---
layout: post.html
title: Battling YouTube Addiction
date-written: 18 December 2023
---

There is no doubt that YouTube is bad for your attention span. I used to watch at least four hours of YouTube a day. Nowadays, I barely watch any. I'm writing this post to describe my process on how I got to this point.

## Realizing the Problem

I figured that simply limiting my watch time wouldn't have helped my attachment to it. Instead, I decided to deprive myself of the algorithm. You might ask, "But Dev, how are you supposed to find any new YouTube content without the algorithm?" That's kinda the point. You can still find new videos from channels you're subscribed to as well as videos that your friends share with you. Those sources are much more digestable.

## YouTube on Desktop

Here are the initial steps I took:

1. The algorithm relies a lot on watch history, so I turned that off.
2. I installed the **DF YouTube** browser extention (DF stands for "Distraction Free"). You can get it on both [Chromium](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/df-tube-distraction-free/mjdepdfccjgcndkmemponafgioodelna) and [Firefox](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/df-youtube/)
3. I checked nearly every box on it. This hides the home feed, the recommendations on the side, the trending page, comments, and more.
4. I went through my subscriptions list and unsubscribed to the channels that I rarely watched.
5. I updated my YouTube bookmark to link specifically to the subscriptions page.

This helped me reduce my watch time significantly. It even helped me realize just how awful recommended videos were compared to videos from channels that I liked. Remember, it should be **you** that decides what you want to watch, not Google.

## YouTube on Mobile

Phones are meant for calls and texts, not YouTube. I believe that the only place that you should ever be watching YouTube is at your computer. That being said, I chose to uninstall the YouTube app from my phone entirely. 

Some Android phones prevent you from uninstalling YouTube. Luckily, there's the [Universal Android Debloater](https://github.com/0x192/universal-android-debloater) which helps you remove it. It's a little complicated, but don't hold off on using it.

## Alternate Frontends

These are proxies that let you watch YouTube without going directly to YouTube's website. You don't need a browser extention to use them, and they are usually algorithm-free. There are many people that are self-hosting instances of these frontends on their sites, and they all have varying speeds.

Here are the frontends that I am aware of:

- **Invidious.** It's the most lightweight one on this list, and it's the one that I recommend the most. Some instances you could try are [yewtu.be](https://yewtu.be), [in.vibb.ro](https://in.vibb.ro), [yt.chaotic.ninja](https://yt.chaotic.ninja), and [super8.absturztau.be](https://super8.absturztau.be)
- **Piped.** This one's a lot sleeker, but I have yet to find an instance that gives me decent speed.
- **PokeTube.** Perhaps the most ambitious one, but it's clearly still in development.
- There is also **FreeTube**, but it is not self-hostable. It is an Electron app.

## Final Thoughts

On top of using an alternative frontend, going completely without a subscriptions list could be a good idea. This would force you to find new videos on your own, and that may prevent you from checking YouTube instinctively.
