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Top Extensions to Make YouTube Bearable

Hello fellow, lemmings, lemmur !

If you are like me, you probably spend a lot of time on YouTube, more than you want to admit.

I remember the days when videos had stars instead of thumbs up or down, and when YouTube had, let’s say, more mature content on it.

Now the site has a lot of functionalitys that are great for Google, but that I don’t need nor want.

So, to improve the enjoyment of the platform, I present to you the ultimate extension survival kit for YouTube:

  1. https://ublockorigin.com/: (or your favorite ad-blocker) This is an absolute must-have. It’s a good ad-blocker that not only blocks YouTube ads but also works across all websites. It’s lightweight, efficient, and open-source. Say goodbye to ads.
  2. https://sponsor.ajay.app/: Skip over the sponsored segments of videos. It’s a community-driven project, with users submitting the timestamps of sponsored content. You can even customize it to skip over different types of segments like intros, outros, and more.
  3. https://www.returnyoutubedislike.com/: Since YouTube removed the dislike count, it’s been harder to gauge the quality of videos. This extension brings back the dislike count.
  4. https://dearrow.ajay.app/: Extension for crowdsourcing better titles and thumbnails. It removes click-bait titles and thumbnails providing a cleaner Youtube.
  5. https://github.com/doma-itachi/Youtube-shorts-block: If you’re not a fan of shorts, this extension is for you. It plays the Youtube shorts video as if it were a normal video and hides the “shorts” tab from the left menu. Firefox Link Chrome Link
  6. https://addons.mozilla.org/fr/firefox/addon/enhancer-for-youtube/: Allows you to add theming options, auto-HD, keyboard shortcuts and more.

These are the extensions I use. Don’t hesitate to suggest more. I will edit the post accordingly.

It’s not lost on me that these extensions remove many things that were not initially a problem on YouTube but that either arose because of the monetary incentive of Google handling the website, Youtubers trying to make money, or as countermeasures to problems that were taken care of by a previous extension. This kind of feels like an arms race…

Edit 1: Changed the YouTube Shorts Block description and added Enhancer for YouTube

HouseWolf , (edited )

I’d like to throw in Youtube Redux.

It’s main function is to restore the older desktop look/feel of pre 2016ish Youtube, but it’s insanely customizable and good for cutting down on random buttons or features you don’t care about.

Only downside is it’s being maintained by one guy and it’s abit slow to be updated sometimes.

nl4real ,

Yeah, love it.

monk ,

Or just use a proper third-party client. You wouldn’t use Reddit with a browser, or God forbid, the official app? It’s the same with YouTube. Or everything, really.

brihuang95 ,
@brihuang95@sopuli.xyz avatar

the app i use on android is NewPipe, it’s been really nice

similar_everywhere ,

you need to get it from fdroid though or directly from github. google play store does not have it. You will only get ripoffs there that are have the name “NewPipe” but are not it. they are also riddled with ads and whatever crap adware is popular now.

brihuang95 ,
@brihuang95@sopuli.xyz avatar

yeah i downloaded the apk directly from their website when the version i got had a ton of ads. i realized it was not the legit one

Dazza ,

What would you reccommend?

monk ,

Newpipe Sponsorblock is an easy recommendation for everyone on Android. Two minutes of installing/configuring and it’s just plain good: downloading, background playback, in-video ad skipping etc.

I, myself, convert YouTube channels into podcast feeds and play YouTube videos among my regular podcasts using AntennaPod, but that requires me to host a service.

sic_semper_tyrannis ,
QubaXR ,
@QubaXR@lemmy.world avatar

Any idea if there’s a way to block shorts using PiHole? I mostly consume YouTube on mobile devices (Android and iOS) but would love to get rid of that garbage.

Quik2007 ,

Unfortunately that is very unlikely, as YouTube shorts are served from the same servers as all other content on YouTube, so PiHole can’t tell the difference.

But even for iOS there is uYou+ which can block shorts and I’m sure there will be a similar piece of software for Android.

lando55 ,

If there was a way to block Shorts and anything with “Reacts” in the video title, I would jump at the chance

shortgiraffe ,

The blocktube extension lets you do both those things.

lando55 ,

I guess I was referring to something at a network level, akin to a pihole that would work to block on my mobile devices

nyakojiru ,
@nyakojiru@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

I have the best extension or add on, I don’t watch YouTube

Kodemystic ,
@Kodemystic@lemmy.kodemystic.dev avatar

Might I add also: Unhook

Metaright ,
@Metaright@kbin.social avatar

What does it do?

Kodemystic ,
@Kodemystic@lemmy.kodemystic.dev avatar

One thing I use it for, and its the main one for me, is to turn off all suggestions. So that way I get to focus on the channels I subscribed and that’s it. This is great if you’re concerned with wasting time mindlessly surfing Youtube.

yonerboner ,

Thanks for the helpful list. Running a few of these, I will checkout some of the others!

Teknikal ,
@Teknikal@lemmy.world avatar

It’s bearable on smartube next if you have an android TV, firestick or similar

My biggest problem with YouTube is they keep giving me videos I’ve already watched and it seems they wipe them from the watch list very quickly to try and trick you into clicking it again.

I also hate the fact that if I say I’m not interested In something they take no notice and send it to my recommendations again regardless.

chat_mots ,
@chat_mots@jlai.lu avatar

The most annoying thing is definitely the already watched video recommendation

QubaXR ,
@QubaXR@lemmy.world avatar

I suspect YouTube’s blacklist (do not recommend this channel / video) is length-limited. I recently noticed some of the oldest content I banned coming back in recommendations.

Feels like as I add more bans, the oldest ones get released. Really frustrating.

NightOwl ,

Really need a RES type addon for YouTube to keep a list of channels you want blocked. Really hurts searches too when it’s always the same popular channels populating the results because of popularity.

shortgiraffe ,

Blocktube let’s you block channels completely, even from searches. It also lets you block a few other things like YouTube movies or shorts.

NightOwl , (edited )

Extension is so awesome. Was satisfying just blocking channels with those open mouthed images or that yelled at the viewer at the intro, which is a lot when it comes to game channels.

It was surprising I actually did not have to go that block crazy. Just blocking like 10 was enough to make search results look normal. Crazy how much the algorithm leads to those few channels dominating the top search results.

Gestrid ,

Similarly, I’ve noticed more times recently where I know I’ve already seen the video years ago, and YouTube doesn’t have the red bar under it indicating I’ve watched some of it.

Yeah, I know it probably happens sometimes, but, this time, there’s been a really noticeable uptick.

ext23 ,
@ext23@lemmy.world avatar

if I say I’m not interested In something they take no notice and send it to my recommendations again regardless.

omg yes fuck this. I constantly get fed entire categories of videos on games which I actively hate; I have never watched a single video for any of them and have said “not interested” to probably 50+ videos, but they still pop up every day.

protput ,

I love smartube next on my TV more then Youtube revanced on my phone. They should make a smartphone version! (I’m looking for an app where you can login, so not newpipe)

HughJanus ,

Fun fact, if you dislike a video, YT just interprets that as “engagement” and sends you and everyone else more videos like it.

Hyperi0n ,

Not really. I’ve purged all Sam Hyde content from my YouTube using the not interested feature.

latewizard ,

Who’s Sam Hyde?

Hyperi0n ,

Right winged comedy YouTuber. Most of his fan base is very far right.

chat_mots ,
@chat_mots@jlai.lu avatar

For custom settings during playback and some granular tweaks, the extension enhancer for YouTube might come in handy 👍.
I’ll take a look at DeArrow, looks like a great project thx

CaptObvious ,

Just checking that I had the name right. You beat me to it.

Definitely second this extension.

QubaXR ,
@QubaXR@lemmy.world avatar

DeArrow is a misguided effort. Without it you can identify spammy content at a glance. Without it it’s like all gossip tabloids were sold with The New Yorker cover.

micka190 ,

You can set its behavior (in the settings) to not replace anything by default. Then, you can add the channels you want to replace in a specific filter.

So if you wanted to see something from, say, Linus Tech Tips, but really don’t like their thumbnails and titles, you could add them to the filter without affecting the rest of YouTube.

oct_opus OP ,

I added it to the list 😀 thanks !

NumbersCanBeFun ,
@NumbersCanBeFun@kbin.social avatar

deleted_by_author

    •
    b1_ ,
    @b1_@kbin.social avatar

    I'm with you.

    ericisshort ,

    FYI You can save posts to come back to later without needing to announce it to everyone with a comment. Just use the save button, then go to your Profile > Saved Posts to view what you’ve saved.

    Undearius , (edited )
    @Undearius@lemmy.ca avatar

    I don’t think you can save posts on Kbin.

    Ah, just checked and the terminology is “boost” but your instructions still apply.

    Gestrid ,

    Weird. You can save posts and comments on Lemmy.

    Undearius ,
    @Undearius@lemmy.ca avatar

    You can on Kbin as well. It’s just called “boosting” instead, same as Mastodon (but in Mastodon it’s more like a re-tweet).

    noodlejetski ,

    just one needed: LibRedirect set to automatically redirect the URLs to Piped or Invidious. no.ads, no shorts, no tracking, and Piped comes with SponsorBlock built in.

    addons.mozilla.org/en-GB/firefox/…/libredirect/

    itsAsin ,

    looks like i may be heading back over to Firefox.

    NightOwl ,

    !Firefox

    schwim ,
    @schwim@lemmy.world avatar

    I found this comment more useful than the OP. With Google getting ready to block ad blockers, I’m hoping this is a way to continue watching YT content.

    CumBroth ,
    @CumBroth@discuss.tchncs.de avatar

    If you are getting unsatisfactory performance from public instances (they might be getting rate-limited), consider self-hosting. I’m running my own instance of Invidious with SponsorBlock (added my domain to list of custom domains) and using Redirect^1^ to redirect YouTube links to it. It’s great!

    1. Couldn’t get LibRedirect to work properly. Followed this guide instead.
    nekusoul ,
    @nekusoul@lemmy.nekusoul.de avatar

    Two things I also like to do is changing my Youtube bookmark to https://www.youtube.com/feed/subscriptions and adding the following two filters to uBlock:

    <pre style="background-color:#ffffff;">
<span style="color:#323232;">www.youtube.com##.ytp-endscreen-content
</span><span style="color:#323232;">www.youtube.com###related
</span>

    This basically makes it so that I only see videos from channels I’m actually subscribed to, without having any content pushed on me from the algorithm.

    PipedLinkBot ,

    Here is an alternative Piped link(s): piped.video/feed/subscriptions

    Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.

    I’m open-source, check me out at GitHub.

    Dequei ,
    @Dequei@eslemmy.es avatar

    odysee.com is a descentralized option too.

    It has sponsorblock too …google.com/…/gdmldddlfnlmipdpobiaibalcbjjpmib

    and this extensions help a lot too …google.com/…/kofmhmemalhemmpkfjhjfkkhifonoann

    Didz ,
    @Didz@lemmy.world avatar

    Or …google.com/…/jjmbbhopnjdjnpceiecihldbhibchgek which does the same thing and can also select Odysee as the default.

    gamer ,

    Isn’t odysee some crypto shit?

    Dequei ,
    @Dequei@eslemmy.es avatar

    Odysee uses the blockchain, yeah, thats why it is descentralized. But you don’t have to spend any money in it, unless you want to support a channel.

    I don’t understand the hate to Cryptos :| I don’t see that people hate that their FIAT money is worth less every day because they print money without limit.

    Hyperi0n ,

    Bad bot

    masterofn001 , (edited )

    If you are an Android user, I highly recommend libretube or pipepipe from f-droid, Izzy, or github repo. No ads. No suggestions. Only what you tell it to show you. Nothing else. And it can download.

    Libretube: libre-tube.github.io

    pipepipe: codeberg.org/NullPointerException/PipePipe

    nekusoul ,
    @nekusoul@lemmy.nekusoul.de avatar

    Neat. I usually only watch videos from my PC, but that’ll be great way to stock up on a few videos when traveling.

    Ab_intra ,
    @Ab_intra@lemmy.world avatar

    Or you could just subscribe to YouTube Premium (same price as Spotify) and get YouTube Music with it… Also it seems like Google is planning on having a three strike policy on ad blocking.

    Ashiette ,

    lol

    yoshisaur ,

    Firefox + Ublockorigin works against the 3 strike policy. Premium is not flexible for anyone. No one uses Youtube music or anything else that isn’t no ads or downloads. They’re only included to increase the price, and there’s no other options.

    Ab_intra , (edited )
    @Ab_intra@lemmy.world avatar

    . No one uses Youtube music or anything else that isn’t no ads or downloads.

    Uhm, YouTube Music is with no ads and you can download? Dunno what your point is here really.

    Premium is not flexible for anyone.

    Uhm, it’s flexible for anyone that uses Spotify, it’s the same price in one, you get YouTube without ads and YouTube Music in the same price.

    Firefox + Ublockorigin works against the 3 strike policy.

    I’ve not tested this, I’m not sure if this is even implemented for most users as it’s still in beta testing after what I’ve heard. So this might not be the case.

    NightOwl ,

    Youtube without ads isn’t a selling point.

    Now if had stuff like returning downvote visibility, ability to group channels, and native sponsorblock and features like skip to highlight that would be a start.

    Ab_intra ,
    @Ab_intra@lemmy.world avatar

    It’s not really the selling point for me either, It was a bonus because I got YouTube Music in the mix. Free ads was a bonus at that point.

    iAmTheTot ,
    @iAmTheTot@kbin.social avatar

    I use YT Music. And Premium was always included in the cost even way back in the Google Play Music days. Not sure what you're on about.

    yoshisaur ,

    I’m glad that premium works for you, but most of the included benefits in premium, most people don’t end up using.

    Ab_intra ,
    @Ab_intra@lemmy.world avatar

    Like the no ads you’re talking about? And how do you know what people end up using?

    Just because there is people here that don’t like the idea here of paying for premium don’t mean there is not people who use it…

    oct_opus OP ,

    I feel like there was an unwritten agreement between extension developers and Google/Youtube. Youtube allowed ad-blocking for those who wanted it, and in exchange, ad-blockers didn’t hide that users were blocking ads. By doing this, Youtube would break this agreement. I think there will always be a way around it, but currently, as it’s still working, no alternative that I know of has been developed.

    Ab_intra ,
    @Ab_intra@lemmy.world avatar

    Don’t think that’s really the case tbh. YouTube has allowed this for some time, yes, but they have been blocking this also from time to time. There was a reason why i started to use Unblock Origin in the first place because Adblock plus i think it was stopped working.

    But a year or two ago I tried YouTube Premium for free for a month and ended up canceling Spotify and only using this now. The fact of the matter is that Google is losing loads of cash because people are blocking the ads.

    I’m not pointing fingers to anyone here, I myself have used ad blocking for years, but when the price was right I jumped ship from Spotify and became a premium subscriber at YouTube.

    ZodiacSF1969 ,

    I’m tempted, but I’ve been using Spotify so long it’s hard to make a change. I should look into it again though.

    It sucks you got downvoted so much. It’s a legitimate point, and it’s unsustainable for YouTube to keep hosting so much content if people aren’t subscribing and aren’t viewing ads.

    Ab_intra , (edited )
    @Ab_intra@lemmy.world avatar

    Thanks for a constructive comment! I would say go for it. You can import playlists. I don’t think there is a native way but it might be by now.

    I actually think the mixes that Youtube Music makes for you are much better than what Spotify gives you. But then again Google has loads of more data points on us.

    You can get a free month I think that’s how I got into it.

    ZodiacSF1969 ,

    Cheers, I might give it a go next time they offer me the free trial. I’m definitely not adverse to paying for ad-free access 😊

    Ab_intra ,
    @Ab_intra@lemmy.world avatar

    It’s worth it IMO. You get it for the same price that you pay for Spotify and get ad free Youtube + music. IMO that’s bigger value.

    Hope you enjoy it if you end up trying it out.

    Haui ,
    @Haui@discuss.tchncs.de avatar

    Adblock plus still works and very well too. Also, widening the ad situation was what got me to use it. I was ok watching one or two ads every now and then but I‘m not gonna be looking at 20 minute unskippable ads (thats when I said its enough). As some posts say, the ad driven internet is dying and rightfully so. Looking into peertube atm and liking what I see. All the streaming services need to get their stuff together and make a unified model: you wanna watch disney, disney gets a portion of your fee, walking dead? Netflix of whoever and so on. At least thats how I think it would be fair. Like a cable subscription and not half of your rent just to watch all the stuff.

    Ab_intra ,
    @Ab_intra@lemmy.world avatar

    20 minutes!?! Is that a thing? That is nuts!

    Haui ,
    @Haui@discuss.tchncs.de avatar

    That is absolutely a real thing. Sometimes, if you watch a video of a couple hours it puts huge prerolls in front and its one thing if they are skippable (because who wants 20 mins of ads anyway?) but when they became unskippable is when I pulled the trigger.

    Ab_intra ,
    @Ab_intra@lemmy.world avatar

    That’s insane. 🤬

    CaptObvious ,

    Found the Google shill.

    yuunikki ,

    deleted_by_moderator

    •
    Ab_intra ,
    @Ab_intra@lemmy.world avatar

    Thanks for the personal attack.

    Also as I’ve stated above this is something that Google is working to block. Soon you will have to watch ad or not be able to use YouTube at all.

    iAmTheTot ,
    @iAmTheTot@kbin.social avatar

    Because things can't always be free. It'd be nice if we lived in a utopic society where data storage and energy were unlimited, but we don't. YT Premium has been the best value of a sub I've ever spent money on.

    yuunikki ,

    deleted_by_author

    •
    skylestia ,
    @skylestia@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

    edit: sorry replied to the wrong person

    skylestia ,
    @skylestia@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

    is it possible for multiple people to use one youtube premium subscription other than the family plan? we checked the family plan but there’s no way we can justify paying for it, far too expensive for us considering all our other expenses

    Ab_intra ,
    @Ab_intra@lemmy.world avatar

    I’m not sure tbh. One thing you could do is have one use it online while the other person using it offline.

    But i get that it might be to expensive for a family plan.

    yemmy ,

    For YouTube Shorts, you can copy this filter into the uBlock My Filters.

    sp6 ,

    That’s nice, although somewhat different than what OP linked. I think the filter you linked will completely remove shorts, where the extension OP linked (Youtube Shorts Block) will instead convert shorts into a normal video, despite the misleading name. Although I think the extension has an option to completely block shorts too

    oct_opus OP ,

    Nice catch, I edited the post. Thank you ! 👍

    yemmy ,

    Good catch. Thanks for the clarification.

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