If you searched for "Unhook YouTube" or "distraction free YouTube", you are probably looking for one thing: a way to open YouTube without being pulled into the home page feed, the sidebar and the Shorts shelf. Unhook is one of the best-known extensions for that, and it is a good tool. Stillfeed has a free browser extension that overlaps with it on YouTube and does a different job around it. This is a plain comparison, so you can decide which fits you, or whether you want both.
Short version: Unhook is built around YouTube and lets you hide many individual parts of its interface. The Stillfeed extension hides Shorts on YouTube and the endless-feed surfaces on seven other sites, and adds time limits across all eight. If your problem is YouTube alone, Unhook's detailed toggles are worth a look. If it is scrolling across several sites, or minutes more than content, Stillfeed covers that.
What Unhook is known for
Unhook describes itself on its Chrome Web Store page as "a browser extension to remove YouTube distractions", and it lets you toggle its options from a popup. The options listed there cover a lot of ground. You can hide the homepage feed, the video sidebar and recommended videos. You can hide Shorts, comments, the end-screen cards and videowall, live chat and playlists. You can hide the top header and notification bell, the buttons under a video, the description, merch and tickets and offers, and the channel section. You can hide "related to your search" results and the Explore and Trending sections, hide or redirect Subscriptions, and turn off autoplay and annotations.
That is a thorough list, and it is the reason Unhook has a loyal following. It also states that it works on video embeds and, through Firefox on Android, on mobile YouTube. It is available for Chrome, Firefox and Edge according to its listing, which at the time we looked showed about a million users and a rating of 4.9 out of 5 from about 4,600 ratings. Those figures are from the store page and may have changed since.
What Unhook's listing does not mention is any site other than YouTube, or time limits. That is not a criticism. A tool that does one site in depth is a legitimate design.
What Stillfeed's extension does
The Stillfeed extension starts from a different question: which parts of social sites are built to keep you scrolling, and can they go while the rest stays? On YouTube, the default setting hides the Shorts menu entry and Shorts shelves, and blocks Shorts pages. Search, subscriptions and regular videos are untouched.
It then does the same kind of job on seven other sites, with each site's core hiding on by default:
- Instagram: Reels sent to your home page, feed Reels collapsed, suggested posts collapsed (English only), the Explore grid hidden.
- X: the home timeline opens on Following, the Trending page is sent home, and trends and Today's News are hidden.
- Reddit: r/popular and r/all blocked.
- Facebook: Reels and Watch pages sent home, with Reels entries and the Reels shelf hidden.
- TikTok: For You, Explore, LIVE and Short dramas hidden, and you are sent to Following.
- LinkedIn: My Network and Games sent away, and sponsored posts removed from your feed (English only).
- Snapchat: Stories, Spotlight and Lenses hidden, so you land in Chat.
On top of that, the time tools work on all eight sites: a daily limit that closes the sites until midnight (with 5 extra minutes once per visit), a session timer of 2, 5, 10 or 15 minutes, quiet hours, a 5 or 10 second pause before a site opens, and grayscale. Everything runs inside your browser. There is no account and no analytics, and the extension makes no network requests of its own.
Side by side
Here is what we can say from each tool's own description. Where we have not verified something about Unhook, we leave it out.
| Question | Unhook (per its store listing) | Stillfeed extension |
|---|---|---|
| Sites covered | YouTube | Instagram, YouTube, X, Reddit, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, Snapchat |
| Hides Shorts | Yes | Yes (menu entry, shelves, pages) |
| Hides home feed and recommendations on YouTube | Yes, as options | No, it targets Shorts |
| Detailed YouTube interface toggles | Many (sidebar, end screens, comments, header and more) | Likes and counts, and comments |
| Time limits | Not listed | Daily limit, session timer, quiet hours, pause, grayscale |
| Account needed | Not listed as needed | No |
Which to choose
Choose Unhook if YouTube is the only site you want to change and you want fine control over its interface: hiding the home feed, the sidebar, the end-screen suggestions or the comments, individually. If you care about the recommendations more than Shorts, its toggles for the feed and related videos do something Stillfeed's YouTube setting does not.
Choose Stillfeed's extension if the pattern is bigger than YouTube. People who struggle with Shorts often struggle with Reels, For You and r/popular too, and covering those in one install is simpler than assembling several tools. It is also the better fit if you want to limit minutes, not just remove content: a daily limit and quiet hours across all eight sites is something a YouTube-only tool does not offer.
Use both if you like. They hide different parts of the page, and two extensions that only hide things do not conflict in an obvious way. You may find that after a week the combination feels too sparse, in which case switch off the toggles you do not miss.
One honest limit on Stillfeed's side: its YouTube coverage is narrower than Unhook's. It is the Shorts surfaces, plus optional hiding of likes and counts and of comments. It does not try to turn YouTube into a bare search box.
Getting Stillfeed's extension
The extension is on the Chrome Web Store for Chrome, Brave, Edge, Opera and Arc, and on Firefox Add-ons for Firefox (128 or newer). Both install in one click, and the extension page links them. For the Shorts side in detail, see how to block YouTube Shorts on Chrome.
If you also use an iPhone
Neither extension runs on your phone. For iPhone, the Stillfeed app is a free in-app browser that removes feeds like Shorts, covered in how to disable YouTube Shorts.
Common questions
Is Stillfeed an Unhook alternative?
For Shorts, yes. For hiding YouTube's home feed, sidebar and recommendations, Unhook has more options. For other sites and for time limits, Stillfeed covers ground Unhook's listing does not mention.
Can I run Unhook and Stillfeed together?
Yes. Each hides parts of the page in your browser. If both hide Shorts, nothing breaks, and you can switch off the duplicate toggle.
Does Stillfeed hide YouTube recommendations?
Not on the home page or the Up next list. Its YouTube setting targets Shorts, and its optional controls hide likes and counts and comments.
Is it free?
Yes. The extension is free, with no account.
Get the extension and decide for yourself. It takes a few minutes to set up.
More browser extension guides
- How to Block YouTube Shorts on Chrome (and Other Desktop Browsers)
- How to Set a YouTube Time Limit in Chrome (and Other Desktop Browsers)
- A Website Blocker for Firefox That Blocks the Feed, Not the Whole Site
- Instagram on a Computer Without Reels, Explore or Suggested Posts
- How to Hide Reels on Facebook on a Computer
- Snapchat Web: Use It for Chat Only, Without Stories or Spotlight
- How to Block a Website in Chrome (and When You Only Want the Feed Gone)
- News Feed Eradicator Alternative: Hide Feeds on 8 Sites, Plus Time Limits
- How to Block r/popular and r/all on Reddit in Your Browser
- Block Distracting Sites on Edge, Brave, Opera and Arc (Free Extension)
