Frequently Asked Questions

CleanTube is a free Chrome extension that makes YouTube distraction free. It blocks ads, hides Shorts, disables autoplay, provides focus tools, and includes a full analytics dashboard all while keeping your data 100% private on your device.

Yes, completely free. No premium tiers, no subscriptions, no hidden costs. All 12+ features are available to every user. I don't run ads and I don't sell data because I don't collect any.

CleanTube officially supports Google Chrome and all Chromium-based browsers (Brave, Vivaldi, Opera). Microsoft Edge and Mozilla Firefox support is actively in progress and coming very soon — the extension has been submitted for review on both platforms.

No. CleanTube stores all data locally on your device using Chrome's built in storage API. Nothing is sent to any server. I don't use Google Analytics, telemetry, or any tracking service. I literally cannot see your data. Read our Privacy Policy for the full details.

CleanTube requests only the minimum permissions required:

• Host permissions for *://*.youtube.com/* — to run content scripts on YouTube pages
• Storage — to save your settings and watch history locally
• declarativeNetRequest — to block ad network URLs

We do NOT request access to all websites, browsing history, or any other sensitive permissions.

Yes. Go to Settings → Data Backup & Restore to export your complete data as a JSON file. To delete everything, use Settings → Danger Zone → Reset All Data. Uninstalling the extension also removes all data.

CleanTube blocks ads before they appear and skips anything that slips through so your videos play smoothly without interruptions.

It works across pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-roll ads, giving you a seamless viewing experience.

Focus Mode blurs distracting elements (sidebar, comments, related videos) but keeps YouTube functional. You can still browse, search, and navigate.

Zen Mode is more extreme it completely replaces the YouTube homepage with a blank search interface. You can only watch videos you intentionally search for. No recommendations, no trending, no Shorts.

Clean Score measures the percentage of your watched videos that fall into productive categories (Education, Tech, Science, How to, Music) vs. passive categories (Entertainment, Gaming, Drama). A higher score means more intentional, high value content consumption.

Absolutely. Every feature is an independent toggle in the CleanTube popup. You can enable just ad blocking, or just Shorts hiding, or any combination. Changes apply instantly without reloading the page.

Try these steps:

1. Make sure "Block Ads" is toggled ON in the CleanTube popup
2. Reload the YouTube page (Ctrl+R)
3. Go to chrome://extensions and make sure CleanTube is enabled
4. Try disabling other ad blockers temporarily (they can conflict)

YouTube regularly changes their ad delivery system. If ads persist, an update may be needed.

The analytics tracker starts counting from the moment CleanTube is installed. Watch at least one full video, then check the dashboard. Data refreshes every 10 seconds. Try switching between period tabs (Today, This Week, etc.) to verify different time ranges.