In case you didn‘t know, YouTube is owned by Google and thus integrates perfectly in Google‘s huge data collection of its users. So what can you do if you don‘t want that? Sure, we‘ve listed a lot of alternative video platforms in our previous article, but sometimes your favorite creator isn‘t on one of those platforms and privacy-focused alternatives like PeerTube don‘t always have such a wide range of high quality content.
But don‘t worry, there are ways to enjoy your favorite content on YouTube without having them collect all your data and preferences. There are programs and websites, that let you watch YouTube content without being tracked. And the best part is: this works on your mobile device, on desktop and on your streaming media device (for TV etc). Let us show you how it‘s done.
A word of caution: While this isn‘t illegal, YouTube sometimes tries to block instances of these services. So every now and then, you will have to try more than once instance until you find one that works.
Oh, and what is an instance? Without going into much detail here, imagine lots of well-meaning folks around the world hosting these services on their servers, for the community to use. So if a person does that, you‘re using their instance of that service.
On Mobile (Android, iOS)
Android Apps
NewPipe
NewPipe is an app that works reliably but still “parses the YouTube website to get the information it needs” (Quote from F-Droid). It doesn‘t need Google Play Services to run and it‘s free.
Website: https://newpipe.net
Download: https://f-droid.org/packages/org.schabi.newpipe
Source Code: https://github.com/TeamNewPipe/NewPipe
LibreTube
LibreTube routes data transmissions through Piped (see after), so no connection to Google servers is being made. In our experience, however, the app doesn‘t work as reliable as NewPipe and often, videos don‘t load at all. Hopefully, the app will work more smoothly in the future as the idea and concept are great.
Website: https://libretube.dev
Download: https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.github.libretube
Source Code: https://github.com/libre-tube/LibreTube
iOS Apps
Vinegar
If you want to watch YouTube without ads on your iPhone or iPad, the app “Vinegar – Tube Cleaner” might be what you‘re looking for. “Vinegar is a Safari extension that replaces the YouTube player with a minimal HTML video tag.” (Quote from the Apple app store). It even supports picture-in-picture mode and lets videos keep playing in the background. At the time of this writing, the app comes at a small cost.
Website: https://andadinosaur.com/launch-vinegar
Download: https://apps.apple.com/sg/app/vinegar-tube-cleaner/id1591303229
On a Desktop PC (running Windows, macOS or Linux)
FreeTube
If you just want to download an app and watch YouTube on that, FreeTube is the way to go. It‘s available for Windows, macOS and several Linux distributions. There‘s no ads and no tracking. You can even see the source code on GitHub. Oh, and did we mention it‘s free?
Website: https://freetubeapp.io
Source Code: https://github.com/FreeTubeApp/FreeTube
Invidious
This is a so-called “Frontend” for watching YouTube in your browser and is similar to Invidious in its functionality. Imagine it being like a mask that you put on while accessing YouTube. No ads, no tracking, open source code. However, it embeds YouTube videos directly, meaning it loads them from Google servers. That way, YouTube can still see your IP address. If you don‘t want that, switch on “Proxy videos” in the Invidious settings or use a different service.
Also, know that YouTube currently blocks instances of this services. On https://api.invidious.io/, you get a rating of the health of an instance. If it‘s 98 or 99, it usually works seamlessly. Instances that get a lower rating often experience downtimes. So you have to try a few instances until you find one that works. Also, Playlists or Live Streams don‘t work so well, if at all.
Website: https://api.invidious.io/ (choose your instance here)
Source Code: https://github.com/iv-org/invidious
Piped
Piped is another Frontend for YouTube is the equivalent to LibreTube on Desktop. It also protects you from ads and tracking, but has more features to offer than Invidious. You can watch Playlists, watch videos with up to 4K resolutions or play audio only. There‘s more features like SponsorBock, which automatically skips sections in videos where sponsors are mentioned. It doesn‘t directly connect to Google servers, thus your IP address isn‘t leaked.
In the GitHub repo, you‘ll find different mirros for accessing Piped as well as similar projects made with Piped, such as Hyperpipe, which is a Frontend for YouTube Music or other forks of Piped that are focussed on performance.
Website: https://piped.video
Source Code: https://github.com/TeamPiped/Piped
TV & Streaming-Media (Android TV, Fire TV, NVIDIA Shield etc.)
SmartTube
This software lets you watch YouTube and other video streaming services with no ads, SponsorBlock, adjustable playback speed and supports videos up until 8K resolution. It works without Google Services and is open source. Following the installation guide on GitHub gets you up and running fast.
Website: https://smarttubeapp.github.io/
Source Code: https://github.com/yuliskov/SmartTube
NewPipe & LibreTube
The aforementioned apps NewPipe and LibreTube also work on streaming media. You can download and install the apk files directly or via the open source app store F-Droid.
NewPipe Website: https://newpipe.net
LibreTube Website: https://libretube.dev
F-Droid App Store: https://f-droid.org
We care deeply about your privacy. Everyone should be able to have an online life without trackers, advertising, or bloatware. We offer the iodéOS operating system free for download, but you can also help us pay our bills by buying a phone with iodéOS preinstalled or making a donation.
