YouTube Audiophile

A Chrome extension to hide video and thumbnails while playing only the audio on YouTube

WHY THIS EXTENSION EXISTS While listening to audio on YouTube without watching the video, especially at workplaces or public settings, sometimes you simply want to hide the unnecessary visuals entirely. This extension does exactly that, without any cluttered settings and unwanted additional features. USAGE • Use the toggle switch next to the YouTube logo to enable/disable audio-only mode. When enabled, the video is hidden and thumbnails are replaced with a solid black background • Press Ctrl+Shift+A for quick toggling • Your setting is saved automatically and persists across sessions CURRENT LIMITATION - YouTube Music not supported - Does not hide short videos (as that wouldn't make sense) SUPPORT & FEEDBACK For reporting issues and feedback please open an issue here: https://github.com/titanh3art/yt-audiophile/issues ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOW IT WORKS The video quality is set to the lowest available using YouTube's player API and then hidden. This doesn't affect audio quality as YouTube handles audio separately and streams it in optimal quality. The extension doesn't interfere with YouTube's data stream. Why Not Simply Disable the Video Stream? YouTube's architecture doesn't allow completely disabling the video stream while keeping audio active. The media streams are bundled together. Attempting to disable video might interrupt audio playback, cause player errors or unexpected behavior, and violate YouTube's terms of service.