Show HN: I Built a Tool to Break Free from YouTube's Addictive Algorithm
watchlist.soI built Watchlist to solve a problem that's been nagging at me (and I suspect many others): YouTube's addictive nature and its impact on productivity.
The Problem:
YouTube is an incredible source of knowledge, but its homepage is an unending scroll of rabbit holes. The algorithm is designed to maximize watch time, often at the expense of our intentions and productivity. I found myself wasting hours, jumping from video to video, and then blaming myself for the lack of self-control.
The Solution:
Watchlist! Watchlist is essentially YouTube playlists on steroids. Here's how it works:
1. Create custom "lists" for different topics (e.g., AI, Science, Programming) 2. Add relevant channels to each list 3. Watchlist automatically adds new uploads from these channels to your lists 4. Set custom notification schedules for each list (e.g., every morning at 8 AM, every Sunday at 5 PM) 5. Receive email or push notifications (your choice) when there are new unwatched videos
The result? You stay updated on the content you care about without falling into the YouTube homepage trap.
Tech Stack:
Built with Python, JavaScript, Supabase & Google Cloud Run. (Took six weeks)
Why I Built This:
As an electrical engineer turned software developer, I've always been fascinated by programming. This project combines my love for coding with a real-world problem I've experienced firsthand.
Try It Out:
To make it as easy as possible for you to try Watchlist, I've set up a 1-click dummy login:
http://watchlist.so/login/dummy
This generates a dummy email and password for you, valid for 14 days. Although this account has full access, please note some restrictions:
- You cannot reset the password - Email notifications are disabled - Data cannot be migrated to another account - The account will be deactivated after 14 days
For those who prefer a proper account, you can register normally at: https://watchlist.so/signup
Feedback:
I've seen many people struggle with YouTube addiction without realizing the root cause. If you've faced similar issues or have thoughts on this approach, I'd love to hear your feedback. Your thoughts and suggestions are crucial for improving Watchlist. There's a dedicated feedback page at:
https://watchlist.so/settings/feedback
I'm eager to hear your experiences and ideas! Thanks!
PS: This is my first Show HN. So, please excuse me if I made any mistakes. I tried my best to follow the guidelines.
Or just turn off history.
Tried and failed. When you turn off history, the algorithm will actually suggest even more enticing videos.
Where? How? I get a totally blank home screen. If I subscribe to some channels, then manually go to subscriptions, it just shows new videos from those channels.
When I watch a video, then I get related other videos under that. Those seem reasonably related, but only a few usually successfully attract my attention.
It might matter what kind of content the initial video was. My subscriptions currently include Usagi Electric, Maggie May Fish, Rick Beato, EEVblog, Primagen, James Hoffman, and several more vintage tech like Adrain Black and Techmoan.
Back before they blanked out the home screen, my home screen did often have sssniperwolf and mr beast even though I never watch those. This was still with history turned off, just before a year or so ago the home screen still had content regardless of history.
Now those kinds of things never show up in the related recommendations following either a subscription or a manually searched video. Well I presume if I manually searched for mr beast I would get them attached to that.
Anyway I was mostly just taking a shot at YT for trying to coerce people into turning on history by making the experience, which I pay for, worse.
I can safely say they want history on, not just because the obvious we all just know it, but also because they say it themselves. In place the previous screen full of videos, now it always shows a message that is not only an active suggestion to turn history on, it's even worded like it's an error that you need fix. Every time. No concept of "yes, thank you, I have already intentiinally declined your kind offer. I didn't forget from 8 minutes ago, and after 15 years I didn't change my mind either." No, it just hits you with that front and center action item every. single. time. Maybe the 8341st time will be the one!
They are doing the simple math of it's free and effortless to make the machine say that infinite times, but each user has to spend a little effort to go around it every time they use the service. They win by pure attrition some percent of the time.
I agree with most of what you said. For me though, it's really hard to go to YouTube without wasting at least an hour. That's why I built this app. So far, it's working great for me. I've added my favorite channels into different lists based on categories and set up weekly reminders for all of them. For example, every Friday evening at 7 PM, I get an email about the latest videos from Veritasium, 3Blue1Brown, Mark Rober, Ben Eater, Steve Mould, SmarterEveryDay, and Tom Scott. This way, I don't feel the urge to go to YouTube and lose track of time.
A quick demo of how Watchlist works: https://youtu.be/NqgZelLWsPs
Feedly allows subscribing to YouTube channels.
True. But Watchlist is not just a video aggregator, it’s got many more features like customizable alerts and progress indicators etc.
I’m currently working on a feature to let AI determine if a video should be added to a list based on what it’s about.
Could you support using the Internet Archive as the content source as well?
Would that not be an abuse of the IA's resources? (genuine question, not meant to sound accusatory)
Based on my understanding of this tool, it is simply a playlist generator. This could create playlists of Internet Archive content. If that is inaccurate, I am happy to be corrected.
Generating playlists is one of the things that Watchlist does. Here are a few more: 1) You can actually set very flexible notification schedules and use a medium of your choice (email, webpush) to receive the notifications about new/unwatched videos in a list.
2) You can keep track of your progress by marking the videos in a list Watched/Unwatched. This is good if you’re taking a course on YouTube.
A few things I am building in near future if all goes well: 1) Adding the “tags” functionality which will suggest similar channels to users based on the kind of videos & channels they’ve added.
2) A video summary feature which will send a short summary of the video to you.
This is helpful! I will reach out via email.
Can you please elaborate a little?
A tool love in this realm is the Unhook Chrome Extension[0]. It simply removes the recommended videos. No home feed, no sidebar, no clickbait. Just a search bar and place to browse your subscriptions. Huge improvement.
[0]https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/unhook-remove-youtu...
Thanks for sharing this. This tool is a very small subset of what I am trying to do with Watchlist.
1) In the current version, you can actually set very flexible notification schedules and use a medium of your choice (email, webpush) to receive the notifications about new videos.
2) You can create lists by cloning YouTube’s playlists and then keep track of your progress by marking them Watched/Unwatched. This is good if you’re taking a course on YouTube.
3) I am working on adding the “tags” functionality which will suggest similar channels to users based on the kind of videos & channels they’ve added.
4) I will also be adding a video summary feature which will send a short summary of the video to you.
I have many more features in mind, just need to get some initial validation of the idea.