Unclickbait

Unclickbait is a free browser extension for Chrome and Firefox that swaps YouTube thumbnails for a frame taken from the middle of each video. It requires no account. YouTube keeps three frames per video, roughly from a quarter, half, and three quarters of the way through, and Unclickbait shows the middle one. Where no frame exists yet, such as for a live stream or a video still processing, the uploader's thumbnail is shown. Titles are left unchanged, and the page states that no data leaves the browser, with no analytics and no servers operated by the developer. Real frames can be turned on or off from the extension's popup.

Key features

• Replaces YouTube thumbnails with a frame from the middle of each video
• Turn real frames on or off from the extension popup
• Falls back to the uploader's thumbnail when no frame is available, such as for live streams or videos still processing
• Applies to home feed, search, related videos, playlists, Shorts, and the player
• Leaves video titles unchanged
• No account required, no analytics, and no developer servers

Best suited for

• Viewers who want to judge a video by its actual content before clicking
• Users who prefer not to see clickbait-style thumbnails on YouTube

Pricing

Free for Chrome and Firefox