cleartube

YouTube's algorithm is optimized for watch time, not quality. Creators game it with clickbait titles and sensationalized thumbnails that lead nowhere. ClearTube flips this by surfacing videos based on actual engagement signals like view velocity and restored dislikes. Being able to instantly see the real signal-to-noise ratio before clicking saves so much wasted time. The fact that it runs locally and doesn't track your searches is a huge plus too for anyone concerned about privacy.

how do you get reliable dislike data now that YouTube hides dislikes?

ClearTube is a useful idea for people who waste time opening low-quality or clickbait YouTube videos. I like that it gives a quality score before the click and uses signals beyond simple view counts. A helpful improvement could be showing a few before-and-after examples of how the score helps users choose better videos faster.

Finally, I can bid farewell to meaningless videos. YouTube is always filled with advertising information

This is such a smart solution to a real problem nobody else is addressing directly. YouTube's recommendation system optimizes for engagement, not quality - which means clickbait, sensationalism, and low-effort content systematically rank higher than actual good videos. By using real engagement signals (like/dislike ratios, view velocity) instead of algorithm-gamed metrics, cleartube gives back quality as the ranking signal. The local-first privacy approach is the cherry on top - you're not sending your viewing habits to another server. The monthly impact dashboard is a nice touch too, making the value concrete and shareable.

Finding high-quality coding tutorials or educational guides without wading through sponsored filler and bloated videos is always a struggle. The 1-10 quality scoring system based on real metrics is exactly what YouTube needs.

Very smart idea! Like everyone said, Youtube's algorithm is watch time and not quality. I do enjoy some of the recommended videos that youtube already suggesting me (because I watched them in the past), but when I do go through new videos, I tend to get caught by the click-baity thumbnail. Will give this a try ;)

It's useful for my AI agents

Hey Fazier community! 👋 I’m the maker behind ClearTube. Like most of you, I use YouTube constantly to learn new things, research dev topics, and keep up with tech. But lately, it feels like finding a genuinely good video has become an exhausting chore. The algorithm is incredibly good at optimizing for clicks and watch time—which means bright thumbnails, screaming titles, and high view counts often win, even if the video itself is 15 minutes of bloated filler or a tip stolen straight from a Reddit thread. You end up in this endless loop: open a video, skip around, realize it's fluff, close it, and repeat. The algorithm wins your attention, but you lose your evening. I built ClearTube to flip the script and give control back to the viewer. Instead of relying on raw view counts, it pulls real signals—like restored dislike ratios, view velocity, and true engagement metrics—to overlay an independent 1–10 Quality Score directly onto your YouTube interface before you click. A few things we focused heavily on during development: Zero Bloat & Speed: All the scoring happens locally in your browser in under a second using data already on the page. It won’t slow down your feed. Privacy-First: Your searches are yours. The extension runs 100% locally. It never tracks what you search, what you click, or what you watch. Value Transparency: There's a built-in impact dashboard that tracks exactly how many bad videos you dodged and how many hours of your life you reclaimed each month. The core extension is completely free to use (scores search results up to 100 times a day when signed in). For power users, there’s a $9 lifetime upgrade that unlocks unlimited scoring and brings Quality Scores to your entire homepage recommendation feed too. I’d love to know what you think! How do you usually dodge the clickbait trap on YouTube? If you give the extension a spin, I’d incredibly appreciate your feedback, feature requests, or thoughts on the scoring weights. Thanks for the support!

Well this kind of solves the issue of doom scrolling finding the right video