Have you ever seen how cluttered and obnoxious the online is at occasions? For instance, cookie banners and blinding white themes are a continuing barrage of annoyance and distraction. Fortunately, fashionable internet extensions remedy lots of these issues, however there are a number of necessities that I can not reside with out.
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BlockTube: Beat the Algorithm and Reclaim Your Suggestions
Science fiction has been warning us for years that AI would destroy humanity, and all of us thought it could seem just like the Terminator with all weapons blazing, however the actuality is extra like a boring dystopia. TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and Fb all have AI-driven advice algorithms, every rotting our brains one piece of content material at a time.
YouTube’s advice system is wild; in the event you watch one video about AI, it takes over your feed for about two weeks. A siege of FOMO (concern of lacking out) and countless hype relentlessly bombards my fragile, squishy little human thoughts with out mercy. It looks like YouTube punishes us for being inquisitive. We’d like a hero to counterbalance this assault; the place is John Connor? Cue BlockTube.
BlockTube is not essentially the most inventive title, and it would not have essentially the most ingenious UI both, however the concept behind it’s nice. For one, you’ll be able to block movies and channels from showing in your YouTube feed by merely clicking on an icon subsequent to the video thumbnail.
Nonetheless, blocking movies and channels straight is not its most helpful characteristic; as an alternative, that is reserved for the key phrase filter.
For instance, I’ve filters for AI, synthetic intelligence, GPT, and so forth, and no movies with such titles will seem in my feed. That permits me to take again management of the content material that I eat, not solely as a result of it blocks desired movies, but in addition as a result of it controls the sign that I feed again to YouTube. If I can not see sure movies, I will not click on on them, and YouTube stops suggesting them. It is like cultivating an ideal backyard, trimming off the matters that trouble me, and letting those that curiosity me develop. I might put this add-on within the class of well being and security, to be truthful, and it is an absolute must-have.
BlockTube is accessible on each the Chrome Web Store and the Firefox AMO. It is also free and open-source software program (FOSS).
5
I Nonetheless Don’t Care About Cookies—Sure, Nonetheless
It is 2025, and my browser has been asking me relentlessly (compelled by legislation), since 2011, if it is okay to make use of cookies—15-20 occasions a day for fourteen years. That is doubtlessly over 102,000 occasions that it has requested me the identical query, time and again—it drives me nuts. Sure! I nonetheless do not care about cookies! Solely out-of-touch bureaucrats might have give you such a legislation, and it would not change something. Earlier than, web sites simply tracked me; now, they annoy me earlier than monitoring me. It is apparent that I want an answer, and I Nonetheless Do not Care About Cookies is it.
Once more, this internet extension has a foolish title, however it’s normally one of many first that I set up. Its perform is easy: web sites annoy me; this extension shuts them up. It achieves this by accepting no matter cookie settings that web sites request, as a result of “I nonetheless do not care about cookies.” A few of you could disagree with this method, however there are two the explanation why it is okay:
- Cookie AutoDelete wipes all cookies continuously.
- Some web sites break in the event you merely filter out cookie pop-ups (utilizing different extensions), so it’s a necessity to explicitly settle for or deny cookies.
I Nonetheless Do not Care About Cookies is a fork of the extension I Do not Care About Cookies, which was acquired by Avast in 2022, and one can solely speculate about their intention. Since 2024, I Nonetheless Do not Care About Cookies hasn’t acquired any updates, however it nonetheless works and is useful—I nonetheless use it. It is accessible on the Firefox AMO and the Chrome Web Store.
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Cookie AutoDelete: I Stated I Don’t Care About Cookies
I simply mentioned that I do not care about cookies, and it is as a result of Cookie AutoDelete (CAD) deletes them robotically. Each time I go away a web site, CAD deletes all cookies that aren’t whitelisted. I’ve used CAD for years as a result of it is dependable. I merely outline what cookies that I wish to hold, and it continuously destroys every little thing else. This retains my classes neat and tidy, with zero effort.
Cookie consent banners save your preferences in a cookie, even when it is an objection. However CAD deletes all cookies, together with these consent preferences, so web sites frequently ask me the identical query each time I go to them. That is why I Nonetheless Don’t Care About Cookies is important for me: it manages cookie banners robotically, so I can let CAD delete all cookies with out their fixed badgering.
CAD permits you to save cookies completely (whitelist) or till you shut the browser (grey listing). There are additionally further choices to robotically delete cookies if you change domains, shut the browser, or begin it.
To know extra about cookies, see our submit on why you should delete your cookies regularly, or one other submit that explains the different types of browser cookies.
CAD is a FOSS extension that has been round for years. It is accessible on the Firefox AMO and the Edge Add-on Store.
There’s a whole lot of nice content material on YouTube, however the actuality is that many content material creators additionally deal with it like a enterprise (which it’s). With that enterprise mentality comes inevitable monetization. Nonetheless, I’m typically not fascinated about what they’re selling (that is simply me); I am there for the content material solely. Prior to now few years, the response to advert blockers on YouTube has been unskippable ads baked straight into the video itself. A ten-second advert is one factor, however a 3-minute advert that is attempting to promote me a subscription to a shaving package? I am going to move. Nonetheless, manually skipping 1000’s of segments is tiring, and so, that is the place SponsorBlock is available in.
SponsorBlock is a straightforward however genius concept: it robotically skips over the sponsor segments for you. SponsorBlock works with none configuration. Nonetheless, behind the scenes, a big group of customers continuously gives suggestions on the place and when promotional segments seem in movies, after which they share them with different customers. When these customers see an advert that wasn’t skipped, all they should do is click on a button to mark the beginning and finish of a section, and SponsorBlock then saves these occasions to its database for everybody else.
SponsorBlock is a kind of extensions that you simply overlook is there, however if you disable it, you all of the sudden notice how invaluable it’s.
SponsorBlock is accessible on the Chrome Web Store and is a really useful extension on the Firefox AMO, so it passes Mozilla’s stringent evaluations. The venture can be FOSS.
2
Darkish Reader: Save Your Eyes and Your Vitality Invoice
Earlier than darkish mode was widespread, opening my laptop computer was like opening a sunbed. There have been occasions that I genuinely thought-about sporting sun shades simply to browse the online. If I’ve to interrupt out a Geiger counter simply to make use of my pc, then one thing is off.
Darkish Reader does one factor, and does it nicely: it units all web sites to darkish mode, saving my eyes, pores and skin, well being, and the surroundings. Nearly each web site I go to works flawlessly; nevertheless, it does present switches and sliders to regulate site-specific colours within the uncommon cases that it doesn’t. Now I needn’t lather on the sunscreen simply to carry out a Google search.
Darkish Reader is a really useful extension on the Firefox AMO, which implies it passes Mozilla’s stringent code critiques. It is also accessible on the Chrome Web Store.
1
Vimium: The Hacker’s Browser
No, not the Hollywood unhealthy guys. Vim—one other piece of software program—is a complicated textual content editor with a really enthusiastic person base, and for some Vim customers, the time period hacker takes on a distinct which means. Some Vim customers check with themselves as hackers as a result of they continuously hack on their configuration. It is slightly cringey, however Vim is arguably one of many biggest instruments ever constructed. So, all issues thought-about, I’ll give them a move.
If you have not guessed it but, Vimium brings Vim keyboard shortcuts (aka keymaps) to the browser. Vimium is essential to me as a result of as soon as I mastered Vim keymaps, utilizing regular (non-Vim) software program grew to become troublesome. It is each a blessing and a curse, as a result of Vim keymaps enhance my effectivity drastically, however I not really feel comfy with 99% of the software program on the market. I wait patiently for the day {that a} browser natively helps Vim keymaps, however for now I’m caught with Vim internet extensions, and truthfully, Vimium is respectable.
Vim keymaps are burned straight into my brainstem at this level. After I use a traditional textual content field in an online browser, I really feel totally misplaced and instinctively begin mashing on the keyboard, questioning why nothing works. There are a lot of Vim-based internet extensions on the market, however Vimium is the one which I’ve settled on for now. I’ll spare you the boring particulars of each characteristic and sum it up with one easy reality: I needn’t use a mouse, and I like that.
There are a number of different key options that make Vimium indispensable, like a customized internet search field that I can program with totally different serps. For instance, I can hit the O key, sort h, and it prompts a customized Google search question for How-to Geek, all with out touching the mouse.
Vimium is accessible for each Firefox and Chromium-based browsers, and it is at all times the primary internet extension that I set up. Yow will discover it on the Firefox AMO, Chrome Web Store, and the Edge Add-on Retailer.
These are time-tested extensions that I’ve used for years. Every addresses a distinct annoyance that makes the fashionable internet insufferable. A testomony to how beneficial they’re is how I really feel when I haven’t got them, and normally, the online looks like a very totally different place.
Though Vimium is my favourite, I discover that BlockTube yields a whole lot of worth. BlockTube, though fundamental, would not simply make the online extra bearable; it makes content material safer. After I can affect the social media algorithms in a approach that advantages me, I see much less emotionally provocative and extra useful content material, which has long-term well being advantages.
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