#unhook

its called unhook, and it completely removes the recommendations section on the main page of youtube. this is what it looks like on my phone but i have it on my desktop too

it has basically reduced my "completely forgot time exists and lost myself to the abyss of Endless Video" episodes to once or twice a month, when i accidentally end up on shorts through someone im subscribed to.

i can just go straight to the searchbar or the 'subscribed' page without being immediately distracted by whats taking up the rest of the screen.

and when there is no recommendations or trending page, there is no algoritm to fuck up by a specific search you did one time or a series of videos you watched earlier but have no interest in outside of that. no 'trending', no clickbait or ragebait, no breaking news, no doomscrolling.

it also blocks the recommendations that appear under any specific video you are watching, like this:

there are loads more options for what to filter! i also have ads, banners and notifications turned off to further simplify the UI and reduce distraction.

shorts can likewise be hidden, but this removes them from any type of search or page, so thats something i personally chose not to enable.

ive used this extension for well over 6 months now, and never experienced any bugs or issues as far as i can tell. just bliss.

i dont really do this normally cause thats not the type of following/mutuals i have but it deserves to get a small shoutout anyway.

Tech Companies: "Big Data will REVOLUTIONIZE How you use the internet!"

Internet Users: *Dont Use It*

TC: "Did we say 'Big Data'? We meant 'Web 2.0'"

IU: *Dont Use It*

TC: "...We meant 'AI'"

IU: *Dont Use It*

TC: "......We meant AGENTIC AI!!"

IU: *Dont Use It*

TC: "Hey Look: Here it Is: It's Just for YOU!!! Use it ComeOOOOOOON"

IU: *Dont Use It*

TC: "WE KNOW WHATS BEST FOR YOU!!! What do you watch most of.... Music... OK We'll SHOW YOU HOW GOOD IT IS now ALL YOUR MUSIC RECS ARE automated Mixes. You'll see *smug*"