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FAQ
- What are the most frequent mistakes when submitting segments?
- I noticed an incorrect submission. What do I do?
- Why am I getting an error when trying to submit a segment?
- How exactly is “non-music” supposed to co-exist with other categories?
- What are some more advanced tips for submitting?
- How to browse the database and view all my submissions with details?
- Can I edit/remove the segment that I uploaded?
- I think my segment might have been deleted. Why?
- How does voting work and what do certain amounts of votes mean?
- Can I use SponsorBlock on platforms other than PC?
- How can I transfer my Vanced userID to the desktop extension?
- Can I create skip segments just for myself?
- How about adding the “off-topic” category to get straight to the video’s topic?
- Is there any AI involved?
- Not including the segue (smooth verbal transition to the sponsor)
- Submitting sponsor segments on videos that are either solely about the sponsor or could show bias towards it (e.g. when using the sponsored product is an essential part of the video's content and the creator voices their opinion, viewers need to be aware of the sponsor disclosure)
- Mistaking self-promotion for a sponsorship
- Segments at the very beginning not starting precisely at 0:00, but rather something like 0.02137 seconds into the video. Similarly, segments not sticking to the exact end of the video when they should.
- Misunderstanding of the intermission category. More often than not, if should not contain any spoken words, and it's not meant for just about anything that users find insignificant, like the creator saying "hello."
The first thing you can do is simply downvote it in the pop-up. If it is just the wrong category but correctly timed you can select "wrong category". If you're on SponsorBlock Discord server, feel free to report it in the #incorrect-submissions channel, where a moderator can take a look at it. Even if the video is not in English, you can still give it a shot. Especially if you believe it’s a purposefully malicious spam, we would really like to be notified.
400: Bad Request (Your inputs are wrong/impossible)
- Your segment is maybe 0 seconds long
- There is a minimum length for Sponsor segments
403: Rejected by auto moderator:
- A human moderator has locked the category or the complete video, all the segments that are needed are there and timed perfectly. If there isn't already a segment where you want to add one, try reloading the video. Make sure that you have activated all categories, as the segment you want to add is maybe in the wrong category. The video is locked to prevent spamming of bad segments that need to be removed later.
409: Duplicate: You already submitted this segment, delete the one you can still add and all should be good
If the interval without music is eligible for any other category, choose it instead. However, if a category other than “non-music” could be used, but wouldn’t cover the part without the music entirely, use “non-music.” In the end, the video should resemble the Spotify or any other mix version as close as possible.
These are some steps to take if you’re willing to spend a little bit more time to ensure perfect submissions:
- First of all, activate all categories. This ensures that you don't accidentally submit a segment that already exists in an other category
- When there is a visible transition and a small margin of error, don’t try to get it right with play/pause. Use the "," and "." keys and move frame by frame. Pay attention if the video is 30 or 60 fps. If possible, make your segments start two frames early on 30 fps videos and four frames early on 60 fps videos, so there isn't an annoying bump
- Segments of different categories that are right next to each other should slightly overlap. The reason for this is that every segment should be correct and seamless on its own and make sense from a perspective of a user with only one category enabled.
- If you submit a long intermission segment on a live-streamed video, take a look at it after some time. Very often large chunks of such videos are removed afterwards with YouTube trimming tool by the streamer, which messes up the submissions and makes it necessary to delete them.
- When adjusting a non-music segment in the editing box, changing the playback speed to 0.25 allows for much greater precision, letting you place your segment as close to the music as possible without accidentally cutting any of it.
- If the video has subtitles, even auto-generated ones, you can open the transcript and search for keywords. If the creator introduces a sponsor at the beginning of a long video, you could for example search their name or other keywords like "sponsor", "subscribe", etc to check if they're briefly mentioned later.
- You can view the database and all submissions on this website: https://sb.ltn.fi/ (this should update every 5 minutes)
- You can download the entire database here.
Note: Your public user ID in the database is different than your private one in the SponsorBlock options tab.
Once a segment is uploaded, it can't be edited, but you can easily remove the ones you have submitted. For that you need to skip your uploaded segment and downvote it in the little pop up, choosing "Incorrect/Wrong Timing". You can then resubmit it with corrected timestamps if needed.
One possibility is that other users downvoted it. If it was removed by a moderator however, possible reasons include:
- Some other submission in that place was a bit better (even if it’s just tenths of a second, it does make a difference)
- It was against the guidelines
- Any mistake mentioned in answer #1
Overlapping segments of the same category don't get shown all at once, but instead compete with each other, appearing to users one at a time. The amount of votes determines how likely your submission is to be shown over the other ones. You can read more about the algorithm and grouping similar segments here.
When a submission reaches the score of -2 or lower, it gets removed—meaning is doesn't appear anymore for users, but naturally can still be found in the database. It also takes two votes to change the category of an existing segment.
If a segment's vote score equals 10 000 (or is very close to it), it means the person who submitted it is a SponsorBlock moderator, also called a VIP. This way their submissions are always prioritized.
Yes. Aside from the web browser extension, there are various third-party ports, including mobile. See the list here.
Warning: You can only keep one userID, so decide if you want to keep the your extension userID or your Vanced userID. Keep a backup of your private userID in a secure location. If you want to transfer your extension user to Vanced, you will have to reverse the process.
To transfer your userID from Vanced to the extension:
- In Vanced click on your user icon -> settings -> SponsorBlock settings -> "your unique userID"
- Copy this string and save it somewhere
- In your browser, click on the SponsorBlock icon in your toolbar and click on options
- Scroll down to "Import/Export your UserID"
- Back up the current userID and save it somewhere safe in case you want to switch back to it
- Paste your userID there and confirm the changes
- Your userID is now transferred. The popup will show stats based on what you have submitted from Vanced.
Yes. If you wish to have skip segments for your personal use, not caring about the rules, just select the timestamps and close the editing box. Make sure not to click "submit". They will be stored locally in your browser and skipped automatically. You can also export them with your options.
The problem with such a category is that it would be highly subjective. Sure, it would come in handy on tutorial videos, but once it's there, people will use it everywhere.
NeuralBlock is a neural network that detects in-video YouTube sponsorships, though current implementation within SponsorBlock is limited to a moderation tool which detects incorrect sponsor segments on English videos. Every SponsorBlock segment you see on YouTube has been made by a human (as far as we know).