When someone sends you a post, a video or a thread, I've had it lets it open for 10 minutes, even on a site whose feeds are shut. It is on by default, as Links people send me stay open 10 min in the extension's popup. The feed stays shut either way: the 10 minutes cover the thing you were sent and what you open from it, never Reels, Shorts or the home feed.

Links you arrive at any other way, like a Google result or a link on another website, get the shorter quick pass, 30 seconds by default.

Any one of these counts:

  • A share tag. Most sites add a tag to the links their Share button copies, like igsh= on Instagram, ?s= on X or /s/ on Reddit. The extension recognizes them.
  • Your own messages. A link you open from Instagram Direct, Messenger, X messages or another site's inbox.
  • A chat or mail app. Slack, WhatsApp, Mail and most other apps open links with no referrer and as a link, not a typed address. Chrome reports the difference.

A typed address, a bookmark, a reload or the back button is a deliberate visit, so it gets the intent gate instead.

Is there a limit?

Yes: 8 sent links per site per hour. Sent links come in bursts, so the cap is higher than the quick pass's 4, but there is one, since a share tag can be typed by hand. After that, links to that site get the pause until the hour is up.

Can I turn it off?

Yes. Untick Links people send me stay open 10 min in the popup. Sent links then get the normal quick pass. Turning it off is stricter, so it applies at once. Turning it back on is looser, so it waits 24 hours.

Questions

Links people send you stay open for 10 minutes, so shutting the feed doesn't cut you off from them. The feed stays shut.

It didn't look sent: it came from a search result or another website, or it had no share tag. Those get the 30-second quick pass.

No. A Short or a reels-player link opens into the swipeable feed, so it stays shut. The 10 minutes cover posts, videos and threads.

Untick "Links people send me stay open 10 min" in the extension's popup.