Disclosure: Adblock YouTube NoADS, YouTube Dislike Counter and Video Speed Controller Global are made by the team behind App How To Use It. The other extensions are independent.
A few well-chosen YouTube extensions can save you a surprising amount of time: skipping sponsor reads, hiding the Shorts feed, or showing whether a tutorial is worth watching. Below are ten free ones for Chrome that are actively maintained, with their Chrome Web Store user numbers as of September 2026. All of them also work in Microsoft Edge, which can install extensions from the Chrome Web Store.
The list at a glance
| Extension | What it does | Users |
|---|---|---|
| SponsorBlock | Skips sponsor segments and intros marked by the community | 2,000,000 |
| Return YouTube Dislike | Shows an estimated dislike count | 5,000,000 |
| Unhook | Hides recommendations, Shorts and comments | 1,000,000 |
| Enhancer for YouTube | Playback controls, themes and volume boost | 1,000,000 |
| Improve YouTube! | Dozens of layout and player tweaks | 400,000 |
| DeArrow | Replaces clickbait titles and thumbnails | 100,000 |
| Video Speed Controller | Keyboard shortcuts for playback speed | 3,000,000 |
| Remove YouTube Shorts | Removes Shorts everywhere | 300,000 |
| YouTube Dislike Counter (ours) | Estimated dislikes with a floating box mode | 10,000 |
| Adblock YouTube NoADS (ours) | Skips video ads on YouTube only | 3,000 |
Save time while you watch
- SponsorBlock skips sponsored segments, intros and “like and subscribe” reminders that other viewers have marked. It is open source and one of the most useful add-ons for long videos.
- Video Speed Controller adds keyboard shortcuts to speed up, slow down and rewind any web video, not just YouTube. Our own Video Speed Controller Global does the same with its own shortcut set.
Watch less of what you did not choose
- Unhook lets you switch off the home feed, recommendations, Shorts and comments one by one. It is rated 4.9.
- Remove YouTube Shorts is the single-purpose alternative. For phone settings too, see how to disable YouTube Shorts.
- Adblock YouTube NoADS skips video ads on YouTube only. Remember that YouTube’s terms do not allow ad blockers; YouTube Premium is the official ad-free option.
Know what a video is worth before you click
- Return YouTube Dislike and our YouTube Dislike Counter bring back an estimated dislike number next to the like button.
- DeArrow, from the SponsorBlock developer, swaps sensational titles and thumbnails for clearer ones suggested by other users.
Customise the player and layout
Enhancer for YouTube and Improve YouTube! are the two big all-in-one tools: default quality and speed, cinema mode, custom themes, mouse-wheel volume and much more. Install one of them, not both, because they change the same parts of the page.
How many YouTube extensions should you install?
As few as you need. Every extension that runs on YouTube adds work for the page and needs access to it. A good rule is one extension per job, from a publisher with a clear privacy policy, and removing anything you have not used in a month. If a video page starts to misbehave, switch your extensions off and back on one at a time to find the one causing it.
Frequently asked questions
Do these extensions work in the YouTube app?
No. Browser extensions only work on youtube.com in a desktop browser.
Are free YouTube extensions safe?
The ones listed here are established and regularly updated. In general, check the publisher, the permissions and recent reviews before installing any extension.
Start with SponsorBlock and one of the layout tools, add Unhook if YouTube eats more of your time than you would like, and you will have covered most of what YouTube extensions can do. Check the list again every few months, because extensions come and go as YouTube changes. Picture-in-picture is the feature people most often report as broken; if the pop-out option disappears, see YouTube picture in picture not working.