A sanity-saving YouTube upgrade

An end to annoying interruptions  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ [Cool Tools, by The Intelligence](#) Brought to you by: [Masterworks logo](=)​ YouTube is incredible. We take it for granted: A huge database of user-submitted videos we can access in just a few keystrokes. You can find a video about nearly anything. But YouTube videos can be a little obnoxious at times. Many creators insert a lot of sponsored segments in videos, and you may find yourself skipping through them. If you're already skipping those sponsored segments, good news: You can install a tool that automatically skips sponsored segments in YouTube videos for you. It's a big time-saver. [Chris Hoffman, Author of Windows Intelligence] Chris Hoffman​ Author of [Windows Intelligence]()​ --------------------------------------------------------------- SPONSORED MESSAGE Before we dive in, here's something you might be interested in knowing... [Painting with money falling around it](=)​ It's no secret that contemporary art prices have outpaced the S&P 500 by 64% over the last 28 years, appreciating at a compound rate of 11.5% per year during that time. But for [Masterworks](=), an investment platform focused solely on contemporary art, keeping pace isn’t enough. It wants to beat the market. How are they attempting this, you might ask? By buying works of art in artist markets with positive trends. It’s value investing 101. The Acquisitions and Research team is world-class, with decades of experience in the art and financial markets, powered by a proprietary database that aims to track historical artist market appreciation. Few, if any, players in this untapped $2.1 trillion market have the qualitative and quantitative investing capabilities that Masterworks has. So far, the Masterworks team has been successful, completing 22 exits out of over 400 offerings, each of them individually profitable. With 3 representative sales, Masterworks investors realized net annualized returns of 13.9%, 14.6%, and 17.8%. Isn’t it time for you to join them? ➜ [Now, you can skip the waitlist to get started with this exclusive link.](=)​ [OPEN A FREE ACCOUNT ➜](=) * Past performance is not indicative of future returns, investing involves risk. See disclosures at masterworks.com/cd ​ Skip sponsored segments in YouTube videos The tool in question is [SponsorBlock](=). It's a free, open-source browser extension that uses a database of user-submitted timestamps. ➜ In short: You can install this browser extension and it will automatically fast-forward through sponsored segments in YouTube videos. ⌚ You can install SponsorBlock in about 5 seconds. To get started, head to [the SponsorBlock website](=). SponsorBlock is easiest to use in a web browser on your computer: It's available as a browser extension for Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera, and even Safari. Just install the extension — that's all you need to do. Sponsored parts of YouTube videos will be represented by a green section on the playback bar. When the video reaches them, it will immediately skip through the sponsored segment and continue. [SponsorBlock skipping a segment in Chrome.] SponsorBlock is customizable and has other features, too: You can use it to skip through intros and outros automatically, for example. There's also a button you can press to go straight to the "highlight" of a YouTube video, skipping to the point. Just click the SponsorBlock extension icon on your browser's toolbar — you'll find its settings there. [The SponsorBlock extension menu in Google Chrome.] SponsorBlock is also available for Android, iPhone, and various smart TV platforms. You'll find various options on the SponsorBlock website. For example: - On Android, you could install [Firefox for Android](), install the [SponsorBlock extension for Firefox on Android](, and then use the YouTube website in the Firefox browser. (Chrome doesn't support browser extensions on Android.) - On iPhone, you could [install the Safari extension]() and use the YouTube website in Safari. - Or, you could install third-party apps for accessing YouTube — some of them come with SponsorBlock integration. The SponsorBlock website will point you in the right direction. 📌 You can find extensions, apps, and other ways to use this tool on [the SponsorBlock website](=). 💰 SponsorBlock is completely free. 🕶 This tool is open-source and uses a [privacy-preserving query system](=) to fetch timestamps for the videos you watch. Now, speaking of tech tools... ​ This Week's Cool Tools Quiz Which of the following was not a real service from a major tech company? Remember: NO CHEATING! Anyone can look up info on the web. Stick with the spirit of the game and test your actual knowledge without searching. It's just for fun, anyway! [Ping](=) [Bing](=) [Buzz](=) [Ding](=) Answer correctly before next Wednesday and secure your spot on the [Cool Tools Leaderboard](=)! 👉 Last week's question and answer: Which of the following was not the name of a once-real, now-phased-out video chat service? iConference. Such a video chat service has never existed — whereas Google Duo was a short-lived one-on-one video chatting app, UberConference was the original name of a tool now called Dialpad Meetings, and BlueJeans was a video conferencing service acquired and then later shut down by Verizon. 🤚 Wait! Before you go: What'd you think of this issue? [Thumbs Up](=) [Thumbs Down]( Hit the thumbs-up or thumbs-down to cast your vote and let us know. ​ Want less email? [Update your reading preferences](=) to opt out of any individual publications or unsubscribe entirely. New here and not yet subscribed? Take two seconds to [sign up for our newsletters](): Cool Tools, Android Intelligence, or Windows Intelligence (or all three!). Hungry for even more? [Learn about becoming an Intelligence Insider,](=) our one-of-a-kind community where you'll have access to power-packed advanced resources, an on-demand help desk, and tons of free apps and services. Independent journalism relies on you. 🤝 An [Intelligence Insider membership](=) is the best way to support our work and keep this newsletter sustainable. Not ready for a membership? You can also support our work by making a [direct one-time contribution](=) (or contribute via [PayPal]( or [Venmo](=)) to ensure we're able to keep writing for you long into the future! # #