FocusTube

Hey IH community,

A quick update on FocusTube.tech as we keep refining the MVP!

Over the last few days, we crossed our initial milestone of getting our first active users testing the extension. One of the biggest takeaways from watching people use the tool is that transparency and rapid iteration are everything for a micro-utility.

When you're asking developers and students to install a focus tool, they want to know exactly what changed, what bugs were patched, and what features are rolling out next.

To solve this, I just deployed a dedicated "What's New" section directly onto the website and extension interface!

What's Live in the Latest Build:

* DOM Selector Hardening: YouTube frequently updates its class layouts, so we optimized CSS element targeting to make sure feed-blocking remains instantaneous without visual layout flickering.

* Streamlined UI Popover: Cleaned up the 1-click Focus Mode toggle popup for a smoother, zero-lag experience.

* Active Transparency Log: Added the "What's New" module so users can track real-time patch notes, upcoming features, and developer notes directly.

The Build Lesson So Far:

Small features built directly from user suggestions build far more trust than trying to launch a massive, bloated update all at once. Showing users that the tool is actively maintained gives them confidence to keep it installed daily.

I’d love to get your thoughts on how you handle patch notes and update logs for your own micro-SaaS projects!

Check out the update log live here: https://focustube.tech/

I used to open YouTube for one specific thing — a tutorial, a lecture, a how-to — and somehow surface 45 minutes later having watched four things I never meant to. It wasn't a discipline problem. The homepage feed, the sidebar "up next," and the comments are built to keep you scrolling, not to help you finish what you came for.

A few things changed once I started using a stripped-down version of YouTube that only keeps the search bar:

I actually finish what I opened the tab for. No homepage grid pulling me sideways before I've even typed a search.

No sidebar rabbit holes. Once a video ends, there's no autoplay queue of "recommended" content baiting the next click — I just close the tab.

No comment-section spiral. Easy to forget how much time disappears scrolling comments on a video you were only half-watching anyway.

It's a toggle, not a lock. Some days I want normal YouTube (music, entertainment) — one click switches Focus Mode on or off, so it's not fighting me, it's available when I want it.

Nothing's tracked. Runs entirely client-side — no data collection, since the whole point is attention, not analytics.

It's been genuinely useful for tutorial-watching, lecture-following, and research — basically anything where YouTube is a tool and not a destination. If anyone else has the "opened it for one video, lost the afternoon" problem, this might help. Happy to drop the link if useful.