Return YouTube Live Subscriptions

Tracking since May 12, 2026.

Changelog

• May 31, 2026
  description

  Do you remember how YouTube used to group all the Live channels at the top of you subscriptions list in the sidebar so it was easy to see who was Live at any given time? I wanted that back. Return YouTube Live Subscriptions adds a “Live Subscriptions” panel to the YouTube sidebar, showing which of your subscribed channels are streaming right now. 
  
  Features:
  Live sidebar panel: Always-visible list of your currently live subscriptions
  Live popup tab: Quick links to live channels and their watch pages
  Channel management: Scan your subscriptions, include/exclude channels from live list
  Local storage: All data stays in your browser; no accounts, no API keys, no tracking
  Lightweight: No ads, no bloat, just live channel status
  
  How to Use:
  Open YouTube and expand your Subscriptions in the left sidebar.
  Scroll all the way down so it loads the icons for all the channels.
  Click the extension popup and go to All Subscriptions.
  Click Scan from YouTube to import your subscribed channels.
  Use the toggle to include/exclude channels from your live list.
  Switch to the Live tab to see channels streaming right now.
  
  How It Works:
  This extension does not use the YouTube Data API. Instead, it reads the subscription links already visible in your YouTube sidebar, checks each channel’s /live URL to detect if they are currently streaming, and stores your channel list locally in browser storage only.
  No data is sent to external servers. Your subscription list stays on your device.
  
  Known Limitations:
  Scanning only captures channels currently visible in the YouTube sidebar. If some subscriptions are behind Show more, expand first, then scan again.
  Live status is checked in batches to avoid overwhelming YouTube servers, so initial checks may take a few seconds for large subscription lists.
  
  Privacy
  This extension does not collect or share any data. Your subscription list is stored entirely 
  in your browser and never transmitted anywhere.
  
  For full details, see the GitHub repository: https://github.com/tsherlock/return-yt-live-channels/

  Do you remember how YouTube used to group all the Live channels at the top of you subscriptions list in the sidebar so it was easy to see who was Live at any given time? I wanted that back. Return YouTube Live Subscriptions adds a “Live Subscriptions” panel to the YouTube sidebar, showing which of your subscribed channels are streaming right now. 
  
  Features:
  Live sidebar panel: Always-visible list of your currently live subscriptions
  Live popup tab: Quick links to live channels and their watch pages
  Channel management: Scan your subscriptions, include/exclude channels from live list
  Local storage: All data stays in your browser; no accounts, no API keys, no tracking
  Lightweight: No ads, no bloat, just live channel status
  
  How to Use:
  Open `https://www.youtube.com/feed/channels` and scroll down to load all subscriptions.
  Click the extension popup and go to All Subscriptions.
  Click Scan from YouTube to import your subscribed channels.
  Use the toggle to include/exclude channels from your live list.
  Switch to the Live tab to see channels streaming right now.
  
  How It Works:
  This extension does not use the YouTube Data API. Instead, it reads the subscription links already visible in your YouTube sidebar, checks each channel’s /live URL to detect if they are currently streaming, and stores your channel list locally in browser storage only.
  No data is sent to external servers. Your subscription list stays on your device.
  
  Known Limitations:
  Scanning only captures channels currently visible in the YouTube sidebar. If some subscriptions are behind Show more, expand first, then scan again.
  Live status is checked in batches to avoid overwhelming YouTube servers, so initial checks may take a few seconds for large subscription lists.
  
  Privacy
  This extension does not collect or share any data. Your subscription list is stored entirely 
  in your browser and never transmitted anywhere.
  
  For full details, see the GitHub repository: https://github.com/tsherlock/return-yt-live-channels/

Permissions & access

Permissions

storagetabs

Host access

https://www.youtube.com/*

Screenshots