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851-labs/honest-thumbnails

Chrome extension that swaps YouTube's clickbait thumbnails for a real frame from the middle of each video.

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6
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Last commit
4 days ago

What is it?

Honest Thumbnails is a Chrome extension that replaces the thumbnails uploaders choose on YouTube with a still taken from roughly the middle of each video. It covers the home feed, search results, channel pages, the watch-page sidebar, the player preview and the end-screen grid, as well as embedded players on youtube.com and youtube-nocookie.com.

It works by using the stills YouTube automatically saves from every video at about the 25%, 50% and 75% points. The extension requests the HD version first, falls back to the smaller 480×360 image, and keeps the original thumbnail if neither is available. All processing happens in the browser, and the extension only stores the on/off setting and frame choice.

The mid-video frame is a fixed position, so it can land on a title card, black screen or sponsor segment. Early and Late frame options are available for those cases. Static uploads such as podcasts with cover art will show the same image as before.

Key features

  • 01Replaces thumbnails across the home feed, search, channel pages and watch sidebar.
  • 02Uses HD mid-video stills when available and falls back to smaller images.
  • 03Lets you choose Early, Middle or Late frames.
  • 04Processes everything locally and stores only your on/off setting and frame choice.
  • 05Works on embedded players on youtube.com and youtube-nocookie.com.

Use cases

  • Browsing YouTube without being pulled in by clickbait titles and faces.
  • Getting a more accurate preview of what a video actually contains before clicking.
  • Comparing channel content visually while skimming a feed.

Quick start

  1. 1

    Install from the Chrome Web Store

Things to know

  • Fixed frame choice: the middle of a video may be a title card, black screen or sponsor segment.

In collections

Privacy & local-first toolsChrome & browser extensions

Topics

#chrome-extension#youtube#thumbnails#browser#privacy

FAQ

What is honest-thumbnails?
Chrome extension that swaps YouTube's clickbait thumbnails for a real frame from the middle of each video. Honest Thumbnails is a Chrome extension that replaces the thumbnails uploaders choose on YouTube with a still taken from roughly the middle of each video. It covers the home feed, search results, channel pages, the watch-page sidebar, the player preview and the end-screen grid, as well as embedded players on youtube.com and youtube-nocookie.com.
Is honest-thumbnails free to use? What license does it have?
honest-thumbnails is open source under the MIT license. Check the license terms before using it in commercial products.
Is honest-thumbnails still maintained?
Actively maintained. The last commit to honest-thumbnails was on Nov 4, 2026.
What can I use honest-thumbnails for?
Browsing YouTube without being pulled in by clickbait titles and faces. Getting a more accurate preview of what a video actually contains before clicking. Comparing channel content visually while skimming a feed.
How do I install honest-thumbnails?
Install from the Chrome Web Store
Where can I get honest-thumbnails?
The source code and installation instructions are on GitHub: https://github.com/851-labs/honest-thumbnails

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