If you spend too much time on X or YouTube, a fat cat takes over your screen: a solo developer’s forced-break tool goes viral, drawing reactions from overseas too

A free Chrome extension called Cat Gatekeeper went viral for blocking X, YouTube, and other sites with a cat screen after a set time limit.

The playful tool was created by an individual developer and quickly drew huge numbers of views and likes on X.

It was also covered by overseas media, including Dexerto, showing strong international reaction.

The attention highlights growing interest in fun, low-friction tools that help people curb overuse of social media.