Glasp, Joute's Review

The essentials

• Web and YouTube highlight and annotation tool with AI
• Freemium
• Highlighting on web pages and videos, export to Notion/Readwise, AI summaries
• Suited to researchers, students, and professionals doing research and online learning

What is Glasp?

Glasp is a Chrome extension that lets you highlight content on web pages and YouTube videos, annotate them, and share them publicly. The social dimension sets Glasp apart: highlights are public by default, creating a social network of knowledge. The AI layer generates summaries of highlighted content and can synthesize annotations from a page into a coherent summary. Integrations with Notion and Readwise let you export into your PKM.

Strengths

Native YouTube highlighting

Highlighting on YouTube videos (with timestamps) is the most useful use case. Annotating key moments in a video and finding them easily later is rare in research tools.

Export to PKM (Notion, Readwise)

The integration with personal knowledge management tools is well executed. Your highlights end up in your system without manual copy-pasting.

Social dimension and discovery

Public highlights from other users let you discover what people in your field find relevant. A useful curation signal.

Limitations

Highlights public by default

Glasp's social model means your reading and annotations are visible. For people who want privacy in their research, this is a problem.

Chrome extension dependency

Glasp works primarily via Chrome extension. On other browsers or on mobile, features are limited.

Pricing

Free for the essentials. Check glasp.co for any premium options.

Alternatives

For research and annotations: Readwise Reader. For PKM: Mem or Notion. For YouTube summaries: Eightify.

Verdict

Glasp is a solid research and learning tool for those who consume long-form content (articles, videos) and want to keep a structured record. The social dimension is a bonus. The limited privacy is something to evaluate based on your needs.

FAQ

Does Glasp work on Firefox?

Glasp is primarily designed for Chrome and Safari. Check glasp.co for supported browsers.

Are Glasp highlights synced across devices?

Yes, highlights are stored in the cloud and accessible from any connected device.

Can you make your Glasp highlights private?

Privacy options is supported. Check glasp.co for visibility settings.

Does Glasp generate summaries of PDFs?

PDF support is supported in addition to web pages. Check glasp.co for supported content types.

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