Keep the YouTube Shorts Progress Bar on Screen
YouTube only shows the Shorts seek bar while your pointer is over it, so there is no way to tell how far into a Short you are without moving the mouse. Previews keeps it on screen the whole time.
Why does the YouTube Shorts progress bar keep disappearing?
It is not a bug and nothing is broken - YouTube hides it on purpose. On Shorts the seek bar fades out whenever the pointer is not over it, so the video fills the frame without a bar across the bottom. The bar is still there and still working; it is simply invisible until you reach for it. Previews stops it fading, so it stays on screen exactly as it looks when a Short is paused.
That trade makes sense on a phone, where the video is the whole screen and there is no pointer to hover with. On a desktop it mostly means you cannot answer a simple question - how much of this Short is left? - without moving the mouse into the video and waiting for the bar to appear.
Can you still drag it to skip through a Short?
Yes. This only changes whether the bar is visible - it is the same bar, in the same place, still driven by YouTube. You can drag it to scrub through a Short exactly as before, and nothing else about the player changes.
Because only the bar's visibility changes, nothing moves on the page when it appears. The video does not resize and the buttons beside it do not shift, so there is no layout jump while you are reaching for a control.
Where is the setting?
In the Previews settings panel, on the YouTube tab, under Player. It is a single switch - Always Show Shorts Progress Bar - and it takes effect on any Shorts tab you already have open, without a refresh.
What else works on Shorts?
Most of the player controls Previews adds to YouTube work on Shorts as well, each with its own switch, so you can keep the ones you want and leave the rest off.
| Feature | Works on Shorts |
|---|---|
| Always-visible progress bar | Yes - Shorts only |
| Auto-Scroll Shorts | Yes - Shorts only |
| Playback Speed Controls | Yes |
| Picture-in-Picture | Yes |
| Screenshot and Record | Yes |
| FlashBang Defender | Yes |
| Full Screen With Chat | No - main player only |
How to turn it on
- Install Previews from the Chrome Web Store, Firefox Add-ons, or Edge Add-ons.
- Click the Previews icon in your browser's toolbar and switch to the YouTube tab.
- Under Player, turn on Always Show Shorts Progress Bar.
- Open any Short - the bar is already there, no refresh needed.
Frequently asked questions
Can you make the YouTube Shorts progress bar always visible?
Not in YouTube itself - there is no setting for it, and the bar fades out whenever the pointer leaves it. An extension can keep it on screen.
Why can I not see the progress bar on a Short?
Because you are not hovering over it. YouTube hides the Shorts seek bar until the pointer moves over the video, so on a desktop it is invisible most of the time. Nothing is broken.
Does it stop me from seeking through a Short?
No. It is the same bar in the same place - only its visibility changes - so dragging it to scrub through a Short works exactly as it did before.
Does it change the normal YouTube player?
No. It applies to Shorts only - the watch page is left exactly as YouTube ships it, including when its controls fade out during playback.
Does it work on Firefox?
Yes. Previews is available on Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Chromium browsers such as Brave and Opera.