Looking for an Unhook alternative?
Quick answer
Unhook is a desktop browser extension that hides parts of YouTube such as Shorts, recommendations, and comments. Feedvault does not hide YouTube; it replaces the subscription feed with chronological Feeds and Studies, and it works on mobile. Many people run both: Unhook to clean up YouTube.com, Feedvault as the place they actually follow their channels.
Unhook hides distractions on YouTube — recommendations, Shorts, comments, the sidebar — with a browser extension. It's good at what it does, but it only works on desktop, can break when YouTube redesigns, and doesn't actually organise anything. Feedvault is a standalone web app that replaces the YouTube subscription surface entirely: chronological Feeds, Shorts blocked at ingestion, Studies for saved videos, on phone and laptop.
Unhook hides. Feedvault replaces.
Unhook and Feedvault both serve people who don't want to be manipulated by YouTube's algorithm — but they take opposite approaches. Worth understanding which one fits how you use YouTube.
Unhook: subtract from YouTube
A browser extension that injects CSS into youtube.com to hide elements you don't want — Shorts, recommendations, comments, the sidebar, autoplay, the trending tab.
Best for: people who still want to use youtube.com directly but with less noise on the page.
Feedvault: replace the subscription surface
A standalone web app where you group channels into Feeds, save videos into Studies, and never see a Short. YouTube is still where videos play — Feedvault is where you decide what to watch.
Best for: people drowning in subscriptions who want focus and structure, not just less noise.
Three things Unhook can't do
Work on mobile
Unhook is a browser extension — desktop only. Feedvault is a website. Open it on iOS, Android, or your laptop — same Feeds, no install.
Organise your channels
Unhook hides clutter, but your subscriptions are still one flat YouTube list. Feedvault groups channels into named Feeds with emoji icons — Web Dev 💻, Cooking 🍳, Science 🔬.
Block Shorts at the data layer
Unhook hides Shorts with CSS — they're still fetched and ranked. Feedvault filters out videos three minutes or shorter at ingestion. They never reach your feed at all.
Unhook vs Feedvault
| Capability | Unhook | Feedvault |
|---|---|---|
| Hide recommendations and sidebar on YouTube | N/A — separate surface | |
| Shorts blocked at ingestion (not just hidden) | ||
| Group channels into chronological Feeds | ||
| Save individual videos with notes (Studies) | ||
| Per-feed and per-study emoji icons | ||
| Watch-later, important, viewed flags per video | ||
| Standalone web app — no browser extension | ||
| Works on mobile (iOS & Android) | ||
| Doesn't break when YouTube redesigns | fragile | |
| Free |
Unhook is free with optional pro upgrades. Feedvault is paid: $99/year or $599 lifetime via Creem. Many users run both — Unhook to clean up youtube.com, Feedvault as their subscription home.
Beyond hiding noise
Unhook makes YouTube less hostile. Feedvault gives you a different way to use YouTube entirely — one designed for power-users who want focus and structure.
Feeds with emoji icons
Group channels by topic, give each Feed an emoji, see your sidebar at a glance.
Studies for saved videos
Save individual videos into Studies — paste a URL or one-click save from a Feed. Each saved video carries a free-text note.
Shorts blocked at the door
Videos three minutes or shorter never enter your Feed. Not hidden in CSS — never ingested.
Watch-later, important, viewed
Three flags per video. A real watch-later that doesn't disappear, plus a way to mark videos worth coming back to.
Common questions
Is Feedvault an alternative to Unhook?
Yes, with a different philosophy. Unhook is a browser extension that hides parts of the YouTube interface — Shorts, recommendations, comments, the sidebar — using CSS rules. Feedvault is a standalone web app that replaces the YouTube subscription surface entirely with chronological Feeds and Studies. Where Unhook subtracts noise from YouTube, Feedvault gives you a parallel surface where the noise was never there.
Why would I switch from Unhook to Feedvault?
Three reasons: (1) Unhook is a browser extension — desktop only and can break when YouTube ships a layout update. Feedvault works on mobile and is independent of YouTube's frontend. (2) Unhook hides Shorts in the UI but they're still fetched by your browser. Feedvault filters Shorts out at ingestion — they never reach your feed. (3) Unhook doesn't organise anything. Feedvault groups channels into Feeds, lets you save videos into Studies with notes, and adds emoji icons and watch-later flags.
Does Unhook block Shorts?
Unhook hides Shorts using CSS — they're removed from view but still fetched and ranked behind the scenes. It works only on desktop browsers where you install the extension. Feedvault filters Shorts (videos three minutes or shorter) out at ingestion, so they never enter your feed at all, on any device.
Can I use Unhook and Feedvault together?
Yes. They solve different problems. Unhook cleans up the YouTube interface when you're watching individual videos. Feedvault is where you go to keep up with your subscribed channels in a clean, organised way. Many users keep Unhook on for video-page cleanup and use Feedvault as their subscription home.
Does Feedvault work on mobile like Unhook?
Better — Unhook does not work on mobile because it's a browser extension. Feedvault is a standalone web app, so it works in any mobile browser on iOS and Android with no install.
Is Feedvault free like Unhook?
No. Feedvault is paid: $99/year or $599 lifetime via Creem. Unhook is free with optional pro upgrades. The trade-off is that Feedvault is a purpose-built standalone app that does more than hide UI elements — it gives you Feeds, Studies, emoji icons, video flags, and Shorts blocking at the data layer.
Will Unhook break when YouTube redesigns?
Browser extensions like Unhook depend on YouTube's HTML and CSS structure. When YouTube ships a redesign, the extension can stop hiding the right elements until the maintainers ship a fix. Feedvault is independent of YouTube's frontend — your Feeds keep working regardless of what YouTube changes.
Keep reading
- PocketTube alternative — direct comparison of PocketTube and Feedvault.
- How to block YouTube Shorts — six methods compared, including the only one that blocks at ingestion.
- How to organize YouTube subscriptions — five methods to group channels by topic.
- YouTube Watch Later alternative — save videos with notes, flags, and topic groups via Studies.
- Save YouTube videos with notes — five tools compared for note-taking on videos.
- YouTube without the algorithm — manifesto for bypassing the YouTube algorithm entirely.
- Alternative to the YouTube subscription feed — rebuild a chronological subscription feed.
- Distraction-free YouTube — complete guide mapping distractions to tools.
- Feedvault home — Feeds + Studies overview, comparison table, FAQ.
- Pricing — Annual at $99/year or Lifetime at $599 one-time.