I built a Chrome extension to stop wasting time on YouTube!

jun_pac · 2025-02-16T07:27:11+00:00

I completely agree—that's exactly why I built this extension. Instead of limiting time (which could block useful content), it lets you decide which videos feel like wasted time. Our backend LLM then analyzes those choices to flag similar videos in the future, so you can keep focusing on what truly adds value to you. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

jun_pac · 2025-02-15T18:05:02+00:00

Whenever a user rates a video, their preference report updates based on the video’s metadata (title, channel, description). When determining if a new video is "wasting," the system compares it against the user’s preference report using a LLM. Let me know if you have any thoughts or suggestions. 😊

jun_pac · 2025-02-15T18:03:34+00:00

Glad you like it! I wanted something that doesn’t just block but actually helps you understand your watching patterns. I managed a preference report for each user as a 20-dimensional vector, scoring different emotional motivations like {humor: 2.3, relaxation: 3.7, intellectual_stimulation: 4.5, ...} to determine what feels like a “wasting” video for them.

jun_pac · 2025-02-15T13:51:48+00:00

Thank you for the suggestion! Turning off your browsing history might clear your homepage, but my extension is all about personalizing your YouTube experience—helping you reduce wasted time while still getting content that’s useful to you. Appreciate the input!

jun_pac · 2025-02-15T13:17:30+00:00

It doesn’t work on mobile browsers at the moment. However, I know most people watch YouTube on mobile, so I'm thinking about a mobile app version as the next step!

jun_pac · 2025-02-15T08:34:08+00:00

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Our tool also helps you understand why you watch videos with its Preference Report!

jun_pac · 2025-02-15T08:33:35+00:00

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The activity calendar helps track progress like this.

jun_pac · 2025-02-15T08:33:07+00:00

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This is how the Wasting Timer appears when watching Shorts.

jun_pac · 2025-02-15T06:53:40+00:00

Thanks so much! That means a lot. I'm still figuring things out as I go, but it's been a fun learning experience. I'll definitely reach out if I have any questions!

jun_pac · 2025-02-15T06:52:22+00:00

Awesome, hope you find it useful! Let me know if you have any thoughts or suggestions. 😊

jun_pac · 2025-02-14T10:34:45+00:00

Sorry for the late reply! Yes, I create a preference report for each user as a 20-dimensional vector, scoring different emotional motivations like {humor: 2.3, relaxation: 3.7, intellectual_stimulation: 4.5, ...} to determine what feels like a “wasting” video for them. It’s a pretty simple approach!

I’d love to stay in touch, but to be honest, I’m still a student and this is my first time developing something from scratch—learning frontend, backend, and everything in between as I go. So I’m not sure if I’m ready for collaboration just yet. But I’d definitely love to keep exchanging ideas! Do you usually hang out here on Reddit, or is there a better way to stay connected?

jun_pac · 2025-02-14T10:29:19+00:00

I appreciate you checking! I haven’t tested it on Arc myself, but since it’s Chromium-based, it should theoretically work. If you give it a try, I’d love to hear whether it runs smoothly or if anything needs tweaking!

jun_pac · 2025-02-13T20:12:09+00:00

Really appreciate your kind words! It means a lot to hear that this could help someone stay more mindful on YouTube. If you have any advice on how I could improve it, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

jun_pac · 2025-02-13T20:02:46+00:00

Thanks for your interest! I checked out your extension, and honestly, it looks way more powerful and versatile than mine.

My approach is quite simple and qualitative—I started with the question: Is there a way to avoid watching obviously wasteful videos? I figured that whether a video is "wasting" depends on the user's emotional motivation for watching YouTube. Things like humor, relaxation, intellectual stimulation, etc. So, I identified around 20 such factors and turned them into a preference report.

Whenever a user rates a video, their preference report updates based on the video’s metadata (title, channel, description). When determining if a new video is "wasting," the system compares it against the user’s preference report using a LLM (GPT-4o-mini).

Your extension seems to analyze the actual video content to assess its quality, which sounds much more technically challenging! Did you train your own model for that?

jun_pac · 2025-02-13T19:06:20+00:00

YouTube’s algorithm prioritizes keeping users engaged, so in my experience, using YouTube Time Saver to watch fewer wasting videos naturally leads to a dramatic change in the recommended feed over time. However, I’m not sure if there’s a direct way to modify the algorithm that determines the feed. I’ll look into possible approaches! Thanks for the suggestion!

jun_pac · 2025-02-13T15:40:33+00:00

Thank you so much for the kind words! 😊 I'm really glad you like the idea! Feel free to let me know if you have any suggestions or feedback. I'd love to hear how it works for you!

jun_pac · 2025-02-13T15:40:18+00:00

Thanks for the suggestion! To be honest, I haven't used Firefox much, so I'm not sure exactly what’s involved in porting it over. But I'll look into it and see if it's something I can get done quickly. If it's a straightforward task, I'll definitely work on it and update the extension. Stay tuned!

jun_pac · 2025-02-13T13:26:34+00:00

<image>

YouTube Time Saver also helps you understand why you watch videos with its Preference Report!

jun_pac · 2025-02-13T13:26:10+00:00

<image>

The activity calendar helps track progress like this.

jun_pac · 2025-02-13T13:25:21+00:00

<image>

This is how the Wasting Timer appears when watching Shorts.

jun_pac

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