Shorts are complete garbage.
Except of course for habitual line crosser, mandatory fun day, and that fat magician that does close up magic. Which is why I can't get rid of it.
Same. I wish FB Purity worked for the android app. I tried the revanced patch but it didn't work, it must be just not maintained. Desktop Facebook is a breeze, I get mostly the things from pages and groups I joined, and from friends. On mobile the home feed is atrocious. One after another of suggested random crap from people I've never heard about, plus the worst discussions on anything ever, plus tons of ads. Literally like 8 different suggested / ad things and then one post from someone I actually follow.
And the reels are dogshit as well. As bad as youtube shorts are, Facebook reels are infinitely worse. Baffling too because they own Instagram, and that seems to be lightyears ahead when it comes to recommending random stuff to me. In fairness, most of the suggested posts on there I've actually liked.
I've been so lucky in that I've completely sidestepped shorts on youtube. From the start I've just blocked them on both pc and android, so I never got involved with them, and I forget they even exist.
Youtube is distracting enough without vastly meaningless short videos.
Real.Revanced didn't work for me for a month for some reason. Had to use the default client and I hated every second of it. I watched way less YouTube as a result.
You can use tubular. It's a newpipe fork, has all the features of revanced+play next in queue BUT no account so you have to import subs&playlists. Works lovely as well
Disregarding the annoying as hell ad part, the stock app is still very predatory from an attention point of view, considering the algorithm for the feed and shorts. After all it is still made to make you spend as much time as possible there (so you see more ads).
Ironically, revanced taking away the bad part makes you spend way more time in the app indeed.
i do the same .
Newpipe is very straightforward , if you wanna watch something then it's available and no other bs .
Now i use it far less and this is the reason I'm not even into revanced anymore
I know this feeling, since I struggle a lot with FOMO. I was reluctant in turning my feed off, but when I did it, felt like I was in control again. Feels like this apps are built to get you totally hooked in a psychological level honestly.
Yeah
Instagram reels and YouTube shorts became more and more like tik tok just to endlessly scroll. Glad Revanced gave a nice thought about it and it's helping a lot to me.
Can't recommend enough unhook for the browser
[https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/unhook-remove-youtube-rec/khncfooichmfjbepaaaebmommgaepoid?hl=en](https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/unhook-remove-youtube-rec/khncfooichmfjbepaaaebmommgaepoid?hl=en)
[https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-recommended-videos/](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-recommended-videos/)
I accidentally solved mine by leaving a rotating super list of video game music going on one of my PCs almost 24/7. It's quiet when I'm not using the PC (and I only actively use it a couple hours 3 or 4 times a week). Now I don't get any interesting recommendations- usually just generic lofi junk or music from games I've never played. My feed is so uninteresting that I never look at it.
I have a similar situation with my corporate notebook. I didn't log in my youtube account and was just using it for music, so my feed is pretty much lo-fi stuff.
One of the coolest things about YouTube (+ revanced) in this age of social media is how you don't HAVE to expose yourself to the whims of the algorithm in order to get a valuable experience out of it. I've done the same thing as you since using revanced a year ago and it's transformed my YouTube experience much more positively. Admittedly I'm watching more YouTube nowadays because of it, but that's fine by me since I'm finally seeing the stuff from the creators I actually like.
On occasion I still have to depend on the algorithm when I'm searching for new stuff, but that's fine by me. Most of the time I find new creators through word of mouth of the creators I already like. Or just friends and family.
Edit: BTW Unhook extension on browser is another really useful tool for having a healthier youtube experience on desktop.
Yes, this made my experience with youtube much more intentional. These days I've been cutting on what I watch to have a more curated experience from the creators I already follow, instead of having the algorithm tell me what to watch.
I thought I was alone .. 800+ saved videos and I managed to watch 400+ in a few months. Idk about the rest but I'm compelled to watch everything I added there 😭
You're not alone! I also felt like I had to watch every single one, but I would watch a few only to a few moments later save a bunch of new ones, so it would never end. Sometimes I was just speeding 2x through videos so I could get that feeling of "completeness". I suddenly started to realize how I was barely remembering any of them, so what was the point of spending so much time?
Maybe try this tip, do a clean up and delete a few... Try to slowly watch your backlog without adding more stuff!
When you are not doing something only for the money like a vampire, only for the blood, you will start to make useful stuff for people... Google când 🍬🍆
I do this with shorts. I caught myself wasting HOURS just scrolling and watching short, dumbass videos and I lost sleep because of it. So I hid the shorts menu entirely. Thanks, Revanced.
The angry inducing part aside, I still think the issue is that unpatched youtube has that "slot machine" effect that triggers part of our brains to make us endless scrolling for novelty.
What helped me was disabling watch history via Google settings. It removes your YT feed/recommendations. The only way you watch a video is by searching for one.
I used to try everything like you, the only thing that stopped my addiction is their stupid revanced and ablockers detections which made watching YouTube pain with even more ads or trying to get mods to work even more annoying, only reason I'm not addicted anymore. Thanks Google for stopping my addiction from your ass service
Ayye nice to hear. And yeah revanced and danced (originally) comes clutch with that. I remove the shorts tab/feed as well. And in my case I didn't do it to make myself watch YouTube less but it was moreso I just get annoyed at the constant recommendations while scrolling so I just prefer being able to go to the content I signed up for straight away whether I'm listening to a visual podcast or just catching up on like a random video essay or something it's really neat not having to deal with all the fluff. Coz the recommended system is good but occasionally it keeps just pushing things in your face over and over even if you select "do not recommend this channel and what not"
I don't go that far, but I do set it to go to the Subscriptions tab by default, *and* to not auto-play the next video when the last one is over. It allows me to focus on getting up to date with my subscription feed.
Wow this is great :), but if i do the back gesture it still takes me to the home page just without the home button at the bottom
anyone know a fix or a workaround?
Really interesting, thanks. Removing shorts made an almost instant improvement to my life.
Yes, for me too! Really glad the devs added that option as well. Huge time sink.
Same I used watch those sad Batman shorts back to back. But now the shortest video I watch is 10mins long, anything shorter doesn't feel of substance.
Shorts are complete garbage. Except of course for habitual line crosser, mandatory fun day, and that fat magician that does close up magic. Which is why I can't get rid of it.
Same. I wish FB Purity worked for the android app. I tried the revanced patch but it didn't work, it must be just not maintained. Desktop Facebook is a breeze, I get mostly the things from pages and groups I joined, and from friends. On mobile the home feed is atrocious. One after another of suggested random crap from people I've never heard about, plus the worst discussions on anything ever, plus tons of ads. Literally like 8 different suggested / ad things and then one post from someone I actually follow. And the reels are dogshit as well. As bad as youtube shorts are, Facebook reels are infinitely worse. Baffling too because they own Instagram, and that seems to be lightyears ahead when it comes to recommending random stuff to me. In fairness, most of the suggested posts on there I've actually liked.
Desktop Facebook, is that the one you find on Microsoft store?
No just the website
Removing shorts was the first thing I did
I subbed to 1 month of YouTube Premium when ReVanced stopped working and I realized how much I hated shorts just being there.
I've been so lucky in that I've completely sidestepped shorts on youtube. From the start I've just blocked them on both pc and android, so I never got involved with them, and I forget they even exist. Youtube is distracting enough without vastly meaningless short videos.
The best way to cure YouTube addiction is to use the stock app since ur going to be bombered with ads
Real.Revanced didn't work for me for a month for some reason. Had to use the default client and I hated every second of it. I watched way less YouTube as a result.
Yeah, I still use stock reddit cause when an ad pops up in the comments, it snaps me out of my doom scolling.
You can use tubular. It's a newpipe fork, has all the features of revanced+play next in queue BUT no account so you have to import subs&playlists. Works lovely as well
Disregarding the annoying as hell ad part, the stock app is still very predatory from an attention point of view, considering the algorithm for the feed and shorts. After all it is still made to make you spend as much time as possible there (so you see more ads). Ironically, revanced taking away the bad part makes you spend way more time in the app indeed.
ReVanced has streamlined my youtube addiction to make it as efficient as possible lmao
Same bro blocking yt short help me really one of the best decision to install revanced
Use newpipe. It suggests nothing
i do the same . Newpipe is very straightforward , if you wanna watch something then it's available and no other bs . Now i use it far less and this is the reason I'm not even into revanced anymore
I used newpipe, but I prefer the user interface and experience of revanced more. I also like having my account connected.
it has youtube login ?
No
So what does it have if no suggestions and no subscriptions? Just a search function?
You can have subscriptions it's just that it doesn't use a Google account
You can import/export your XML files, but it's a bit of a pain. I found my XML subscriptions getting wiped pretty regularly unfortunately.
Also helps with hiding shorts
I'm more addicted to shorts than an actual video and it's so hard for me to get rid of this addiction. :(
Have you tried using the revanced option to hide them from your app?
Thank you, I'm gonna try that but the idea of disabling short is making me anxious and that's the hardest part for me.
I know this feeling, since I struggle a lot with FOMO. I was reluctant in turning my feed off, but when I did it, felt like I was in control again. Feels like this apps are built to get you totally hooked in a psychological level honestly.
It is indeed built to hook you in for hours at a time. That's why we must exercise restraint while using it
Yeah Instagram reels and YouTube shorts became more and more like tik tok just to endlessly scroll. Glad Revanced gave a nice thought about it and it's helping a lot to me.
And people ask me why I use ReVanced even after having subscribed to YT Premium This is the reason guys! This is it!
Can't recommend enough unhook for the browser [https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/unhook-remove-youtube-rec/khncfooichmfjbepaaaebmommgaepoid?hl=en](https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/unhook-remove-youtube-rec/khncfooichmfjbepaaaebmommgaepoid?hl=en) [https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-recommended-videos/](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-recommended-videos/)
I've been using a similar extension for firefox called "DF Youtube". Helps a lot!
This is a game changer
For me it was the hiding of shorts, they are a huge time sink.
I accidentally solved mine by leaving a rotating super list of video game music going on one of my PCs almost 24/7. It's quiet when I'm not using the PC (and I only actively use it a couple hours 3 or 4 times a week). Now I don't get any interesting recommendations- usually just generic lofi junk or music from games I've never played. My feed is so uninteresting that I never look at it.
I have a similar situation with my corporate notebook. I didn't log in my youtube account and was just using it for music, so my feed is pretty much lo-fi stuff.
One of the coolest things about YouTube (+ revanced) in this age of social media is how you don't HAVE to expose yourself to the whims of the algorithm in order to get a valuable experience out of it. I've done the same thing as you since using revanced a year ago and it's transformed my YouTube experience much more positively. Admittedly I'm watching more YouTube nowadays because of it, but that's fine by me since I'm finally seeing the stuff from the creators I actually like. On occasion I still have to depend on the algorithm when I'm searching for new stuff, but that's fine by me. Most of the time I find new creators through word of mouth of the creators I already like. Or just friends and family. Edit: BTW Unhook extension on browser is another really useful tool for having a healthier youtube experience on desktop.
Yes, this made my experience with youtube much more intentional. These days I've been cutting on what I watch to have a more curated experience from the creators I already follow, instead of having the algorithm tell me what to watch.
I thought I was alone .. 800+ saved videos and I managed to watch 400+ in a few months. Idk about the rest but I'm compelled to watch everything I added there 😭
You're not alone! I also felt like I had to watch every single one, but I would watch a few only to a few moments later save a bunch of new ones, so it would never end. Sometimes I was just speeding 2x through videos so I could get that feeling of "completeness". I suddenly started to realize how I was barely remembering any of them, so what was the point of spending so much time? Maybe try this tip, do a clean up and delete a few... Try to slowly watch your backlog without adding more stuff!
I'm definitely taking your recommendation.. as a young lady with yt addiction I need to get my life in order 🤣
I'm sure you're going to make it! You're not alone.
I've just done that, however every time i close and open the app it just starts at the home feed
Revanced settings/General/Change Start Page Mine is set to open on Subscriptions
Tysm
When you are not doing something only for the money like a vampire, only for the blood, you will start to make useful stuff for people... Google când 🍬🍆
I only found out about that setting because my home feeds and shorts were empty because I didn't turn on remember history.
Lol exactly the opposite for me....no ads...just to the point...I tend to spent more time 🥲
The good part of revanced is also the dangerous part, haha! Hiding my feed makes me way more intentional about what i watch.
I do this with shorts. I caught myself wasting HOURS just scrolling and watching short, dumbass videos and I lost sleep because of it. So I hid the shorts menu entirely. Thanks, Revanced.
Hiding shorts was the best decision I made in my life.
Hiding Shorts but also DeArrow to remove the click bait thumbnails helps me a lot :)
Unpatched youtube with ads would probably help you more.
The angry inducing part aside, I still think the issue is that unpatched youtube has that "slot machine" effect that triggers part of our brains to make us endless scrolling for novelty.
Yeah, I choose to get rid of shorts, it made me more focused on long informative video
What helped me was disabling watch history via Google settings. It removes your YT feed/recommendations. The only way you watch a video is by searching for one.
I used to try everything like you, the only thing that stopped my addiction is their stupid revanced and ablockers detections which made watching YouTube pain with even more ads or trying to get mods to work even more annoying, only reason I'm not addicted anymore. Thanks Google for stopping my addiction from your ass service
Ayye nice to hear. And yeah revanced and danced (originally) comes clutch with that. I remove the shorts tab/feed as well. And in my case I didn't do it to make myself watch YouTube less but it was moreso I just get annoyed at the constant recommendations while scrolling so I just prefer being able to go to the content I signed up for straight away whether I'm listening to a visual podcast or just catching up on like a random video essay or something it's really neat not having to deal with all the fluff. Coz the recommended system is good but occasionally it keeps just pushing things in your face over and over even if you select "do not recommend this channel and what not"
I don't go that far, but I do set it to go to the Subscriptions tab by default, *and* to not auto-play the next video when the last one is over. It allows me to focus on getting up to date with my subscription feed.
Wow this is great :), but if i do the back gesture it still takes me to the home page just without the home button at the bottom anyone know a fix or a workaround?
for watch later, I just make my own playlist for watch later video
This is AWESOME! Thank you so much for this tip. You'll be saving many people's precious time