What's new

Changed

• Added bundled English and Korean message catalogs using Chrome’s built-in localization. Chrome’s interface language selects the translation independently of YouTube’s language.
• Preserved creator names, channel identities, and block-list backups without translating them.

Fixed

• Used YouTube metadata groups and menu containers to identify statistics and menu controls without depending on their English labels.
• Cleared stale menu context when a card has no identified creator, preventing unrelated or generic creator actions from appearing.

Tests

• Added Korean interface checks, English fallback checks, and mixed browser/YouTube language coverage.
• Added regression fixtures for Korean, Japanese, and Arabic metadata, plus Unicode creator identities. These checks do not establish full support for those additional interfaces or YouTube locales.
• Added live Korean YouTube checks for channel pages, search results, watch recommendations, and compact Shorts.

There are no new permissions, additional network requests, remote code, or extension analytics in this release. Translations are bundled locally.

Fixed

• Stopped abbreviated upload ages such as 16h ago and 5d ago from being mistaken for creator names on channel Videos cards.
• Preserved legitimate avatar and text creator controls beside compact video statistics.

Tests

• Added browser regressions for compact timestamps and for blocking a real creator beside abbreviated statistics.

Includes the collaboration and feed layout fixes from 0.2.5. The release ZIP now includes the existing MIT license. There are no new permissions, additional network requests, remote code, or analytics in this release.

Fixed

• Collapsed the enclosing grid tile when a blocked video’s inner card is hidden, removing the empty tile left in some Home layouts.
• Allowed remaining video cards to fill gaps across fixed Home rows while preserving their order and full-width shelf boundaries.

Tests

• Added browser checks of actual card positions after blocking, Undo, pause/resume, collaboration label updates, and reused cards, including feeds with a full-width shelf.

Includes the collaboration matching fixes from 0.2.4. There are no new permissions, additional network requests, remote code, or analytics in this release.

Fixed

• Recognized individual creator names in combined collaboration bylines, including two- and three-creator cards without channel links, so existing individual blocks can hide matching collaborations.
• Stopped treating summary text such as Business Insider and 2 more as a single creator; used fuller creator labels when YouTube exposes them.
• Kept collaborators with separate channel links distinct even when their display names match.
• Kept shared-byline controls bound to the selected collaborator and refreshed enclosing feed cards when YouTube reuses their metadata.

Changed

• Documented collaboration matching limits and Chrome Canary testing before Web Store upload. When YouTube exposes only A and 2 more, only A can match; unnamed collaborators cannot be inferred from the count.
• Preserved existing individual block entries. Older combined-name entries can be removed manually and the named creator blocked from their channel page if needed.

Tests

• Added 19 browser regressions for collaboration matching, individual inline/menu actions, collapsed and full labels, same-named channels, card reuse, and Undo.

There are no new permissions, no additional network requests, no remote code, and no analytics in this release.

Changed

• Improved the popup footer-link contrast in both light and dark themes.
• Added an optional link in settings for users who want to leave an honest Chrome Web Store review.

Tests

• Added extension UI coverage for the Chrome Web Store review link.

There are no new permissions, no remote code, and no analytics in this release.

Fixed

• Kept blocked Shorts navigation inside the Shorts viewer instead of returning to Home.
• Prevented stale creator metadata from blocking or advancing the wrong Short during YouTube’s client-side navigation.
• Prevented native Next controls and scroll fallback from advancing twice for one blocked Short.
• Kept unresolved or unavailable Shorts routes stable instead of entering repeated navigation loops.
• Stored and displayed handle-backed creators by their stable YouTube handle without the leading @, instead of a mutable channel title or unrelated hidden header label such as “Community”.
• Prevented matching display names from overriding a different stable channel handle, including collaboration cards.
• Migrated older handle-backed entries with title-based labels during extension startup or update, and retained current public titles only as non-visible fallbacks for linkless cards.

Changed

• Replaced the subtle channel-profile header symbol with the larger ChannelFence icon.
• Updated the extension homepage to https://channelfence.app/.

Tests

• Added deterministic coverage for slow Shorts controls, stale renderers, unresolved owners, canonical route changes, and double-advance races.
• Added live YouTube coverage for opening a pre-blocked Short without returning Home.
• Added deterministic and live coverage for canonical handle labels, legacy-label migration, and safe linked/linkless collaboration matching, including the real @rokujones profile.

There are no new permissions, no remote code, and no analytics in this release.

The 0.2.1 package was prepared on August 28, 2026.

Fixed

• Prevented duplicate block controls on channel Home and Videos pages.
• Preserved separate controls for real collaborators while keeping one channel header control.
• Stopped view counts, upload ages, durations, and other metadata from being mistaken for creators.
• Improved creator detection while YouTube hydrates or reuses cards.
• Refreshed channel identity during YouTube’s client-side navigation.

Performance

• Added indexed matching for aliases, creator names, and known Short paths.
• Avoided rebuilding an unchanged block list after storage events.
• Deferred storage-triggered rescans while a YouTube tab is hidden.
• Paged large block lists in settings while keeping the full list searchable.

Tests

• Added coverage for duplicate controls, channel tabs, collaborations, delayed labels, courses, right-rail cards, sponsored cells, and client-side navigation.
• Added large-list coverage with 500 entries in settings and 1,000 blocked creators in feed matching.

There are no new permissions, no remote code, and no analytics in this release.