YouTube Ad Dimmer

🎬 YouTube Ad Dimmer - Dim Annoying Ads Respectfully

This extension dims, mutes, speeds up and auto-skips YouTube ads.
The ad keeps playing in the background - YouTube still receives all ad revenue!

✨ What does this extension do?
• Automatically detects YouTube ads
• Overlays the video with a black screen
• Mutes the audio
• Speeds up ads (2x, 4x, 8x, or 16x) - optional
• Auto-skips ads when the skip button appears
• YouTube still gets paid!

🎯 Perfect for:
Those repetitive, annoying ads you've seen a thousand times! 🙈

❓ Why not just use an adblocker?
This extension does NOT block ads - it only dims them. This means:
• YouTube creators still get paid
• YouTube receives ad revenue
• No ad-blocker detection warnings!
• You don't have to watch or listen

🔧 Features:
• On/Off toggle in popup
• Auto-Skip toggle (clicks "Skip Ad" button automatically)
• Speed slider (Off / 2x / 4x / 8x / 16x)
• Works in all YouTube views (Normal, Theater, Fullscreen)
• Settings are saved and synced across devices
• Live changes - adjust speed even during an ad!

⚠️ Good to Know:
• Auto-Skip uses Chrome's debugger to click the skip button. This briefly shows a debug bar at the top of the page (only for 1-2 seconds, then it disappears automatically).
• Higher speed may cause brief loading after the ad ends (YouTube needs time to buffer the main video).

📖 Open Source & Privacy:
• No data collection
• No external servers
• Everything runs locally in your browser

💡 Technical Note:
This is NOT an adblocker! Ads are not blocked - they play (just hidden).
YouTube's anti-adblocker measures don't apply here.

Have a feature request? Leave a review and let us know! ⭐

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📋 Changelog:

🔹 Release 1.0
• Initial release
• Black screen overlay during ads
• Mutes audio during ads

🔹 Update 1.1
• Changed language to English
• Added "Rate us" button in popup

🔹 Update 1.2
• Added Auto-Skip feature (automatically clicks skip button)
• Added Speed slider (Off / 2x / 4x / 8x / 16x)
• Controls are disabled (greyed out) when extension is off
• Status display shows active features (Dimmed + Skip + 4x)
• Improved ad detection
• Settings sync across devices
• Live speed adjustment during ads

🚀 What's Next?
I'm working on YouTube Shorts ad dimming. Due to YouTube's dynamic UI, this is proving to be challenging - but I'm on it! Stay tuned.