Guides · Unhook alternative

filterslop vs Unhook: hide YouTube, or keep it useful?

5 November 2026. Unhook details checked that day on its Chrome Web Store listing and website.

Short answer: the real choice is whether you still want a YouTube feed. If you want the feed gone entirely, Unhook is a free extension that hides whole parts of YouTube, like the home feed, Shorts, comments and the sidebar. If you still learn from YouTube’s recommendations, hiding them throws the good videos out with the bad. filterslop for YouTube™ keeps your feed and filters out the brain rot that would waste your time, by rules you write in plain English, and shows every removal with a reason and a Show anyway button.

Below: YouTube’s own free controls, how the two approaches differ, a side-by-side table, and when each one fits.

Two ways to deal with brain rot on YouTube

Most people do not lose an evening to the video they came for. They lose it to what sits next to it: the clickbait thumbnail, the rage bait reaction, the tenth Short in a row. That is the brain rot, the stuff that feels like a break and turns into an hour.

There are two ways to deal with it.

Hide the places it shows up. No home feed, no Shorts shelf, no sidebar. If nothing is recommended, nothing can waste your time. This is what Unhook does.
Keep YouTube, filter what is in it. The feed stays, the useful videos stay, and the brain rot is taken out. This is what filterslop does.

The right one depends on whether you still get value from YouTube’s recommendations.

Start with the free options

Before installing anything, try what YouTube already gives you. All of these are free and work wherever you are signed in.

1. Not interested. Click the three-dot menu next to a video on Home or in Up next and choose “Not interested”. You can add a reason, such as “I don’t like the video”. (YouTube Help, checked 2026-11-05)

2. Don’t recommend channel. Same menu. Use it when one creator keeps showing up and you never want them suggested. (YouTube Help, checked 2026-11-05)

3. Turn off or clear watch history. YouTube’s help page says that if you don’t want video recommendations on Home, you can delete and turn off your watch history. The tradeoff: it only changes Home, and YouTube stops remembering what you watched. (YouTube Help, checked 2026-11-05)

These help, but they work one video or one channel at a time, and they nudge the algorithm rather than set rules. A few clicks on a new topic can pull your feed straight back to brain rot. That is where an extension comes in, and where the hide-or-filter choice matters.

Unhook: hide the surfaces

Facts below are from Unhook’s Chrome Web Store listing and its website, both checked on 2026-11-05.

Price: Free. The listing links an optional donation.
How it works: A panel of on/off toggles. Each one hides a part of YouTube. Options listed include Hide Homepage Feed, Video Sidebar, Recommended/Related, YouTube Shorts, Comments, End Screen Videowall, End Screen Cards, Live Chat, Playlist, Mix Radio Playlists, Explore and Trending, Top Header, Notification Bell, Irrelevant Search Results, Hide and Redirect Subscriptions, Disable Autoplay and more.
Browsers: Chrome, plus Firefox and Edge builds. The listing says it works with m.youtube.com through Firefox on Android, and on embedded videos.
Store listing: Version 1.6.9, updated March 22, 2026.
Data: The developer states on the listing that it will not collect or use your data.
Tagline (unhook.app): “Watch YouTube free of distractions. Block suggestion feeds, comments, and more.”

In practice, Unhook turns YouTube into a search box and a player. You search for what you came for, watch it, and leave. There is no feed to scroll because the feed is gone.

That works if you never want suggestions. The catch: the feed was where the brain rot lived, but it was also where you found the next good tutorial, lecture or talk. Hiding it removes both.

filterslop: keep YouTube useful, filter out the brain rot

filterslop starts from that second group. Blockers hide all of YouTube. filterslop keeps the good videos and removes the ones that would waste your time.

Here is what it does today, on YouTube in a desktop browser that can install from the Chrome Web Store (Chrome, Brave, and others like them):

Takes brain rot out of your home feed. Videos that match your filters are removed from the feed and collected in an “N videos removed” panel. Each one shows why it was removed and a Show anyway button, so nothing is gone for good.
Dims, never removes, in search. When you search, results that look like brain rot are dimmed, not hidden. You searched for it, so you still get to see it. (If you turn on Hide Shorts, Shorts shelves are hidden in search too.)
Your rules, in plain English. You set your goals, your interests and your own filters in your own words. You decide what counts as a waste of your time.
Channel lists. Put channels on an always-show list or an always-hide list.
Not slop. If something was filtered and you disagree, mark it as not slop.
Focus sessions. Start a session and pick Block feed (the default) or Only my topics, which keeps the feed but limits it to what you said you care about.
Hide Shorts if you want them gone.
A local dashboard showing what was filtered.

Price: $4.99 a month or $29.99 a year, with a 7-day refund. There is no free trial and no free tier. You can cancel from your account. (From the filterslop site, checked 2026-11-05.)

It is made for students, developers and makers who need YouTube for real work, and keep losing time to whatever the recommendations put next to it.

Side-by-side comparison

Topic	Unhook	filterslop
Approach	Hide whole parts of YouTube	Keep YouTube, filter out the brain rot
Home feed	Can hide it completely	Stays, with filtered videos moved to a panel
See what was removed?	No, the section is hidden	Yes, each video shows a reason and Show anyway
Search results	Option to hide irrelevant results	Brain rot is dimmed, never removed
Shorts	Can hide	Can hide
Comments, sidebar, end screens	Separate toggles for each	Not the focus
Your own rules	On/off toggles	Plain-English goals, interests and filters
Channel lists	Not listed	Always-show and always-hide
Focus mode	Not listed	Focus sessions: Block feed or Only my topics
Browsers	Chrome, Firefox, Edge; Firefox on Android	Desktop browsers that support the Chrome Web Store (Chrome, Brave, and similar)
Price	Free (optional donation)	$4.99/month or $29.99/year, 7-day refund

Unhook facts from its Chrome Web Store listing and unhook.app, checked 2026-11-05. “Not listed” means we did not see it on those pages, not that it can never be done.

When filterslop is the wrong pick

You want the feed gone, full stop. If zero recommendations is the goal, turning off watch history or a free hide-sections tool covers it. filterslop is built to keep a feed, so you would be paying for a part you do not want.
You don’t want to pay. filterslop has no free tier or free trial. YouTube’s own tools cost nothing.
You use Firefox, Safari, or your phone. filterslop installs from the Chrome Web Store, so it runs in desktop Chromium browsers like Chrome and Brave. It does not support Firefox, Safari, or the YouTube mobile apps. Unhook has Firefox and Edge builds and works in Firefox on Android.
Your problem is comments or the sidebar, not the videos. filterslop is about which videos reach you, not page layout.
You want a tool that judges how a video was made. That is not what filterslop does. It filters out what would waste your time, by the rules you set, whoever made the video.

When filterslop is the better pick

You learn from YouTube and still want recommendations that lead to the next good tutorial or lecture.
You have tried hiding the feed, missed it, and switched the blocker off again.
You want to see what was filtered and why, and pull a video back when the filter got it wrong.
You want to say in your own words what is worth your time, which topics matter and which channels to always keep.
You want a focus session for a study block, without uninstalling anything afterward.

FAQ

What is the main difference between filterslop and Unhook?

filterslop keeps your YouTube feed and filters out the brain rot videos that would waste your time, showing what it removed and why. Unhook hides whole parts of YouTube, like the home feed or Shorts, so nothing is recommended there.

Is there an Unhook alternative that keeps YouTube recommendations?

Yes. filterslop keeps your feed and recommendations, removes videos that match your own goals and plain-English rules, and lists each removal with a reason and Show anyway.

Is Unhook free?

Yes. Unhook is free on the Chrome Web Store, with an optional donation link, as of 2026-11-05.

Is filterslop free?

No. filterslop costs $4.99 a month or $29.99 a year, with a 7-day refund and no free tier, as of 2026-11-05.

What counts as brain rot on YouTube?

Brain rot is the content that feels like a break and turns into lost hours, such as clickbait, rage bait and endless Shorts. In filterslop you decide what counts by setting your own goals, interests and filters.

Does Unhook work on Firefox?

Yes. Unhook’s Chrome Web Store listing says it also has Firefox and Edge versions, and works on m.youtube.com through Firefox on Android.

Does filterslop work on mobile or Firefox?

No. filterslop installs from the Chrome Web Store for desktop Chromium browsers such as Chrome and Brave. It does not support Firefox, Safari, or the YouTube mobile apps.

Can I stop YouTube recommendations without an extension?

Yes. YouTube’s help page says you can delete and turn off your watch history to remove recommendations from Home, and use “Not interested” or “Don’t recommend channel” on single videos and channels.

Try filterslop

If you still want YouTube’s recommendations and just want the brain rot out of them, install filterslop for YouTube™. Set your goals, open YouTube, and check the removed panel to see what it took out and why. If it is not for you, there is a 7-day refund.

Sources

YouTube Help, “Manage your recommendations & search results”: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/6342839 (checked 2026-11-05)
Unhook on the Chrome Web Store: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/unhook-remove-youtube-rec/khncfooichmfjbepaaaebmommgaepoid (checked 2026-11-05)
Unhook website: https://unhook.app/ (checked 2026-11-05)
filterslop pricing and features: https://filterslop.lol/ (pricing read from the live site, checked 2026-11-05)

filterslop is not affiliated with Unhook, YouTube or Google. YouTube is a trademark of Google LLC.