YouTube has just released a new extension for the Safari browser that allows you to watch videos with annotations. This is a great way to keep track of your favorite videos and make sure you don’t miss any important ones. To install YouTube PIP, open Safari and click on the three lines in the top left corner of the screen. Then select “Extensions.” In the Extensions field, select YouTube PIP and press “Install.” Once you have installed YouTube PIP, open Safari and click on the three lines in the top left corner of the screen. Then select “Extensions.” In the Extensions field, select YouTube PIP and press “Edit.” In the Edit section, change “Description” to “Add annotation to video.” Now click on OK to close Safari. Now when you open a video that has annotations added, it will automatically start playing with those annotations visible. To stop playback, just hit Command-C (or Control-C) or hit Escape key while watching a video to clear annotation history.
The new extension is developed by And a Dinosaur (via Daring Fireball), which also made a Web Inspector, a developer console for Safari, a tool that redirects AMP pages called AMP Shockwave, and others. Basically, it replaces the default YouTube player in mobile Safari with its own player (similar to YouTube5).
This is important because it removes in-video ads, prevents YouTube from tracking your play and pause activities, adds picture-in-picture functionality, keeps the videos playing if you switch to another tab, and lets you play an audio-only stream. Whether you’re on the dedicated YouTube website or watching a video embedded in another site, these features work.
These features have been missing from YouTube on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, even though they were significant selling points of the operating system for other video apps.
Vinegar isn’t a free extension, but thankfully it’s just a one-time $1.99 payment to get it, so you won’t need to deal with the subscriptions or in-app purchases that are all over so many other applications nowadays. If you’ve always wished YouTube had these critical functions on iPhone, then it’s worth a look.
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