You are looking for a Sidekick Browser alternative because the standalone product was discontinued on August 3, 2025. Sidekick’s company page now identifies it as acquired by Perplexity.sidekick-status Sidekick 3 had been launched and marketed specifically for ADHD, with a distraction blocker, focus timer, task manager, tab sessions, and pinned web apps.sidekick-adhd
Those are useful tools. They help people block distractions, structure a work interval, and keep daily apps nearby. Horse Browser handles the next part: preserving the relationship between useful pages so an interruption does not erase the path back to a task. If Sidekick’s ADHD promise brought you here and restriction never solved lost context, Horse is built directly for that job.
If you are comparing the whole field, start with our browser comparisons and guides. The best Arc Browser alternatives guide covers the wider vertical-sidebar category.
What Sidekick Did Well
Sidekick brought a thoughtful set of focus tools into one Chromium browser:
- A distraction blocker for sites you wanted to pause
- Focus mode for a quieter single-page view
- A built-in pomodoro timer for structured work intervals
- Tab sessions that could be grouped, saved, and reopened
- A sidebar of pinned web apps such as Notion, Slack, Gmail, and Drive
- A built-in task manager beside the work itself
That is a coherent idea. Instead of asking people to assemble six extensions, Sidekick put the pieces together and made them pleasant to use. If focus intervals, app shortcuts, and saved sessions were the parts you loved, Chrome with extensions, Brave, Zen, and Vivaldi can each recreate a different part of that experience.
Sidekick 3 also deserves credit for saying ADHD clearly and building browser tools around it. Its answer was to reduce distraction and add structure around time. Horse’s answer begins one moment later, when the interruption has already happened and you need the browser to remember what you were doing.
The Extra Job Horse Handles
Distraction blockers are excellent when access to a site is the problem. Cold Turkey, Freedom, and LeechBlock all do that job well. Horse serves the moment when every open page is useful, but their relationship has disappeared.
Focus modes are excellent when a quieter screen helps you stay with one page. Horse keeps the pages around that page connected, so leaving and returning does not require rebuilding the task.
Pomodoro is a great technique. Be Focused and the kitchen timer on your phone are both good ways to structure 25 minutes. Horse does not run the clock. It keeps the path waiting when the clock, a colleague, a child, or one excellent tangent carries you somewhere else.
App sidebars make daily tools wonderfully easy to reach. Horse’s sidebar can keep Gmail, Slack, and Notion as persistent Trailheads, then preserve the pages that branch from them.
Tab sessions are excellent for project-based work. Workona built a dedicated product around them. Horse adds the parent-child relationship inside the project: each page sits beneath the page that led to it.
Sidekick made focus tools convenient. Horse makes web context persistent. Many people need one. Plenty need both. A dedicated focus app can sit happily beside Horse without anybody holding a browser summit.
How Horse Replaces Tabs
Horse replaces tabs with Trails. Click a link and the new page opens beneath the page you came from. Keep clicking and the Trail grows into a visible tree.
- Six clicks deep, you can still see how you arrived there.
- Trailheads persist across launches without a separate save-session ritual.
- A whole branch can collapse when you are done with it and reopen exactly where you left it.
- The browser holds the sequence between pages so returning asks less of working memory.
That is an accommodation, not treatment. Horse does not claim to fix ADHD. It changes the environment so returning to a web task asks less of memory and sequencing.
Which Sidekick Alternative Fits You?
- Chrome with extensions is excellent when you want Sidekick’s focus bundle in a familiar browser.
- Brave is excellent when built-in ad and tracker blocking matters most.
- Zen Browser is excellent when you loved a calm vertical sidebar and want a Firefox-based browser.
- Vivaldi is excellent when you want deep control over tabs, sessions, and workspaces.
- Horse Browser is built for ADHD re-entry, too many useful pages, and keeping the path between them visible.
The distinction is simple. If Sidekick helped you run a focus interval, recreate that part. If you came for its ADHD promise and still lost whole tasks inside flat tabs, try the browser that changes the tabs.
Sidekick and Horse at a Glance
| Sidekick | Horse | |
|---|---|---|
| Tab model | Tabs in saved groups and sessions | Tabs replaced with branching Trails |
| Focus tools | Blocker, focus mode, pomodoro, task manager | Persistent context that works beside focus apps |
| Core job | Structure attention and make apps easy to open | Preserve page relationships and support re-entry |
| Best fit | People who want focus tools and app shortcuts | ADHD, autism, and context-heavy work |
| Product status | Discontinued August 3, 2025 | Actively developed |
Sidekick’s tools were built around the work interval. Horse is built around the return. That is why the two products can look related while solving different moments.
If You Came to Sidekick for ADHD
Horse does not ask you to close useful pages before you are ready. It keeps their relationships visible.
- If too many tabs make useful pages hard to relocate, Trails preserve their structure.
- If a row of identical tabs makes task paralysis worse, Trails show which page led to which.
- If an interruption knocks a task out of working memory, the branch remains in place for re-entry.
“Horse Browser is my quiet, safe internet where I am free to explore something new.”
– Beth McClelland, researcher
Sidekick was right that browsers should do more for people with ADHD. Horse just carries that idea further into navigation itself. Try it free for two weeks. Card upfront, cancel any time before it bills, pay nothing if it is not for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Sidekick Browser still available?
No. Sidekick’s standalone browser service was discontinued on August 3, 2025. Its LinkedIn company page identifies Sidekick as acquired by Perplexity.sidekick-status
What is the best Sidekick Browser alternative in 2026?
Choose Chrome with extensions for a familiar version of Sidekick’s focus bundle, Brave for built-in blocking, Zen for a calm vertical sidebar, or Vivaldi for detailed tab controls. Choose Horse Browser when ADHD re-entry and preserving the path between pages are the main job.
Is Horse Browser like Sidekick?
Both rethink the browser around focus. Sidekick added blockers, timers, sessions, and app shortcuts to Chromium. Horse replaces tabs with branching Trails so the relationship between pages stays visible. Sidekick structured the interval. Horse supports the return.
Does Horse Browser have a focus mode or pomodoro timer?
No. Focus modes and pomodoro apps are excellent companions when you want them. Horse keeps the surrounding context visible before, during, and after the interval.
Does Horse Browser have a distraction blocker?
No. Cold Turkey, Freedom, and LeechBlock are dedicated options for that job. Horse preserves the relationship between useful pages and works happily beside them.
Is Horse Browser free?
There is a two-week free trial. Credit card upfront, cancel any time before it bills, pay nothing if it is not for you. After that, Horse costs $70 per year.
Notes & references
- AppSumo’s product notice records the August 3, 2025 sunset. Sidekick’s LinkedIn company page identifies the company as acquired by Perplexity, which The Information also reported.⤴
- Sidekick’s launch announcement introduced the ADHD positioning and focus features. Fast Company’s report on Sidekick 3 describes the browser as designed for people with ADHD.⤴
