Rivet

Read YouTube captions one word at a time, with the optimal-recognition-point letter pinned in red.

A Chrome extension from Simmer Industries.

Install on Chrome Web Store View on GitHub Pending Chrome Web Store review.

What it does

Rivet watches the closed captions on whatever you're playing and overlays them on the video as a single-word, fixed-position display — the rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) reading technique. Each word's middle character is tinted red at its optimal recognition point so your eyes stay anchored.

Works best with auto-generated captions (the kind that stream word-by-word). Manual / professional captions arrive as full sentences and currently read with less ideal pacing.

How to use

  1. Install the extension and refresh any open YouTube tab.
  2. Hover the video player. A small abc badge appears in the top-right corner of the player — click it.
  3. The overlay reads as the video plays. Drag it to reposition. Hover the overlay for size and CC controls.

Privacy

Nothing leaves your device. The extension reads caption text already shown on YouTube's player, renders it locally, and stores your preferences (overlay enabled, scale, position) in your browser's localStorage on the youtube.com origin only. See the full privacy policy.