Hand-sorted · No algorithm · No account
Thegoodinternet,
still out there.
1,343 websites, sorted by hand and by how long each one takes to be worth it.
Free to browse, no account. Sites open in a new tab.
Start here
Hall of fame
See allThe ones that earned their reputation. If you open nothing else on this page, open one of these.
Fly out through a mapped model of our stellar neighbourhood until the Sun is one unremarkable dot among thousands.
- <1 min
- Desktop
The Myers-Briggs-flavoured test everybody has taken, with a four-letter verdict and profile pages that are unnervingly specific.
- 10 min
The original tile-merging game, written in a weekend and responsible for an enormous amount of lost 2014.
Starts as one button beside a dying fire and quietly becomes something much larger. Best played without reading anything about it first.
- 1 hr+
Start with a feeling
What are you in the mood for?
Browse everythingFourteen moods, because what you want at four in the afternoon is not what you want at midnight.
MesmerisingSites you keep watching after you meant to stop.138 sites
Funny249 sites
Calming94 sites
Brainy518 sites
Nostalgic233 sites
Useful397 sites
Weird185 sites
BeautifulSomebody cared a great deal about how this looks.175 sites
Competitive157 sites
Cosy114 sites
Unsettling82 sites
Wholesome85 sites
Chaotic131 sites
Clever357 sites
Start with a clock
How much time do you actually have?
Every site is filed by how long it takes to be worth it, so you can pick something that fits the gap you are in.
- InstantGood within five seconds of loading.262
- A minuteOne quick round, then you can leave.252
- Coffee breakFive to fifteen minutes of proper attention.607
- Rabbit holeClear your evening. We warned you.222
Built here
AltF originals
All 18Detours that do not leave the building. No redirect, no third party, no tracking you off-site — and they are still online, which is more than the rest of this list can promise.
A paused editorial preview that explains the sourcing and publishing controls required before stories return.
- 10 min
A timer that counts how long you manage to do nothing at all. Move the mouse, press a key, or scroll and it starts again from zero.
One sincere, specific compliment per click, written by people rather than generated. For days that have not gone well.
- <1 min
Short, sourced facts arranged so one leads into the next. Built for the specific pleasure of learning something you can repeat.
- 10 min
Play391
- Arcade Hubs19
- Trivia & Quizzes17
- Personality Tests17
- Text Adventures17
- Armchair Sports17
- Five-Minute Games16
Make157
All 11 in MakeLearn301
- Curious Facts19
- Free Libraries19
- Language & Words18
- Privacy & Security18
- Space & Scale17
- Mysteries & Riddles17
Wander108
- Live Earth Maps14
- Weather Watching14
- Flight & Ship Tracking14
- Map Oddities14
- Armchair Travel13
- Nature & Animal Cams13
Unwind84
All 6 in UnwindLaugh106
All 7 in LaughCut a different way
Collections
All collectionsHand-picked cross-sections of the directory, for when a category is not the way you are thinking about it.
Ten minutes to kill
You are early for something. These are the right length.
514 sites
The old internet
Made before the web got tidy.
391 sites
Feels like magic
The first ten seconds do something you did not expect.
464 sites
Questions
About Detour
How Detour worksAltF Detour is a directory of websites worth taking a wrong turn for, with a button that picks one at random. It catalogues thousands of hand-sorted sites across 91 categories — games, generative toys, live maps, archives, explainers and the gloriously pointless — and sorts them by how long each one takes to be worth it. It is free, needs no account, and is built by AltFTool.
The Useless Web is one button with no way to steer it, and bored.com is a long list with no way to tell what a link will cost you. Detour does both and adds the missing information: every entry says how long it takes to pay off, whether it is safe to open at a desk, whether it needs sound, and whether it works on a phone. You can press the button blind or filter first.
Yes. Browsing is free with no account: every page, the full directory, every category and collection, and all of the AltF originals. The random button opens three outside websites a day for free; leave an email address and it never stops, and you get the Friday Detour — five hand-picked sites a week — which is also free.
AltF originals are the detours we built ourselves, hosted on AltFTool — things like Perfect Circle, Infinite Bubble Wrap, The Useless Switch and Do Nothing. They load fast, carry no third-party trackers, and are the only entries in the catalog we can promise are still online, so the random button reaches for them slightly more often than their share of the directory.
Free weekly email
Five websites worth a wrong turn. In your inbox, every Friday.
We read 1,343 sites so you do not have to. The best five of the week, with a line on why each one is worth it.
- Five sites a week, chosen by hand — never by an algorithm.
- Each one tagged with how long it takes and whether it's safe at a desk.
- No account, no spam, and one click to leave.
From AltFTool
Grow your own site
Backlink directoryBuilt something worth a detour? Get it listed, then make sure it loads fast and reads well to search engines.
Get listed
- Free directory submission sitesDirectories that list you for free
- Dofollow backlink sitesListings that usually carry a followed link
- High DA backlink sitesEstimated authority of 70 or more
- Free backlink sitesNo fee, one short form
- Suggest your site to DetourIf it is worth somebody’s time
Check your site
- Web speed checkerSee how fast your pages load
- Meta tag generatorTitles and descriptions search engines read
- Sitemap generatorHelp crawlers find every page
Know somewhere that belongs here?
The bar is simple: it has to be worth somebody's time, and it has to still be online.