media

Developer Pankaj Tanwar has introduced a novel approach to combatting time wastage on social media. He has launched a Chrome extension called Scream to Unlock, which prevents users from accessing social platforms until they loudly confess to being a loser.

This extension restricts access to websites like X, Facebook, and Instagram. When a user tries to visit one of the blocked sites, a message stating «Access Denied» appears. To remove the restriction, individuals must turn on their microphone and shout «I’m a loser.» The louder the shout, the more time they are allowed to spend on social media.

Scream to Unlock includes a volume meter, and the app humorously comments on users who hesitate to shout loudly. If the volume is below 30, it notifies the user with «You sound like a mouse!» A powerful shout of 100 or above earns praise: «AMAZING! That was an epic scream!»

As noted by Neowin, while the extension claims that audio is processed locally and no data is collected, this is somewhat misleading. The app utilizes the window.SpeechRecognition API, which sends voice data to Google servers for processing.

In the past, developer Neil Chen shared his own technique for blocking distracting websites on his computer using a smart plug and a Python script.

Neil’s smart plug is equipped with a physical power button and has an open API for implementing custom scripts. He wrote a Python code that polls the plug to check its status. When the device is powered on, the script automatically edits the `/etc/hosts` file to impose restrictions. To regain access to the websites, the plug must be turned off.