Top Extensions to Make YouTube Bearable (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by oct_opus@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world

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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:

uBlock Origin: (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.
SponsorBlock: 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.
Return YouTube Dislike: Since YouTube removed the dislike count, it's been harder to gauge the quality of videos. This extension brings back the dislike count.
DeArrow: Extension for crowdsourcing better titles and thumbnails. It removes click-bait titles and thumbnails providing a cleaner Youtube.
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
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

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[-] Speculater@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

Reminder to all, Firefox on Android can use UBlock Origin. It's an easy setup, no more ads.

[-] BaroqueInMind@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago

Corollary, you can install Firefox Nightly and setup an addon collection on the FF website and use pretty much all desktop addons on your mobile Firefox browser.

[-] beefontoast@lemmy.world 1 points 7 months ago

Brave browser on android has YouTube ad blocking by default.

[-] Bogasse@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

I'll add that NewPipe is a great app, has a fork to support sponsorblock and can mix your YouTube subscription with other sources (eg. PeerTube), which could allow for a smooth transition.

You have to be willing to loose your personalized suggestions page, but when it comes to me it helped a lot to get less addicted.

[-] Kbin_space_program@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago

If you're on Android, Newpipe, from Newpipe.net, is great.

I found out about it when Google delisted it.

[-] sic_semper_tyrannis@feddit.ch 1 points 1 year ago

FreeTube has Sponsorblock built in as a default option
NewPipe on Android (Fdroid store) or NewPipe X SponsorBlock via IzzyOnDroid repo

[-] autokludge@programming.dev 1 points 1 year ago

I came across Unhook, which lets you remove parts of YouTube that are designed to keep you there.

Changed the YT home page to subscriptions instead of 'the algorithm'.

[-] yemmy@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

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

[-] backshift0022@lemm.ee 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

If you want some of these features on mobile Android TV, you've still got options!

For Android TV, there's SmartTubeNext: https://smarttubenext.com/ It includes ad blocking and SponsorBlock. I also think the UX is a bit better than the official YouTube app.

For Android, there's obviously ReVanced: https://revanced.app/

And for iOS there's uYou+ (hasn't been updated in a while): https://github.com/qnblackcat/uYouPlus or iVanced (https://github.com/TherionRO/YouTubeiVanced) they will need AltStore to be installed, and will need to be re-signed with a PC/Mac every week.

You can also use AdGuard on iOS though safari and the SponsorBlock extension in the App Store too, but video quality isn't great.

If you want to avoid resigning with AltStore or using Google services, there's also Yattee for iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/id1595136629 and Invidious and Piped client!

I don't have an android device so if any of my info is wrong let me know!

[-] nekusoul@lemmy.nekusoul.de 0 points 1 year ago

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:

www.youtube.com##.ytp-endscreen-content
www.youtube.com###related

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@feddit.rocks 0 points 1 year ago

Here is an alternative Piped link(s): https://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@eslemmy.es 0 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

https://odysee.com/ is a descentralized option too.

It has sponsorblock too https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/sponsorblock-for-odysee/gdmldddlfnlmipdpobiaibalcbjjpmib

and this extensions help a lot too https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/watch-on-odysee/kofmhmemalhemmpkfjhjfkkhifonoann

[-] gamer@lemm.ee 0 points 1 year ago

Isn't odysee some crypto shit?

[-] Dequei@eslemmy.es 1 points 1 year ago

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.

[-] deepinder_brar@lemmy.world 0 points 1 year ago

Use youtube revanced with microg on non rooted phones, it comes with all the premium and unique features....

[-] joey@lemm.ee 1 points 1 year ago

I'm in the Newpipe bandwagon. NewPipe has been the best way for accessing YouTube for a long time on Android. It's available in f-droid. Another plus on my book. I'm kinda not so much into installing a random apk for revanced.

[-] S_204@lemm.ee 0 points 1 year ago

Does this stuff work on mobile?

I use my phone to cast, and/or a google dongle on the TV for Youtube primarily. Almost never from a desktop.... does this work still?

[-] bilb@lem.monster -1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Pay for youtube premium

^ducks^

this post was submitted on 17 Jul 2023

42 points (100.0% liked)

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