Focal: YouTube Video Gatekeeper Autor: Focal

Stop watching videos you didn't need to watch.

If you have ADHD — or just a graveyard of "watch later" videos you'll never get to — you know the problem: every video is a gamble. You don't find out if it was worth your time until you've already spent it. Focal is your pre-watch gatekeeper. Before you commit to watching, it gives you a verdict: Watch, Skim, or Skip.

No copying links. No pasting into another app. No account to configure, no key to paste in, no model to choose. Install Focal, open a video, and your verdict is waiting before you've even decided whether to hit play.



The verdict

Focal's verdict is blunt by design — three words you can act on instantly:

• Watch — dense, valuable, worth your full attention
• Skim — good ideas, but padded; jump straight to the parts that matter
• Skip — low signal; close the tab, no guilt

Every verdict comes with a density score and a plain-English reason, so skipping a video feels like a decision, not avoidance.



Built for distracted minds

Losing an afternoon to a video that turned out to be 90% filler isn't a willpower problem — it's a missing-information problem. Focal supplies that information up front: what's actually in this video, and whether it's worth your limited attention. No judgment, no productivity lecture — just a fast, honest verdict so you spend your focus where it counts.



Zero setup

There's nothing to configure. No API key to paste in, no model to pick, no account required to get your first verdicts. Install Focal and open a YouTube video — the verdict shows up in a sidebar automatically.



Make the verdict yours with Lenses

Not everyone wants the same verdict on the same video. Switch on a Lens — like "Just the Steps" or "No Fluff" — and Focal re-judges the video through that lens instantly, no re-watching required. Build your own Lens around the one thing you actually care about, or subscribe to a Lens someone else built and get notified when their take on a video changes your verdict.



Key features

Verdict-first. Every video gets a Watch / Skim / Skip call up front — not a wall of text you have to read through to find out if it was worth it.

Zero-click. Focal activates the moment you land on a video. Nothing to open, nothing to click.

Lenses. Re-judge any video through a built-in or custom Lens — your verdict, your criteria.

Timestamp-linked sections. Jump straight to the part of the video that actually matters.

Works on YouTube Shorts too.

Local verdict cache. Your last 20 verdicts are stored locally — revisit a video and it loads instantly.

Persistent sign-in. Sign in once, stay signed in.



Who it's for

ADHD brains and anyone who's lost hours to videos that didn't deliver. Focal gives you permission to skip — based on analysis, not anxiety.

Students and researchers triaging lecture recordings and long talks for the parts they actually need.

Professionals who don't have a spare hour for every "must-watch" video in their feed.

Anyone who opens YouTube to learn one thing and doesn't want to lose the afternoon to it.



Privacy

Focal only activates on YouTube video pages and reads the publicly available caption data YouTube already provides to any viewer. It doesn't record audio, capture video frames, or access your browsing data outside youtube.com.



Getting started

Install Focal, open any YouTube video, and your verdict appears automatically. No setup, no keys, no configuration — just install and go.

Focal — get the verdict. Save the time.