YouTube Focus.
Fullscreen Protection for YouTube and YouTube Kids
YouTube Focus locks YouTube into a distraction-free fullscreen. While fullscreen is active it blocks the keystrokes that normally pause, seek, mute or exit the video, so a hand on the keyboard — or a toddler on the sofa — can't derail what's playing. It activates only in fullscreen, works on YouTube and YouTube Kids, and needs no configuration after install. Built for parents and families, and free and open source on GitHub.
Features.
Smart activation — only runs in YouTube fullscreen, and stays out of the way everywhere else
YouTube Kids support — same protection on youtube.com and youtubekids.com
Instant protection — no setup, it works the moment it's installed
Visual feedback — a subtle notification shows when a keystroke was blocked
Escape still works — one deliberate key always exits fullscreen
Customisable allowed keys — pick what stays live from the extension popup
Under the hood.
How it works
The extension watches for YouTube entering fullscreen and only then starts intercepting keyboard events. Outside fullscreen it does nothing at all, so normal browsing and YouTube's own shortcuts are untouched.
- Install it from the Chrome Web Store
- Open any video on YouTube or YouTube Kids
- Enter fullscreen with the player button or the F key
- Stray keystrokes are blocked until you press Escape
Default controls
Everything is chosen so there is exactly one deliberate way out and no accidental ones.
- Escape — exits fullscreen
- Extension icon — toggles protection on or off
- Extension popup — customises which keys stay allowed
Who it's for
It started as a fix for a specific annoyance: handing a phone or laptop to a child and having the video stop every thirty seconds because a key got pressed.
- Parents handing a device to a child
- Families watching on a shared laptop
- Classrooms and waiting rooms
- Anyone who types near a playing video
Common questions.
Yes. YouTube Focus is completely free and open source. You can install it from the Chrome Web Store or build it yourself from the GitHub repository.
Yes. The protection applies on both youtube.com and youtubekids.com, which is the case it was originally built for.
Escape always works. It is deliberately the one key that is never intercepted, so there is always a predictable way out.
No. The extension collects no personal data and sends nothing to a server. The full privacy policy is published at /extensions/youtube-fullscreen-focus/privacy-policy.
Yes, the extension works with both free YouTube and YouTube Premium accounts.
Absolutely. The project is open source on GitHub — issues, feature requests and pull requests are all welcome.
Enhance Your YouTube Experience.
Install the extension and enjoy distraction-free viewing