Update: Google recently removed the extension saying it has malware. I sold the extension a few months ago, and the new author seems to have put ads in place. I have re-uploaded the extension, so please use the new one. It is free from any ads whatsoever. Sorry for the trouble.
Google has recently removed the Stop Download command from the right click context-menu of YouTube videos. This change has brought in outpour from lots of users. Stop Download command used to let you stop the video from downloading completely, as opposed to the pause button which only paused the video while buffering still took place in the background.
After a bit of research, I have come to learn that now onward even pressing the pause button will stop the video from downloading. But, it does not seem to be ocuring on my end. The button was very useful to me, especially because of the fact that I have a slow Internet connection and I need to halt the video every once in a while to browse other sites/videos.
If its the same with you, don’t worry, I have come up with a very simple solution to the problem. Note that these solutions do not work for HTML5 videos i.e. you cannot halt an HTML5 video, you can only pause it. This is because YouTube has not, as of yet, introduced an API related to ‘stop video’ function in HTML5.
Stop Video Download on YouTube
Here are two three possible ways to get back feature.
- The simplest method is to just drag and drop the button below (bookmarklet) to your Bookmarks Toolbar. Whenever you are watching a YouTube video and need to stop it, just press the button on the bookmarks toolbar, and it will do the trick.
Stop YouTube Video (bookmarklet)
- Google Chrome Users : Just install Stop Video Download For YouTube extension. It adds a “stop video” button next to the subscribe button. Click on it, and the video will stop downloading.
- FireFox or Other Browser Users : For those of you who need a button on the YouTube interface itself, you can use this userscript I made. It adds a “Stop Video” button next to the Subscribe button under YouTube video. If you don’t know how to install a userscript, read here. (Update : UserScripts.org seems to have hit the fan. I have now hosted the script on GreasyFork.)
That’s it. Problem solved. Don’t forget to share!
See the update on top.
Tip – Get Back ‘Stop Download’ feature in YouTube Videos [Bookmarklet/ Userscript]
July 21, 2013 @ 8:10 am
[…] Tip via [thelacunablog] […]
Cómo evitar que un vídeo siga cargando en YouTube
July 22, 2013 @ 8:15 pm
[…] Para devolver esta opción y no tener que recurrir a cerrar la pestaña para poder detener la carga de un vídeo sin que siga chupando nuestro ancho de banda, podemos recurrir a las opciones que nos ofrecen desde thelacunablog. […]
November 8, 2013 @ 6:12 pm
Thanks a lot! Works like a charm :)
November 8, 2013 @ 6:41 pm
You’re welcome. :D
January 23, 2014 @ 8:54 am
Been using this for months, thank you.
Now, it seems that it’s not working anymore.
January 23, 2014 @ 1:48 pm
Never mind, turned out it was just a glitch, thank you.
January 24, 2014 @ 1:24 pm
Hi, YouTube has changed its interface. As you might have noticed, these days the page does not reload when you open a video. A red bar appears on the top and the video loads on the same page. This AJAX loading of the video (called SPF feature) has resulted in lots of userscripts and add-ons becoming unusable. The add-on / userscript I have mentioned above also does not work for many videos because of the same reason. As of now, you need to reload the page by either pressing the enter button or the reload button for the STOP VIDEO button to appear on the interface. So, simply clicking on a video won’t show it, you need to reload the video manually. I’m sorry about that, I have not been able to figure out the workaround to it. I’ll update the add-on/plugin as soon as I figure out how to overcome this problem. Thank you!
January 24, 2014 @ 2:03 pm
Thank you for the reply. It’s still working. I mainly used the bookmarklet. I installed the userscript for the STOP VIDEO button yesterday when the bookmarklet didn’t work. It didn’t solve the problem, though (the videos still buffered). It worked again only after I restarted my computer. Now I’m back to using the bookmarklet again. It’s easier and always there without having to wait for the page to load.
Thanks again. You’re awesome!
May 23, 2014 @ 5:41 am
the chrome extension button in youtube does not appear for a week.
September 27, 2014 @ 6:18 am
Sorry for the delay; I was busy. I have just updated the extension. It should now be working. Please let know. Thank you.
June 12, 2014 @ 4:22 pm
How To Stop Download of YouTube Videos? http://t.co/ljnYZ60g5e vía @SkNepal
August 5, 2014 @ 6:32 pm
The Chrome Extension “STOP Button” no longer appears in Chrome since version 36.0.1985.125 m on August 1, 2014. I have deleted the extension and re-installed the extension. No luck.
September 27, 2014 @ 6:19 am
Can you give it a try once more? The new version (1.3) of the extension should work.
September 25, 2014 @ 12:08 pm
pero quetonteria, si ya hay un boton para parar y aunque salgas de la app o apagues asi de pronto el ordenador a mi siempre q vuelvo abrir empieza donde lo deje, entonces es que no entiendo para q sirve ese boton, yo siempre veo you tube desde crhome, y no lo he configurado de ninguna forma especial , y para con su boton, y aunque me quede sin bateria y se apague solo, cuando vuelvo a encender, vuelve al mismo sitrio…
January 26, 2015 @ 12:56 pm
it’s work, great job man!
January 4, 2016 @ 8:52 pm
Thx! i had has, this extension a while.I haven’t thanked to you.
January 4, 2016 @ 9:03 pm
Maybe change the icon/picture in google extension… to one more atractive xD
February 28, 2016 @ 2:09 pm
Haha! Sorry for the late reply. Been busy. I will definitely look into changing it when I get some time. :D
April 24, 2016 @ 8:02 pm
Ive been using ur extention for very long time, but lately when i click stop video it stops video and black thumbnail apears, when i click play again it begins playing video from begining…i remember before this bug, video would just pause and stop downloading, but now, this extention is useless….pls fix it so we can pause video without downloading further.
November 10, 2016 @ 10:51 am
Your extension has been removed because it contains malware. Nice job.
November 10, 2016 @ 12:48 pm
Please read the update on the top of the post.
November 17, 2016 @ 10:37 pm
Thank you so much for the new version.
November 17, 2016 @ 12:01 pm
Thank you for the extension , that works great .
PS : modify the icon ;)
November 19, 2016 @ 6:29 pm
Thank you