Watch History — Video Controls Plus | Cross-Platform Log

The Video Controls Plus watch history is a unified log of every video you have played across YouTube, Netflix, Udemy, Coursera, LinkedIn Learning, Vimeo, and other supported HTML5 sites. Where each platform keeps its own history (locked into that platform's account), Video Controls Plus aggregates the entire trail into one searchable, sortable timeline so you can find a video you watched two months ago without remembering which site it lived on. The /history page itself is publicly viewable as a feature explainer; the actual personal log appears once you sign in. Until then, the page describes what the feature does, who it is for, and how it works — useful for evaluating whether the feature fits your workflow before you create an account.

Use cases

Finding a video you remember watching but cannot place

Most people watch dozens of videos a week across multiple platforms and forget which platform a specific one came from. The unified history lets you search by title, channel, or rough date and surface the right one in seconds — much faster than reopening every platform separately.

Resuming long courses that span multiple sessions

A multi-week Udemy course sometimes leaves you wondering "where was I". Click the course in history; the entry shows the last-played timestamp and a one-click resume button.

Auditing your viewing time honestly

Total watch hours by week, month, and year are visible at the top of the history view. Useful for setting actual screen-time limits instead of guessing how much time you spent on YouTube last quarter.

Building a "what to recommend" list for a friend

Filter history by channel or topic, export the filtered set as Markdown, and share the curated list. Faster than retyping titles from memory.

How it works

  1. Watch a video on any supported site. The extension records the URL, channel, duration, and timestamp on every play. No background polling — only when you actually press play.
  2. Open /history. The page renders a reverse-chronological timeline. Pagination kicks in after the first 200 entries.
  3. Search and filter. Search box matches title, channel, and platform. Filter chips narrow by platform or watch-state (resumed / completed / abandoned).
  4. Resume or rewatch. Each entry has a "Resume" button that jumps back to the timestamp where you stopped, plus a "Rewatch from start" link.
  5. Export or clear. Export filtered history as JSON or CSV. Clear the entire log or selected entries from the same page.

Examples

  • A user searches for "react hooks lecture". Three matches across YouTube and Pluralsight; the most recent shows a 23-minute resume point.
  • A user audits weekly watch time. Top of the history page shows 14 hours this week, 11 hours last week, with a sparkline trend. Honest numbers; no rounding for vanity.

Frequently asked questions

Does the extension watch me silently?

No. Recording happens only when you actually press play on a supported video site. Background tabs do not produce log entries.

Is my history private?

Yes. Local-only by default — the log lives in your browser storage, never leaves the device. Cloud sync is opt-in and clearly labeled.

Can I exclude certain sites from the log?

Yes. Settings → History → Excluded sites. Anything on that list is invisible to the recorder.

What happens to my history if I uninstall?

Local data is removed by the browser when you uninstall. Cloud-synced history persists until you delete it via /data-deletion.

Does it record video titles or thumbnails?

Titles yes (necessary for search). Thumbnails are linked from the source CDN, not copied — so removed videos eventually show a broken thumbnail.

Is incognito browsing tracked?

Only if you explicitly enable the extension in incognito. Browsers default to disabling third-party extensions in private windows.

Tips

  • Set up site exclusions on day one for any site you do not want logged (corporate intranet videos, private tutoring sessions, etc.).
  • The "Abandoned" filter (videos played briefly then stopped) is useful for revisiting things you almost watched and forgot.
  • Export your watch history monthly as a CSV — useful for productivity reviews and as a manual backup.
  • Sign in once a month if you want phone-to-laptop continuity; otherwise local-only is private and zero-config.

Limitations

  • The page itself is public marketing surface; the personal history log appears only after sign-in.
  • Recording only happens when the extension is active on the page. Sites the extension cannot reach (DRM-protected players that block content scripts) leave gaps in the timeline.
  • Resume timestamps are accurate to the second on most sites; some adaptive-streaming players round to the nearest 5–10 seconds.

Last updated 2026-05-06 by Ahsan Mahmood, maintainer.