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
I'm a revanced user. I'm just curious and had to ask an actual premium user. The youtube app ads are gone and premium features are available.
But how is the experience when dealing with vloggers who keep plugging their sponsors in their video? and the constant like and subscribe adlib reminders of other vloggers?
cause for me, that's one thing that revanced has solved over the premium option of youtube.
Edit: to say it before someone asks. I do pay for other premium streaming platforms, but I am selective, because, you know, my resources aren't infinite.
YouTube premium doesn't change anything about the videos themselves, so you still get the sponsor and like/subscribe plugs.
I understand there are extensions that remove that stuff but I've never tried them as I watch YouTube on many different devices and can't be bothered to tweak each and every one. Also those don't bother me that much and are easy enough to skip.
Thank you for taking the time to reply. It seems that I will stay with revanced for now. Though we'll see what youtube offers in the future.
As another Premium subscriber, at this point I feel a sense of incompleteness if I don't hear about the video's sponsor or like-comment-subscribe.
I'm also selective of what I pay for. YouTube Premium won out against some others. Having YT Music along with it is also nice.