YouTube Bandwidth Saver

Browser extension (MV3) that minimizes YouTube video streams to drastically save bandwidth, hiding low-quality video behind an elegant "Audio Only" interface while leaving audio and all native player controls fully intact.

Status: Release Ready.

How it works

YouTube uses SABR (Server-Advised Bitrate) to dynamically negotiate video quality server-side. Any attempt to intercept and strip video tracks client-side results in player errors (403).

To bypass this constraint safely (Plan C), the extension intercepts HTML5 player APIs on startup, forcing quality to tiny (144p). The low-resolution video is then covered by a visual overlay. As a result:

1. Video bandwidth consumption drops drastically (just a fraction of a Megabyte).
2. The player operates smoothly without abnormal interruptions—everything works: seeking, buffering, playlists, and continuous playback.

What it does NOT do, by design

• No custom network requests. No extra fetches for watch pages, base.js, or HEAD verification requests.
• No network interception. To avoid triggering YouTube's anti-adblock systems, we do not monkeypatch fetch, XMLHttpRequest, or global variables like ytInitialPlayerResponse. We use native HTML5 player APIs instead.
• No eval, no remote code. We do not reconstruct URLs or decipher signatures; YouTube handles media delivery natively.
• No server telemetry. Settings and per-tab state are stored strictly locally (storage.sync and storage.session). No data ever leaves your device.
• No downloading, no ad blocking. Out of scope for a focused utility extension. (We recommend uBlock Origin Lite if you want to block video ads).

Development

pnpm install
pnpm dev        # Chrome with HMR and hot reload
pnpm build      # production build in .output/chrome-mv3
pnpm check      # lint + typecheck + test
pnpm test       # vitest run
pnpm zip        # generates store-ready zip packages

Loading the build in Chrome

chrome://extensions → Developer mode → Load unpacked
→ select .output/chrome-mv3

Features & UI

• Smart Extension Icon: Click the extension icon to toggle the bandwidth saver on the current tab (in Manual mode). Right-click the icon to access the Options page to switch between "Always Active", "Manual (Per Tab)", or "Disabled" modes.
• Visual Overlay: Covers low-resolution video with a sleek background or optional thumbnail.
• Keyboard Shortcut: Press Alt+A to toggle instantly.

Privacy

Zero data collection. The extension performs no network requests and sends nothing to us or third parties. Permissions requested: storage for your settings, and host permissions for www.youtube.com / music.youtube.com to inject the player interface.