distraction-removal-userscripts

Scripts that make social apps less invasive by removing ads, suggested content, and scrolling feeds, while keeping useful parts, e.g. search and messaging.

Currently: LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube.

Note: this code is slap-dash AI-written for my personal use and is of dubious quality.

Scope: mobile. These scripts are designed for mobile usage (Android — Firefox with Tampermonkey, or Hermit Lite Apps). They'll load in desktop browsers and not actively break anything, but the hide/redirect decisions are tuned for a small-screen, on-the-go workflow and may feel wrong on desktop. A separate desktop-targeted set isn't here yet; when it exists it'll live alongside the mobile one (likely under sites/desktop/ with its own bundle).

Layout

• sites/<name>.js — neutral source for each site (an IIFE, no headers). Edit these.
• sites.config.json — per-site metadata (version, match patterns, Hermit UA, GitHub raw-content base URL).
• build.js — generates the deploy targets below. Run node build.js.
• dist/userscripts/all.user.js — generated combined userscript (all sites in one). The primary install URL for Tampermonkey.
• dist/userscripts/<name>.user.js — generated per-site userscripts. Lighter for Hermit (each Lite App is single-site anyway).
• dist/extension/ — generated MV3 extension bundle. Built for free but not the primary install path (see "Unpacked extension" below).

Mobile setup (the actual goal)

Set Firefox as the default browser on Android and disable each app's "open links in app" setting. Now any link a friend messages you opens in Firefox with these tweaks applied, instead of bouncing into the destination app's feed.

1. Install Firefox for Android.

2. Install Tampermonkey (works in Firefox Android via the recommended add-ons collection).

3. In Tampermonkey, install the combined userscript by URL. Tampermonkey auto-updates it whenever you push to main:

   https://raw.githubusercontent.com/EzraMarks/distraction-removal-userscripts/main/dist/userscripts/all.user.js

   (Per-site URLs exist too — same path, replace all with facebook, instagram, linkedin, or youtube — if you'd rather install/manage them individually.)

4. Android Settings → Apps → (each social app) → "Open by default" → off. Links now route through Firefox.

LinkedIn caveat: mobile LinkedIn is intentionally stripped-down regardless of these scripts. In Firefox Android, request the desktop site (menu → "Request desktop site") for the full UI — the linkedin userscript assumes that layout.

Desktop

Installable but not recommended — the tweaks are tuned for mobile and some choices (e.g. Facebook's /bookmarks/ landing, YouTube's hide-everything-but-search) feel cramped on a desktop screen. If you want to try anyway, install the same combined userscript URL in desktop Tampermonkey; it auto-updates.

Hermit (Android, alternative to Firefox)

Hermit Lite Apps wrap a single site in its own webview with a user-script slot — useful if you'd rather have separate "app" icons. Paste the contents of dist/userscripts/<name>.user.js (the per-site file, not the bundle) into each Lite App's user-script slot. Set the user agent per site:

• LinkedIn → Desktop (mobile LinkedIn is intentionally limited).
• Instagram → Mobile.
• Facebook → Mobile (the desktop site uses a different DOM than what these selectors target).
• YouTube → Mobile.

hermit-backup/ holds Hermit's Lite App backup archives. Restore from that folder to recreate the Lite Apps themselves.

Unpacked extension (rare path)

If you'd rather run a single bundled extension than use Tampermonkey:

• Chrome: chrome://extensions → enable Developer mode → "Load unpacked" → pick dist/extension/.
• Firefox (desktop): about:debugging → This Firefox → "Load Temporary Add-on" → pick dist/extension/manifest.json. Temporary only — for a permanent install or any Firefox Android use, the XPI must be signed by Mozilla, and Mozilla bans remote-code loading, so you'd have to re-sign on every change. That's why Tampermonkey is the recommended path.

Updating

Edit sites/<name>.js → node build.js → git push. Tampermonkey pulls the new version automatically on its next check.