How to control browser videos from your phone with the Avyn extension

What it is for

Windows tells Avyn what is playing, and that is enough for play, pause, next and volume. But a site like YouTube or Netflix keeps the subtitle, skip-intro and "Are you still watching?" buttons inside its own page. The extension is the bridge: it tells the Agent which buttons are visible right now so your phone can press them for you.

It is optional. If you don't install it, everything else in Avyn works the same; you just won't see the browser's own controls.

What you need

• Avyn Agent on the PC and the Avyn Remote app on the phone, already paired.
• Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome on the PC.
• The Avyn Remote extension, from the Chrome Web Store or Edge Add-ons. The links are on the downloads page.

You don't need to be an administrator: Avyn Agent registers the extension for your Windows user only and keeps it up to date with every version.

Step by step

1. Install Avyn Remote in your browser from its store (Chrome Web Store for Chrome, Edge Add-ons for Edge).
2. Open Avyn Agent and go to Integrations: it shows whether the extension is connected.
3. Play a video in the browser, for example on YouTube.
4. In the app, go to Control and open Media: next to the usual controls, the browser's controls appear.
5. Try full screen, subtitles, speed or the site's button that shows up (skip intro, next episode, "Are you still watching?").

If there is a video in Edge or Chrome and you don't have the extension yet, the app suggests it and sends you the install link to open on the PC. You can hide that notice forever.

What you can do from the phone

• Put the video in full screen and leave it.
• Pick the subtitles and the audio track from the player's list (YouTube, Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, Apple TV and Prime Video).
• Jump to any chapter of a YouTube video.
• Change the playback speed.
• Press the buttons the page shows at that moment: skip intro, skip recap or ad, next episode and Netflix's "Are you still watching?".

For full screen, Avyn brings the browser to the front on the PC and uses the site's own key. If it can't, the app tells you instead of making you think it worked.

What the extension sees and what it doesn't

It only looks at tabs that have a video: the site, the title, whether it is playing, the speed, whether it is in full screen and which player buttons are visible. When the phone asks, it also reads what the player already shows, such as the subtitle languages.

All of that goes only to Avyn Agent, on the same PC. The extension sends nothing to the Internet, doesn't read passwords or your history, and uses no ads or cookies of its own.

If something doesn't show up

• Check in Avyn Agent's Integrations that the extension shows as connected. If not, restart the browser.
• The site's own buttons depend on each site: if the site changed its design, one may stop appearing until we update the extension.
• Avyn recognizes the tab by the exact title the page publishes. If several tabs share a title, it prefers to do nothing rather than press the wrong button.
• For full screen, the browser has to be able to come to the front: if a window won't let it, the app tells you.

Frequently asked questions

Does it work in Firefox or other browsers?

Today the extension is only for Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome.

Do I need the extension to pause or change the volume?

No. Avyn does that with what Windows already publishes. The extension adds full screen, subtitles, speed and each site's own buttons.

Which sites does it work with?

It recognizes YouTube, Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV, HBO Max and Prime Video, and it also works with most pages that have a video. Picking subtitles and audio from the phone is available on YouTube, Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, Apple TV and Prime Video.