Frequently asked questions

Updated 23 September 2026

Headwater summarizes the YouTube channels you follow into one morning email digest, readable in the app or on an e-ink reader. These are the questions people ask most.

What is Headwater?

Headwater is a YouTube channel summarizer that delivers a daily email digest. You follow channels, Headwater reads each new video they publish, and every morning you get one email describing what each video covers, its best quotes, and whether the title delivers what it promises. Read the gist, watch what's worth it.

How does Headwater summarize YouTube videos?

Headwater fetches the transcript of each new video from the channels you follow and asks a large language model (Claude, by Anthropic) to distil it. The summary is written in Headwater's own words rather than copied from the transcript. It states the central claim, lists the topics with timestamps, quotes a few lines with attribution, and links back to the video. Transcripts are discarded once the summary is written.

Is it a daily email digest?

Yes. One email a day, at the hour you choose in your own timezone, covering what your channels published in the previous day. Videos are ordered by the priority you give your channels. If nothing new was published, no email is sent.

Do I need a Google or YouTube account?

No. Headwater reads each channel's public RSS feed, so you add channels by @handle or URL and never connect a Google account. Signing up needs only an email address.

Can I read YouTube summaries on an e-reader?

Yes. Every account can publish an OPDS catalog, the standard format e-book readers use to subscribe to a library. A reader that supports OPDS pulls each day's issue as an EPUB, grouped by channel. For the Xteink X3 and X4, Headwater Edition is free firmware that makes the reader fetch and open the latest issue with one button. See the Headwater Edition page.

Which e-readers does Headwater work with?

Any device or app that can add an OPDS catalog can subscribe to the feed. Headwater is tested on the Xteink X3 and X4 running Headwater Edition firmware, a fork of CrossPoint. Other OPDS-capable readers should work but are not yet verified.

Does Headwater flag clickbait?

Yes. Each summary includes a title-versus-delivered note. When a title promises something the video does not actually deliver, the digest says so, and when the title is fair, it says that too.

Can I summarize a single video?

Yes. Paste any YouTube link into the summarizer on the landing page or in the app for a one-off summary. The daily digest of followed channels is the main product; the single-video summarizer is a convenience.

Is a Headwater summary a replacement for watching the video?

No. A summary tells you what a video argues so you can decide whether to watch it. Summaries are written in Headwater's own words, quote only briefly with attribution, and link to the original video. Headwater is a way to choose what to watch, not a way to avoid watching.

I am a creator. Can I opt out?

Yes. Email [email protected] with a link to your channel or video. The summaries are removed and the channel is no longer summarized. A plain email is enough; no formal notice is required.

What does Headwater store about me?

Your email address, an optional display name, a hashed password, the channels you follow, and the summaries in your history. Transcripts are not stored. Headwater uses one session cookie to keep you signed in and a small set of first-party, cookieless usage events. There is no tracking pixel, no third-party analytics, and no open tracking in emails. The full privacy policy has the details.

Is Headwater free?

Headwater is free while in beta, with no card required.

How is Headwater different from a browser extension summarizer?

Extensions summarize the video you are looking at, on demand, inside YouTube. Headwater works upstream of that: it follows channels for you, reads everything new, and sends one digest a day, so you never have to open YouTube to know what your channels published. Nothing is installed in your browser. The comparison page goes into more detail, and there is a separate comparison with other YouTube digest emails.

How is Headwater different from other YouTube digest emails?

Tools such as SumyTube, TubeReads and VideoBrief email you a summary each time a followed channel publishes. Headwater sends once a day, at the hour you choose, with videos ordered by how you rank your channels, and each summary says whether the title delivered what it promised. Headwater is also the only one that syncs the digest to an e-ink reader. The digest comparison covers eight of them.

What does "upstream of the algorithm" mean?

A headwater is the source of a river. Headwater sits before YouTube's recommendation feed: you choose which channels matter, and only those channels reach you. There is no feed, no autoplay, and no recommendations.