Interrupt scrolling, tab overload, and AI autopilot
pause.do is a privacy-first browser extension that interrupts the moments when attention slips into autopilot, endless scrolling, tab overload, and even AI prompts. Instead of blocking websites, it creates small, intentional pauses that help you think first and decide what to do next. With pause types like Think First, Scroll Pause, Session Nudge, Focus Limit, and Tab Overload, pause.do helps you stay in control of your attention online.
👋 Hey Product Hunt!
The idea for pause.do started from something that made me uncomfortable.
I watched a video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbS3CLSOeoU&t=1198s
discussing an MIT paper showing that when people rely heavily on LLMs for simple tasks, their cognitive engagement can actually drop over time.
That stuck with me.
I realized how often I was opening ChatGPT or scrolling feeds before even trying to think through a problem myself.
So I built a small weekend project: a screen-time style browser extension with a twist.
Instead of blocking websites, pause.do introduces small pauses when attention tends to drift:
• before AI prompts
• during long scrolling sessions
• when tab overload starts
• when you spend too long in certain apps
The goal isn’t restriction.
It’s simply to reintroduce a moment to think first.
Everything runs locally in the browser, and no browsing data ever leaves your device.
What started as a simple experiment turned into something surprisingly helpful for my own habits online.
Curious what you all think.
Do you ever catch yourself asking AI something before trying to think it through yourself?
Would love your feedback 🙏