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TLDR YouTube
What it is
TLDR YouTube creates AI summaries of YouTube videos so readers can review key ideas without watching the full video. When a transcript is available, it produces a summary with key points and takeaways. New summaries enter a shared library, where reading existing entries is free and unlimited. The Free plan costs nothing, billed forever, and allows five new summaries during a rolling seven-day window; revisiting an existing summary does not use another allowance. Free access includes API access and custom summary styles. A Chrome extension opens the matching tldr.yt page from a YouTube video and is described as compatible with Chrome, Brave, Edge, and other Chromium browsers. Users can also replace youtube.com with tldr.yt in a video URL. The upcoming Premium plan lists 100 summaries per week, API and MCP Server access, custom styles, priority processing, and export to Notion and Obsidian, but no price is listed. The privacy policy says the service uses public video metadata and available transcripts, not private YouTube account data.
For and against
For
- Creates summaries from available transcripts
- Shared library reading is free and unlimited
- Free plan includes five summaries weekly
- Chrome extension supports Chromium browsers
- Offers API access on Free plan
Against
- Free plan limits new summaries to five weekly
- Summaries depend on an available transcript
The verdict
TLDR YouTube provides a limited free way to turn YouTube videos into readable summaries, with URL and browser-extension shortcuts.
Who it suits
TLDR YouTube suits people who want written takeaways from YouTube links and users of Chromium browsers. The listed Premium features are aimed at power users summarizing videos daily.
Plans and prices
Free
5 summaries per week · 7-day rolling window · API access · custom summary styles
Read 8 Oct 2026 · tldr.yt
Premium
100 summaries per week · API access · MCP Server access · custom summary styles
Read 8 Oct 2026 · tldr.yt
On the record
- Browser extension
- The free Chrome extension opens the matching tldr.yt summary page from a YouTube video and is described as compatible with Chrome, Brave, Edge, and other Chromium browsers.tldr.yt · read 8 Oct 2026
- Data providers
- The privacy policy names Supabase, Vercel, OpenAI, and PostHog as third-party providers used for authentication and database services, hosting, summaries, and analytics.tldr.yt · read 8 Oct 2026
- Extension privacy
- The maker says the extension only runs on YouTube and does not track users or collect personal data.tldr.yt · read 8 Oct 2026
- How it works
- The service reads a video transcript when available and produces a clean summary with key points and takeaways.tldr.yt · read 8 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- The pricing page lists API access on the Free plan and MCP Server access plus export to Notion and Obsidian on the upcoming Premium plan.tldr.yt · read 8 Oct 2026
- Intended users
- The maker presents Premium as intended for power users who summarize videos daily.tldr.yt · read 8 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- TLDR YouTube creates AI summaries of YouTube videos so users can read key ideas without watching the full video.tldr.yt · read 8 Oct 2026
- Security and privacy
- The privacy policy says the service uses encryption, access controls, and regular security assessments, and describes GDPR data rights and analytics opt-out options.tldr.yt · read 8 Oct 2026
- Shared library
- New summaries are added to a shared library, and reading existing summaries is free and unlimited.tldr.yt · read 8 Oct 2026
- Summary limit
- The free plan allows five summaries per week in a rolling seven-day window, and revisiting a summary already generated does not count again.tldr.yt · read 8 Oct 2026
- Support
- The maker lists [email protected] for questions about privacy practices and terms.tldr.yt · read 8 Oct 2026
- URL shortcut
- Users can replace youtube.com with tldr.yt in a video URL to open its summary.tldr.yt · read 8 Oct 2026
- YouTube data
- The privacy policy says the service accesses public video metadata and available transcripts, does not permanently store or cache YouTube content, and does not access users' private YouTube account data.tldr.yt · read 8 Oct 2026