A local-first Chrome extension
Pause Choose what's next.
Return to Intent adds a short, reversible pause before the websites you choose — so habit doesn't open them for you.
Pre-release · Chrome Web Store listing coming soon · Chrome 120+
Why Return exists
Distracting websites are not the problem.
The more common problem is opening one before deciding why. A small but noticeable interruption can turn “I already opened it” into “Do I want to open it now?”
Return does not stop you from opening a site. It stops habit from opening it for you.
How it works
A pause, a purpose, a boundary.
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Meet the pause
When a website you selected opens during an active schedule, Return shows its decision page first. "Not now" stays available the whole time.
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Name your purpose
Continue only after saying what you came to do — a quick lookup, a specific task, a conscious break, or your own words.
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Keep it bounded
Choose 1, 5, or 10 minutes. At expiry the rule quietly returns, and one explicit click can extend the same task.
Principles
Not a blocker. Not a tracker. Not a score.
- Only where you choose.
- You select the websites, days, and times. Everything else opens normally.
- Noticeable, not punitive.
- A short pause interrupts autopilot without locking you out or hiding the exit.
- The choice remains yours.
- Leave immediately, or continue with intent. No scores, streaks, shame, or forced lockouts.
Privacy
Your data never leaves your browser.
Return has no account, no backend, no telemetry, and no remote code. Your rules and review data stay in the current Chrome profile — the developer cannot see them. The core workflow runs entirely offline.
Also on iOS
The same pause is coming to your phone.
Return for iOS and iPadOS brings the reversible pause to the apps you choose, built on Apple’s Screen Time. Before a selected app opens, a calm shield asks for a decision — and continuing takes a short breathing pause, a stated purpose, and a 1, 5, or 10 minute boundary. The same flow you know from the extension.
The promises carry over unchanged: no account, no network, no telemetry. And by Screen Time’s design, even Return itself cannot see which apps you selected.
In development · iPhone & iPad · requires iOS 17+