Optimize YouTube Subscriptions With Folders
If, like me, you follow dozens of YouTube channels on a variety of topics, you may find yourself skipping downloads sometimes (or several) as you are bombarded with new videos every day. Luckily, there are some great third-party tools you can use to organize your subscriptions.
One of the best is Pocket Tube (courtesy of The Next Web ). This free cross-platform service sorts your long list of channel subscriptions into labeled folders. You have complete control over naming and organization, and your folders are transferred between all the devices you use to watch YouTube if you’re signed in. Pocket Tube is available as a browser extension in the Chrome store and as an external app for Android and iOS .
Pocket Tube’s user interface is slightly different depending on which platform you are on.
On a computer, Pocket Tube tools are integrated directly into the YouTube website. A new section “Subscription Groups” will appear in the side column with all the folders you created. Clicking on a section will take you to a screen where you can manage your folders and create new ones.
There are also tabs to manage your subscriptions – which I believe are better than YouTube’s own subscription manager page – and a tool to link your Patreon account so you can import and organize any channels you support in monetary terms via Patreon. …
You will also find new controls at the top of the subscriptions tab. You can choose the channel you want to see in your subscription feed at any time, search recent downloads by keyword, and even hide videos you’ve already watched.
On mobile devices, Pocket Tube operates as a standalone application. After logging into your YouTube account, you can create and edit folders. There are also tabs for viewing recent downloads and managing subscriptions, as well as a section with links to the app’s privacy policy and a few minor tweaks. Unfortunately, you cannot watch videos in the Pocket Tub app; clicking on a video will take you to YouTube. And, unlike the desktop browser, none of your Pocket Tube folders or filtering options will show up in the YouTube app interface.
On the desktop, Pocket Tube is better, but I still recommend the mobile app. Pocket Tube is cleaner and easier to use than the subscription tab in the YouTube app. What I love about the app, besides its organizational tools, is that it allows you to view the content you want to see without having to navigate through multiple tabs or unrelated featured videos.