Top Extensions to Make YouTube Bearable

https://lemmy.world/post/1642651

Top Extensions to Make YouTube Bearable - Lemmy.world

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. uBlock Origin [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. SponsorBlock [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. Return YouTube Dislike [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. DeArrow [https://dearrow.ajay.app/]: Extension for crowdsourcing better titles and thumbnails. It removes click-bait titles and thumbnails providing a cleaner Youtube. 5. YouTube Shorts Block [https://github.com/doma-itachi/Youtube-shorts-block]: If you’re not a fan of shorts, this extension is for you. It allows you to block YouTube’s short videos. Firefox Link [https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-shorts-block/] Chrome Link [https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/youtube-shorts-block/jiaopdjbehhjgokpphdfgmapkobbnmjp] 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…

Sadly ad blockers will soon stop working on YouTube…. theverge.com/…/youtube-videos-disabling-ad-blocke…
YouTube tests disabling videos for people using ad blockers

YouTube is hardening its stance against ad blockers. The company is experimenting with a new policy that disables playback after three videos for anyone repeatedly detected to be using an ad blocker tool.

The Verge
Even Twitch agressive ad-blocker blocking methods can be bypass fairly easily (it’s just not as easy as downloading an adblocker). I have hope for the future of YouTube’s adblocker !
When there is a will there’s a way. They underestimate what people are willing to do to watch bad videos without being bothered by even abysmally crappier ads 🤡