After trying a bunch of extensions and blockers that didn’t really solve the core issue, I decided to build something from scratch for my own use. That’s how FocusStream came about.
What it does right now: You add topics you care about (like "Learning Carpentry" or "How to get into YC"), and FocusStream fetches only the relevant YouTube videos for those topics. On the home page, you just see your own list of topics, no random feeds, no distractions. Only when you click on a topic do you get the focused video list, so you control what appears and when. And it does not have "Shorts".
But this is just my personal approach. I know other people struggle with the same problem, and I'm pretty sure my solution isn't perfect. That's why I'm hoping to find a few early adopters, people who genuinely want to discuss, test, and help figure out better ways to beat YouTube distractions together.
If you're interested in sharing your experience or brainstorming ideas, please email me. I'd love to connect.
Try it: https://focusstream.media Email: ashwin [dot] parihar [at] outlook [dot] com