YouTube is a great platform. You can learn a new skill, connect with your favorite creator, distract yourself with cute animal videos, or watch a streamer smash their computer to bits after losing a high-stakes game of Fortnite. But everyone who’s watched a lot of YouTube knows it’s a platform with a history of making questionable changes. That’s why there’s a whole host of Chrome extensions for YouTube out there, all designed to make your viewing experience that much more enjoyable.
Let’s dive into these extensions, covering everything from blocking ads to streamlining your feed and making your subscriptions more manageable. Are you a YouTube creator? Check out 10 of the Best YouTube Chrome Extensions for Content Creators.
While YouTube already shows you the runtime bar on videos you’ve watched, it’s a bit hard to spot at a glance. Watchmarker is a Chrome extension for Youtube that automatically greys out the videos you’ve already watched and adds a little “Watched” tag. That way, you can quickly scan your feed and find the freshest content.
YouTube has something of a tumultuous history with notifications. You used to get notifications for each subscription, then you had to turn on the notification bell, and now it seems like you’ll only get them every so often. With the Notifications for YouTube extension, you’ll get all your notifications in chronological order. That way, you’ll never miss an upload from your favorite creator again.
There are a lot of variables when it comes to your particular YouTube experience, but one of them is pretty consistently poor: the comments. At their best, they’ll have a few hidden gems. At their worst, they’re distracting and borderline offensive. Tune is a Chrome extension for YouTube that helps you turn down the volume for the worst comments and bring out the rest.
One of the best things about YouTube is that there’s something for everyone. For some, it’s the cooking tutorials. For others, it’s the lo-fi beats to relax/study to. If you’re in that second group, this is the extension for you. Music Mode for YouTube turns any YouTube video into a simple, distraction-free music player. It’s great for those who love to listen to YouTube while they work, and it’s great for podcasts too!
Ever gone down the YouTube rabbit hole? You try and look up a single video, and before you know it you’ve spent hours scrolling through your feed. With the Rabbit Hole Chrome extension for YouTube, you can stop the doom scroll before it starts. The extension will block suggested content, hide comments, disable the trending and subscriptions pages, and a whole lot more. Get exactly what you want out of YouTube instead of getting pulled in by the algorithm.
If YouTube is one of your favorite platforms for getting content, you probably have a ton of subscriptions. And without a built-in way to manage those subscriptions — beyond unsubscribing — it can be tough to stay organized. With the PocketTube Chrome extension for YouTube, you can group your subscriptions the same way you would sort files on a computer, create custom icons, and get individual feeds for each group.
When you spend a lot of time on YouTube, your feed will be full of content you’ve already watched as the algorithm tries to adjust to your viewing habits. With FreshView, you can make sure you’re always discovering new content. It’ll automatically hide videos you already watched, keeping your recommended feed fresh.
You know how YouTube automatically hides part of a video’s title in your feed? While it makes things a bit cleaner to look at, it’s not great for trying to find your next watch. This Chrome extension for YouTube does exactly what the title says; it displays the full title of any video in your feed. That makes it much easier to scan your feed.
Remember the days before YouTube ads? Back then, you could watch hours of YouTube without thinking of anything else. Then you had one ad per video, then two, and now it seems like you’re spending more time waiting for that skip button to show up than actually watching videos. With Adblock for YouTube, you can get back to just enjoying your YouTube videos. Everything from banner ads to ad-clips and preroll ads gets blocked, meaning you’re not constantly being advertised to.
With a list like this, you’d think there’d be a Chrome extension for just about anything you want to do on YouTube. But what about those situations where there just isn’t an extension for what you need to do? Do you just stay stuck? There’s actually something else you can do.
Build your own.
PixieBrix is a low-code platform you can use to enhance your experience as a YouTube viewer, all without advanced technical knowledge. Because it’s a Chrome extension, PixieBrix slots right into your browser, and anything you build it with does, too.
Not a builder? Don’t worry, PixieBrix still has you covered. The PixieBrix Marketplace is full of pre-built mods you can add to your browser in just a few clicks. Mods like:
These are just a few examples of the pre-built mods you can use with PixieBrix. And since you can build your own extensions, you’re only limited by your creativity. Ready to build? Try PixieBrix for free.
Want to see what people have been building with PixieBrix? Come join us in the PixieBrix Slack Community. You’ll find ideas, guides, and people ready to work with you to build the next great Chrome extension for YouTube. Hope to see you there!