Google and other major companies that offer cloud services are known to change the UI occasionally to keep things fresh and interesting. This time YouTube is testing out a new transparent video player based on HTML5, some YouTubers may already be using this new video player, but if you’re not part of the group, you can quickly make some changes into your web browser to give it a test drive.
Getting to see the new YouTube player involves editing one of the cookies the company stores in your computer when you visit the site. This how-to guide gives you the instructions to edit this particular cookie in Chrome and Firefox.
As you can see from the screenshot, the new video player is very similar to the old player, controls haven’t change, but they have been redesigned and you’ll no longer the black background behind the controls, and now the entire video is visible.
Enable transparent YouTube player
Chrome
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It’s not so simple to edit cookies a website stores in your computer, so you’ll need a cookie editor. For Chrome, EditThisCookie will do the trick.
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Go to YouTube.com, click the EditThisCookie button in the top-right corner of the browser, and look for “VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE”.
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Set the value to:
Q06SngRDTGA
Refresh the page and now you should be seeing the new YouTube player with transparent background.
Firefox
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Firefox users need to visit YouTube.com and open the Developer Toolbar from the Tools menu.
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Type Cookie List and press Enter.
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Under the cookie “VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE”, click Edit, and then change the value to:
Q06SngRDTGA
Refresh the page and now you should be seeing the new YouTube player with transparent background.
Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 14 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].