How to Block True Crime on YouTube
Last updated: August 2026
Quick answer: Install the free Dehook extension, open the popup, and add true crime as a blocked topic. Dehook’s local AI reads every video title and filters true crime content out of your feed and recommendations, even when the title never uses the words: a title like The Disappearance of Maura Murray is recognized for what it is. YouTube itself has no topic filter, so an extension is the only way.
True crime is engineered to be un-put-downable, and the algorithm knows it: one mystery video and your feed fills with cases for weeks. Blocking the topic removes the pull without touching the rest of your feed.
Why keywords and “Not interested” are not enough
Clicking Not interested barely works: Mozilla’s RegretsReporter study measured that it prevents only about 11 percent of similar recommendations. Keyword blockers only match exact words, and true crime titles almost never say true crime; they say a name, a place, and a year. Dehook runs a small AI model locally in your browser that understands what a video is about, so the filter holds.
What happens after you block it
Blocked videos are blurred with a “Filtered by Dehook” cover (or removed entirely in Hide mode). You can always click to reveal one. And because you stop clicking and watching case videos, YouTube’s own algorithm gradually stops recommending them too: you are starving the recommendation loop at the source.
Block true crime in 4 steps
- Install Dehook. Add the free Dehook extension to Chrome, Edge, Brave, or any Chromium browser.
- Open the Topics section. Click the Dehook icon in your toolbar and find the Topics box.
- Add "true crime". Type true crime and click Add. Dehook's local AI now recognizes true crime videos even when the title never uses those words.
- Reload YouTube. Refresh your tab. True crime videos are blurred out of your feed (or fully hidden if you prefer Hide mode).
Dehook↑ your blocked topic, filtered by AI
Adding "true crime" as a blocked topic in the Dehook popup.
FAQ
Does this really catch true crime videos that never say true crime in the title?
Yes, that is the point of the AI filter. True crime titles follow a recognizable subject pattern (disappearances, cases, killers, solved and unsolved), and the local model classifies what the video is about rather than matching words. A plain keyword blocker would miss most of them.
Does YouTube have a built-in way to do this?
No. YouTube only lets you block channels or click Not interested, and Mozilla research found Not interested only prevents about 11 percent of similar recommendations. There is no native topic filter, which is why an extension is needed.
Is my data sent anywhere?
No. Dehook’s AI runs entirely inside your browser. Titles are classified locally and nothing about your viewing leaves your computer.
Can I keep documentaries but lose the murder content?
Mostly, yes. The filter targets what a video is about, so a history or science documentary is not affected by a true crime block. Borderline crime-adjacent titles can always be revealed with one click.