ZenTube for Chrome

It's easy to get lost while browsing on YouTube: there's virtually so much content that you'll never not have something to watch — at least in theory. Getting distracted and losing track of time can be concerning if it's a frequent occurrence, so taking steps to remedy that would serve you in the long run.

How does one limit their exposure to this never-ending stream of content, then? ZenTube for Chrome is a take on a minimalist, distraction-free YouTube, where users can choose what type of UI elements are necessary for them.

For those who find their exposure to YouTube to be excessive and harmful to their productivity, an extension like this one could prove to be especially useful. As the setup only takes a few seconds, users will be able to start customizing their YouTube experience just as they want.

To start making changes to the interface, open up the extension by clicking its icon, and toggle the elements relevant to your use cases. Comments, thumbnails, previews, and even channel avatars and the YouTube logo can be toggled as you see fit. Of course, there's even more to it, as users can also choose to hide the video sidebar, community posts, ad thumbnails, and any end screens they encounter upon watching a clip.

Though some more sweeping UI modifications might require you to reload the page for the changes to appear, that wasn't really the case during our testing. The elements were changed right away, without requiring a page reload. The extension even plays a sort of animation when toggling something, instead of whisking off those UI elements into purgatory.

It's best you experiment with the UI features you deem necessary, and go from there. ZenTube for Chrome is an extension that gives you this option, which is bound to be appreciated by the users who want to turn their YouTube experience into a more distraction-free one.