Update: Looks like I got a little over-paranoid on this one, folks. As pointed out by James Xuan and according to a snippet from the help file on YouTube, the history wipes when you close your browser. So you can still use this extension if you really want to, but there's not much real point. That aside, it was still really cool learning how to write my own Firefox extension!
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Sometime recently I noticed YouTube keeping a history of videos I've watched. I'm guessing this was a relatively new feature, because I'm quite sure the feature was not there a couple weeks ago. (If anyone wants to correct me on this, feel free to let me know.) I should note that it only tracks videos you watch while at YouTube.com itself, not videos embedded on external sites.
YouTube does provide an option to clear your history manually, but that's not good enough for me. I don't want to have to clear my history manually over and over again. What I want is a way to turn off the history feature entirely (the same way I've done with Google's Web History feature). I sent them a feedback report requesting that there be an option to turn off history tracking entirely, but who knows when they'll get around to implementing it, if ever.
Then I remembered that a couple weeks ago Lifehacker.com had a post on how to make your own Firefox extensions. Perfect. So I'm happy to announce my very first Firefox extension.
Say hello to YouTube History Bleach. (Once/If the extension makes it into the general Firefox Add-Ons site, I'll update the link to point there. For now, you can just download the .xpi and then just drag it onto your Add-Ons window in Firefox.)
The extension automatically clears your YouTube history every time you view a video. It's a very simple extension. There are probably better ways of writing it too, so I'm open to suggestions.
I should also note that I hope this extension is useful only temporarily. What I would really like to see is YouTube just give us the option to turn off the history feature entirely.
I'm open to any feedback on this extension. It's my first one, so I hope I did well with it. Either leave a comment or e-mail me. (Send it to me at mboffin dot com.)
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Sometime recently I noticed YouTube keeping a history of videos I've watched. I'm guessing this was a relatively new feature, because I'm quite sure the feature was not there a couple weeks ago. (If anyone wants to correct me on this, feel free to let me know.) I should note that it only tracks videos you watch while at YouTube.com itself, not videos embedded on external sites.
YouTube does provide an option to clear your history manually, but that's not good enough for me. I don't want to have to clear my history manually over and over again. What I want is a way to turn off the history feature entirely (the same way I've done with Google's Web History feature). I sent them a feedback report requesting that there be an option to turn off history tracking entirely, but who knows when they'll get around to implementing it, if ever.
Then I remembered that a couple weeks ago Lifehacker.com had a post on how to make your own Firefox extensions. Perfect. So I'm happy to announce my very first Firefox extension.
Say hello to YouTube History Bleach. (Once/If the extension makes it into the general Firefox Add-Ons site, I'll update the link to point there. For now, you can just download the .xpi and then just drag it onto your Add-Ons window in Firefox.)
The extension automatically clears your YouTube history every time you view a video. It's a very simple extension. There are probably better ways of writing it too, so I'm open to suggestions.
I should also note that I hope this extension is useful only temporarily. What I would really like to see is YouTube just give us the option to turn off the history feature entirely.
I'm open to any feedback on this extension. It's my first one, so I hope I did well with it. Either leave a comment or e-mail me. (Send it to me at mboffin dot com.)
