VideoLens — YouTube Video Summaries

Turn YouTube videos and local files into timestamped reports in your language. Private BYOK mode plus optional Pro.

VideoLens analyzes the video you're already watching and returns a structured, timestamped report — right in Chrome's side panel. WHAT'S NEW — SEPTEMBER 8, 2026 (VERSION 0.4.1) • Every completed report and follow-up answer is saved automatically on your device • Continue your latest report or reopen any earlier report from the local library • Delete individual reports whenever you want • No VideoLens-imposed limit on locally saved reports Choose the report language independently from the video. VideoLens supports English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, French, and German, plus an automatic same-as-video option. Follow-up answers and exported reports stay in the selected language. Every completed report and its follow-up Q&A are saved automatically to a private local library in Chrome. Continue the latest report, reopen any saved report, or delete it whenever you want. The local library has no VideoLens- imposed report-count limit and is never synced or sent to VideoLens. Open a YouTube video or another page with an HTML5 video player, choose a report style, and ask what you want to learn. VideoLens samples frames, reads available captions, and creates an evidence-grounded analysis where every finding cites the exact moment in the video. Local video files work too (mp4 / webm / mov), including audio transcription for files up to 20 minutes. REPORT STYLES AND SPECIALIZED MODES • Detailed report — important ideas, context, examples, caveats, and conclusions • Key insights — signal without repetition or filler • Tutorial guide — ordered steps, commands, warnings, and verification • Interview / podcast — themes, claims, quotes, and follow-up questions • Bug report — repro steps, failure modes, severity • Meeting — decisions, commitments, follow-up actions • UX review — user friction in session replays and screen recordings • Product demo — feature inventory and positioning analysis • Content review — hook, pacing, claims, call-to-action critique • Privacy scan — find secrets, credentials, and PII before you share TWO CLEAR MODES Private / BYOK mode is free forever. The pipeline runs inside your browser; the selected video's frames, audio or captions, page title, and your prompt go directly to OpenAI using your key. VideoLens does not receive them. Your key stays on your device. A typical video costs $0.05–$1.50 in OpenAI usage, billed directly to your OpenAI account. An estimate appears before each run. Pro / Managed mode removes the API-key setup. The analysis content passes securely through VideoLens and Vercel AI Gateway to the configured AI provider (currently OpenAI) and counts against a managed-report allowance. A free account includes one managed starter report. Pro includes 20 managed reports per calendar month for $12/month or $99/year. Raw frames and audio are not retained. Saving the completed report to your cloud library is optional and off by default. OPEN SOURCE The private BYOK workflow remains free under the MIT license with unlimited analyses. Pro is an optional convenience layer, not a replacement for Free. ALSO IN THE BOX • Follow-up Q&A: ask more questions against the analyzed timeline for cents • Unlimited local report library with Continue, reopen, and delete controls • Multilingual reports with automatic browser-language and same-as-video options • Download a self-contained, professionally designed HTML report • Open the print-ready report and save a polished PDF using Chrome's print dialog • Export Markdown or JSON, or copy the report as text • Open source (MIT): github.com/shadoprizm/videolens LIMITS WORTH KNOWING DRM-protected players (Netflix, Disney+, etc.) cannot be captured — this is a browser security guarantee, not a bug. Live streams are not supported. Audio transcription of in-page videos uses available captions (YouTube); local files up to 20 minutes are transcribed directly. On other sites, cross-origin video security can prevent frame capture.