ReelControl
Extension Actions
Add a progress bar and playback controls to YouTube Shorts, Instagram, and Facebook Reels.
Take back control of videos on the web by reversing the (very) annoying trend of social media platforms removing the native progress bar in an effort to keep you hooked. ReelControl adds a progress bar and playback controls anywhere they should rightfully be! That is, on Instagram, YouTube Shorts, or Facebook Reels.
Adding progress bars and video controls back in lets you:
- Know the time commitment before watching
- Rewind when you miss something
- Skip ahead and go back without having to start over
I initially built this for myself and found that not only is it a little bit more enjoyable if I do ever end up on those videos, but I notice myself spending a lot less time on them without having to explicitly block them. I spend less time on my phone too, since I am now used to having that progress bar and just get frustrated and leave immediately when I remember it's not there.
== Platform Notes ==
- Instagram has a pretty clean video interface, so we only add the native video controls.
YouTube Shorts
- YouTube does have its own progress bar, but it's proprietary and hidden from immediate view, making it impossible to quickly see the video's length as opposed to the native controls which work _for_ the user.
- YouTube Shorts interface is crazy cluttered, so we have some options to remove most elements from view.
Facebook Reels
- Facebook Reels have a crazy amount of clutter, and also no progress bar or video controls.
- Facebook's HTML structure is extremely obfuscated, so we just removed all the clutter and added a progress bar. If anyone wants to add more fine-grained control, PRs are most welcome here!
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Open source, PRs and issues are welcome @ https://github.com/darajava/reel-control/
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Built with love by Soliloquy Apps ❤️
Like this extension? We also built AudioDiary--a super smart voice-powered journal that's gotten lots of love from its users.
Try it out at https://audiodiary.ai !
Latest reviews
- Marcos Garcia
- No working. Maybe it used to.
- Franco Gaccetta
- The progress bar on reels is too low, clicking just open and closes the video description.
- Apekiller
- it's good but it's missing a volume control. some videos are way too loud and i would prefer not to change my OS volume all the time.
- Eu coleciono dinossauros
- It does make a progress bar appear, as well as a play/pause button. But the most import feature it should have is missing. That is the ability to skip parts of the video by clicking on the progress bar. If all it does it show how much of the video has been played, it offer little to no advantage. Also, in my pc browser the song/audio used in the reel appears on top of the progress bar, which makes it almost useless. Good try though, if you guys improve I might intall again.
- Joraan Jo
- Not working anymore. Plz update.
- Doug Barmore (eromrab)
- This extension is beautiful mana from heaven.
- John Clark
- Excellent and most useful extension for FB reels. Unfortunately it no longer offers PLAYBACK SPEED as the previous version did. PLEASE FIX THIS! Thank you and keep up the great work!
- Computer 35
- It works perfectly on Instagram's "Home" tab, but it doesn't work on the "Reels" tab. Please fix this.🙏
- David Wartski
- These aren't the droids you're looking for. Wait a minute. That's not right. Lemme try again. Ahem. This IS the extension you're looking for. Yeah baby! For realz! Well, for Reels, anyway. Facebook Reels, that is. Simply add this little extension to your browser, and boom! Facebook Reels will give you a navigable progress/status bar, which also displays the duration of the reel, as well as a handy dandy volume control. My only qualm with this otherwise-lovely extension is that it doesn't maintain your volume setting from reel to reel. But, really (or reely -- hahaha), that's not a big deal, because you can simply adjust your system's volume setting before surfing reels for two or three hours or whatever. And some reels go on for ten minutes or more, so it's nice to be able to replay a section of the video without having to start the thing all over again. The extension also works with YouTube shorts, but the only difference is that it DOES maintain your volume setting from short to short. Overall, this extension is the best one I've come across in a long time. So try it! You'll like it! The end.
- Raphaël Blier
- Works great, only problem is that it removes the like button on comment when the post in unfocused on Facebook.
- Vitaly Stockman
- Amazing! Feedback for developers. I used version 1.4 earlier that stopped working and even casued issues with Facebook UI. But it did not udpate automatically to the newer version (apprantly already 1.6), even when I pressed Update in Chrome Extensions page. I had to install new 1.6 extension again (so I had two versions at the same time) and then remove the old one. Happy now. But sharing this just so that you know there may be others there stuck with older versions. Cheers! 💪
- Zucriy Amsuna
- Seems to work fine so far. Screw Bookface's nonsense, and take back control!
- thorenjohn
- Installed, reloaded the page, and now all my facebook videos have usable progress sliders. What a joy!! Thank you so much.
- Phantasm XYZ
- Nothing like being shared a 10 minute FB Reels and having to start the whole thing over because you missed a part of it midway through... never again with this simple tool. Thanks, dev!
- Rowan Burgess
- Exactly what I needed. Works perfectly. Thank you
- Jon Bales
- Works great. I love extensions that enhance the quality of my life like this. Good on you!
- Eddie Murphy
- Does what it says! Amazing