Mark watched YouTube videos in Firefox

Martin Brinkmann
May 27, 2017
Updated • Jun 25, 2017
Firefox, Firefox add-ons
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13

YouTube Watchmarker is a free browser extension for Mozilla Firefox that marks watched videos on YouTube for easy recognition.

One of the main issues on YouTube is that the site's watched functionality is terribly broken. While YouTube keeps track of the videos that you have watched, it does not mark those when you use the site, nor removes them from the search results. The only option you have to check your watched history is to sign in to   Google or YouTube account whenever you use the site, as this is the only way to have them tracked so tat you can open the listing at any time (as it is associated with your account).

We talked about this issue when we reviewed YouWatch for Opera back in 2011, the Chrome extension YouTweak which removes watched videos on YouTube from the search results, or the Chrome extension Better YouTube Watch History which marks watched videos in Chrome.

YouTube Watchmarker

youtube mark watched videos

YouTube Watchmarker keeps track of the video history on YouTube to mark any video that you watched on the site as "watched" when you encounter it again on the site.

Any video that you start to watch is marked as watched, even if you don't fully watch it. In fact, even if you just watch the video for a couple of seconds, it is marked as watched by the extension.

This works well for search results and channel listings, as well as sidebar suggestions. The thumbnail of the watched video is grayed out to a degree, and the watched mark is added to the video thumbnail as well.

The indicator helps with the identification of watched videos on YouTube, and it works regardless of whether you are signed in to the site or not.

The extension works automatically, but adds an icon to the Firefox toolbar. A click on it loads the options.

You may use the page for the following:

  1. Import, export or reset the extension's database -- This works as a backup of sorts, but can also be used to use the same database on multiple devices or Firefox profiles. The setting highlights the number of tracked videos as well.
  2. History lets you sync the extension's history of watched YouTube videos with the Firefox browsing history. This is not required usually, but if you run into issues somehow, you can run a manual sync job at any time using the option.
  3. The add-on may sync the data from a YouTube account as well if you are signed in.

The last option that is provided on the page hides the progress bar that is shown on YouTube when you started to watch a video but have not finished it.

Verdict

YouTube Watchmarker is a WebExtension for Firefox which means that it won't stop working when Mozilla releases Firefox 57. The extension works well, and marks any video that you start watching directly on YouTube.

While it won't hide watched videos, it does the next best thing, and more reliably than the YouTube system.

Now You:Do you keep track of watched YouTube videos?

Summary
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4.5 based on 3 votes
Software Name
YouTube Watchmarker
Software Category
Browser
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Comments

  1. Ben said on May 29, 2017 at 9:07 am
    Reply
  2. talis said on May 29, 2017 at 5:47 am
    Reply

    For Youtube I use:
    Subscriptions Grid
    Magic Actions for Youtube

    In the past there were better ones but these are about all you can get these days.

  3. Alex said on May 28, 2017 at 9:22 am
    Reply

    I have no addons but If I have seen a youtube video it gets marked as watched and if I leave partway through, it has a red bar at the bottom telling me how far through it I got….

    1. RJay said on June 1, 2017 at 4:45 pm
      Reply

      I was thinking the same thing, maybe it’s because I’m logged into my Google account when watching YT in the browser. I don’t see this on my Android TV box, probably for the same reason. I may try to set up a junk account for that to see if they show up.

  4. mikef90000 said on May 28, 2017 at 1:11 am
    Reply

    It is hard to get excited about this, as the YT dev-children keep removing important functionality like collections. You would think that YT would let you mark a video with a private (local) tag to let one organize and increase their watching.
    Another repeated regression – YT keeps turning On autoplay when I ALWAYS turn it off while *logged in*. Absolutely infuriating!
    BTW is there an add-on that will hide all ‘recommendations’ – I hate this random fire hose of crap being pointed at my face.

    Even more insulting, the YT Roku app is almost unusable even with far less functionality than the web site. Using a common feature like pause / FF / rewind usually crashes the app. Very ironic since I prefer to watch YT videos on my big screen TV and will even tolerate short commercials. No way AFAIK to mark a video ‘Watch Later’ in the app.

    Good job, YT – NOT!!

  5. Testuser said on May 27, 2017 at 9:41 pm
    Reply

    “Mark watched YouTube videos in Firefox”
    Sorry, but this headline is more than confusing. Who is Mark? Mark had watched YouTube videos? Obviously you mean the extension, but … well … it isn’t easy to read. Thanks in advance.

    1. james said on May 28, 2017 at 3:45 am
      Reply

      haha I thought the same thing. Who is Mark? Is some unknown author of the site? lol

  6. Rotten Scoundrel said on May 27, 2017 at 9:30 pm
    Reply

    I’d be more interested on one for Netflix. I never cease to be amazed as the stupidity of the Netflix website programmers. They now only have the options for thumb-up or thumb-down for all viewing. As a result, there is no way to tell if you have watched a video/movie etc.

    If they didn’t display ones that I have thumb-downed that might be a start but these morons just barge ahead with their inept “skills.”

    Sorry, a little off-topic there but hoping the developer of Watchmarker might think about Netflix next, as I do not use youtube much but the concept is great.

  7. jasray said on May 27, 2017 at 5:43 pm
    Reply

    No, I can keep track and know what I watch and don’t watch. In fact, the add-on might be obtrusive for me since I often return to the same video to watch again.

    Ghacks is a great resource, and I use the information extensively when others ask how to do something. When it comes to Firefox add-ons, however, I realized that if I installed every add-on mentioned or recommended with five stars, the browser wouldn’t even run.

    Question: I noted that Lazarus is dead for the recent version of Firefox, but it works fine in Cyberfox. Any idea about a replacement; it’s one add-on that saves me countless minutes.

    Thanks for all of your work and dedication.

    1. Mystique said on May 29, 2017 at 3:03 pm
      Reply

      Have you tried textarea Cache lite as a replacement. Sorry I cannot test this for you at the moment.

      Whilst so many Firefox add-ons do get the five star rating it just goes to show the diverse and vast nature of Firefox and its extensive add-on library which may soon be depreciated due to Mozilla’s new approach to add-ons not to mention the talent behind many of these fine add-ons that most of us have used for years and years.

      I’ve seen lots of great add-ons but some of which do not fit my needs to I take not but do not install them.

      https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/textarea-cache-lite/?src=search

    2. Martin Brinkmann said on May 27, 2017 at 6:07 pm
      Reply

      Yeah noticed that as well. Don’t know of an alternative right now. Best bet is to look at Chrome extensions functionality wise, but maybe we get lucky.

      Even if an add-n gets a four or five star rating, it does not mean that it is a must have add-on for all users.

      1. trends said on May 27, 2017 at 9:27 pm
        Reply

        Martin,

        how to install a Chrome (Store) specific addon
        on Firefox or PaleMoon?

        I believe there’s a Firefox/PaleMoon addon
        which allows that ?
        (Chrome addon install on FF/PM…).

        Thanks!

      2. Martin Brinkmann said on May 27, 2017 at 10:08 pm
        Reply

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