18 ms·

FreeTube – A Private YouTube Client

364 points by night-rider 4y ago

poulpy123 4y ago
Looks nice. Can it import/export subscription with newpipe ?
- 3np 4y ago
  Looks like it: https://github.com/FreeTubeApp/FreeTube/pull/2604 https://github.com/FreeTubeApp/FreeTube/pull/2604
- illuminerdy 4y ago
  Yes, but when I tried, it was kind buggy. May have improved since then.
- ekianjo 4y ago
  yes they have compatible json exports
illuminerdy 4y ago
I've been using FreeTube for quite a while now. It's great for subscribing to channels that you don't necessarily want to infect your regular YouTube feed and recommendations.
- europeanguy 4y ago
  Why not just RSS? Don't get me wrong, I hate Google's monopoly as much as anyone else, but in this specific case I don't see the benefit of using some app for the subscriptions, vs rss
  - ekianjo 4y ago
    It goes beyond just feeds
    - MattDemers 4y ago
      Just to add, Freetube has support for comments, timestamp segments, and other things that goes beyond RSS.
timbit42 4y ago
Does it support SponsorBlock?
- femboy 4y ago
  Yes.
  - mardifoufs 4y ago
    Can't believe your name wasn't taken before two weeks ago!
    - system2 4y ago
      Unlike reddit, the nicknames are not too vulgar. That must be the reason why. You can find many others not taken.
      - femboy 4y ago
        How do you define vulgar?
        system2 4y ago
        Let me put it this way: This is a technology forum where sex, race and other personal life indicators are unnecessary which create some sort of conflict. This is what I think. It could be different maybe others could explain differently.
ipaddr 4y ago
Can it save video content through browser addons or build in functionity?
- ajvs 4y ago
  Built in but I don't find it reliable, I instead opt for yt-dlp.
- ekianjo 4y ago
  it uses yt_dlp under the hood to save video afair
sneak 4y ago
It says Private right in the name, but on launch it immediately phones home to GitHub and some VPSes.
- ekianjo 4y ago
  Private from youtube as in you do not need a Google account
  - googlryas 4y ago
    YouTube.com doesn't require an account either. What exactly is this buying us that you don't get from just opening the site in incognito mode?
    - agluszak 4y ago
      But without account on youtube.com you cannot subscribe to channels. With FreeTube you can. And also it is open-source[1] [1] - https://github.com/FreeTubeApp/FreeTube https://github.com/FreeTubeApp/FreeTube
      - deleted 4y ago
        [deleted]
      - fijiaarone 4y ago
        Once upon a time browsers had a way to bookmark web pages and nobody knew it but you.
        bogwog 4y ago
        Browser bookmarks != Youtube subscriptions
        aliqot 4y ago
        all youtube channels can be added as RSS feeds natively.
charcircuit 4y ago
It's easier and better to just make a new YouTube account or use incognito mode. The only benefit I see from FreeTube is no ads. This can be replicated by just using an adblocker. Having watch history and other data tied to an account is more convenient since you can access it anywhere and YouTube can recommend videos for you to watch which is a killer feature that FreeTube lacks.
- ekianjo 4y ago
  Nope. No ads as in no sponsor ads either. You cant replicate that with an adblocker. Also it prevents youtube from making a profile out of what you consume.
  - pessimizer 4y ago
    > No ads as in no sponsor ads either. You cant replicate that with an adblocker. https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/sponsorblock/ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/sponsorblock/ https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/sponsorblock-for-youtube/mnjggcdmjocbbbhaepdhchncahnbgone https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/sponsorblock-for-y...
    - ekianjo 4y ago
      That's not your typical adblocker. That's an extra one that you have to trust to give access to all of your website data, on top of that. Freetube uses the API, I prefer that approach to trusting random extensions that get automatic updates.
arbol 4y ago
Now we just need an Android version of this!
- ekianjo 4y ago
  Its called Newpipe
  - 2OEH8eoCRo0 4y ago
    I love NewPipe and use it heavily on my phone and Shield TV. https://github.com/TeamNewPipe/NewPipe https://github.com/TeamNewPipe/NewPipe
  - arbol 4y ago
    Nice, thx
walrus01 4y ago
I would encourage anybody interested in this sort of thing to search for yt-dlp, which is a fork and continuation of the YouTube-dl project. CLI tool to download and mirror YouTube videos and audio to local disk.
- 2OEH8eoCRo0 4y ago
  You can even stream twitch. For example, I've used: $ yt-dlp -o - <twitch channel> | vlc -
sourcecodeplz 4y ago
I don't mind Youtube making a profile of me and recommending similar things. But then again I use youtube to watch channels I'm subscribed to and maybe once a week I watch the recommended stuff.
- colinsane 4y ago
  i just find the youtube login process terrible. my browser doesn’t persist cookies, so i have to re-login every day. not problematic for most sites that use a single login form (like HN) and play nice with a password manager. but for Youtube its: 1. go to login page. 2. enter username, hit enter. 3. enter password, hit enter. 4. at the 2FA page hunt for the “other method” option and click it. 5. select “authenticate with Google Authenticator” (i.e. OTP). 6. enter TOTP code, hit enter 7. select either “use this method in the future” or “no” — they don’t take effect because no cookies. sure, it’s self-inflicted on behalf of me not persisting cookies. but a 7 step login process? get real. 3rd party clients like this solve that. in theory i could also whitelist youtube cookies to be specifically persisted, but figuring out how to do that would be a lot more troublesome than just using a 3rd party client.
  - InCityDreams 4y ago
    My cookies dont persist. I do steps 1, 2, and 3 - almost daily. And that, to me, is a pain. As you say, "self-inflicted" - i can't help but think of the guy-on-the bicycle-meme. No snark intended, but your steps 4-7 (2fa+) seem remarkably...unnecessary for youtube?
    - ThePowerOfFuet 4y ago
      It's not just YouTube; they are signing into their Google Account.
      - colinsane 4y ago
        yeah, if Youtube wasn’t connected to my old gmail account which secures way too much of my life, i wouldn’t use 2FA. now that you point it out i should rather create a separate account specifically for Youtube, which wouldn’t need 2FA.
the_third_wave 4y ago
I'm using a private [1] Invidious [2] instance on all platforms to gain access to Youtube content without feeding the beast more than needed. The advantage of something like Invidious is that it allows you to access subscriptions anywhere you can access the 'net instead of just on those platforms where you installed something like Freetube or Newpipe or any of the other alternative clients. [1] private for now since my instance ended up being very popular in Japan for some reason, this being rather odd given that I live in Sweden. I'll keep it private for a few months and open it up again to see whether traffic remains within reasonable bounds. [2] https://github.com/iv-org/invidious https://github.com/iv-org/invidious
- lrvick 4y ago
  Freetube has built-in support to proxy all content via Invidious.
  - the_third_wave 4y ago
    Sure, but what is the advantage of using Freetube when you're running your own instance of Invidious? What extra functionality does it offer over what Invidious already offers? As far as I can see the advantages of hosting your own Invidious - or a similar application offering anonymous Youtube (etc.) access - outweigh those of using specific desktop/mobile applications like Freetube and Newpipe. I used to use Newpipe before I started hosting my own Invidious instance but more or less stopped using that app since then, not because there is something wrong with Newpipe but because there is no need for it any more.
    - lrvick 4y ago
      I find freetube much nicer to use on a TV personally.
ramonezy 4y ago
I think as developers we have to be careful that we don't overstep logical boundaries. Youtube provides a free service that hosts immense volumes of video and creates an ecosystem allowing creators to earn a living. It's selfish to use the services of YouTube while removing their main source of revenue. If you have a problem with YouTube's tracking, simply don't use it
- Waterluvian 4y ago
  This is how I feel about all the bold circumvention of paywalls. It’s a legally fuzzy area in some cases, but to me at least, it is basically people saying, “here, let me help you steal!”
  - 2OEH8eoCRo0 4y ago
    YouTube could kill all of this by simply forcing a login to watch anything but they won't because they're cowards.
    - magic_hamster 4y ago
      They won't because they can still serve you ads regardless of you being logged in or not. Why force you to log in and give up the instant ad impression?
    - Tozen 4y ago
      They can't, because one of several YouTube competitors (Dailymotion, Vimeo, DTube, Twitch, etc...) would replace them and not force logins. YouTube is about the content creators, and people and advertisers will go, where they are at. So if there is a mass exodus of content creators and users, YouTube is pretty much finished.
  - fijiaarone 4y ago
    That’s rich coming from someone defending a site that existed for a decade purely on helping people to steal copyrighted content until they had a monopoly and were able to force copyright holders to license it to them.
MattDemers 4y ago
I love Freetube, and try to contribute to people directly if I'm going to use Freetube. It'll truly become killer when I can save multiple playlists, like I can on Newpipe. Sadly right now you're stuck with one playlist of "Favourites", and then copy-pasting a playlist link from YouTube to queue things up.
mirkules 4y ago
I use Musi on iOS. Ability to play in the background, save playlists locally, no YouTube ads (just ads on screen in the app while music plays in the background, for non-paid versions), and no link to your YouTube account. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/musi-simple-music-streaming/id591560124 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/musi-simple-music-streaming/id...
- elashri 4y ago
  The app is tracking location and user information
  - comprev 4y ago
    I've looked in iOS settings and can't see anything other than mobile data on/off and Siri?
    - elashri 4y ago
      Apps now require to report what they collect and what tracking they are using. This information is available on app store page of the app.
      - varenc 4y ago
        I see that in the app privacy report, but it doesn’t ask for location permission. Not really sure what to think. Perhaps it’s just tracking/logging your IP’s geo location and that alone is enough to require disclosure?
        speedyapoc 4y ago
        It just tracks country/city info for internal stats based on IP address. Nothing more granular. Source: built it
        varenc 4y ago
squarefoot 4y ago
Is there something similar built as Kodi addon? I made heavy use of its YT addon in the past, then a few years ago Google revoked their free API keys so that anyone wanting to watch YouTube videos had to login using their personal API key (which I don't have and don't plan to get) with all privacy implications. I can watch videos on a PC, so why do I have to give my credentials to do the same on Kodi? In both early 2021 and early 2022 I spent hours in bed every day because of severe health issues and being able to watch my favorite channels would have helped a lot to kill that time.
- mongol 4y ago
  The Kodi Youtube addon can play videos without API key. On Android you can share a Youtube URL to the Yatse remote control app and it will play on Kodi
n4bz0r 4y ago
People here talking about how they don't want YouTube to make a profile of their preferences, and here I am, wishing YouTube had a better profile of my preferences. Lately, there is almost no new videos in my recommendation feed. It's mostly either the things I've already watched or new videos from the channels I'm already subscribed to. It really feels like I've exhausted the internet at some point. This can't possibly be true now, can it? :') Where do I opt-in for more tracking?
- MR4D 4y ago
  I think you might not be understanding the context of the argument. Google has tons of information on you - way more than it needs, and yet it still doesn’t get recommendations as good as we expect (as you rightly point out). So the issue is that it has tons of extra data than they need because it * doesn’t make their recommendation any better.* Gathering data for the sake of gathering data in todays world of information privacy and hackers, leaks, etc. And that is what they are doing. In my opinion (sample size of 1), YouTube is incredibly simplistic in its recommendations. I find it very hard to believe that they couldn’t achieve the same quality with much less info on me. For instance, my IP changes when I travel, but I’m an American who speaks English, and yet YouTube insists in showing me local ads in different languages when I’m in foreign countries, despite having my home address (verified with my credit card no less!!!) That’s just laughable.
  - bogwog 4y ago
    > For instance, my IP changes when I travel, but I’m an American who speaks English, and yet YouTube insists in showing me local ads in different languages when I’m in foreign countries, despite having my home address (verified with my credit card no less!!!) That’s just laughable. I bet those advertisers that are wasting money on ads that you don't understand aren't laughing
    - nwienert 4y ago
      For years YouTubes top hero banner purposely loaded quite a bit later than the rest of the page. I never noticed it, until I moved to Spain for a while. Our place had slow internet, and I watched my roommates hit the ad multiple times a day on accident because it loaded right into where the search box was exactly as you’d naturally click there.
soheil 4y ago
How is this any different than running youtube in a Firefox container? I feel like it's a lot of reinventing the wheel if you have to do things like Sponsorblock, Adblock, etc. all over again instead of just relying on your current browser setup.
- lrvick 4y ago
  You can route all traffic through community invidious instances so Google can not even track what content is consumed by your IP. It also automatically skips all ads, even sponsor segments in videos. You also avoid needing to have a Google account to keep up with subscriptions, and you avoid content suppression as the sponsor-prioritized advertiser-friendly algorithms are turned off.
  - judge2020 4y ago
    > so Google can not even track what content is consumed by your IP. "Google uses IPs to track you" has been theorized since 2010 or maybe even before, but I've never seen any study or evidence that it actually does so. So, so much of the internet is built on NAT, shared IP space, and short-lived IP addresses that it really doesn't seem like there is any ROI in having engineers keep their IP correlation tech in service and tracking its efficacy.
    - cuttysnark 4y ago
      IP addresses are frequently kept and stored to show users their active sessions. Are you sincerely doubting that a company like Google doesn't or can't use this information in other ways that support their core business? You don't have to call it "tracking", but I can't think of a better name.
      - judge2020 4y ago
        What is a scenario where this actually happens, though? Imagine two people live in the same residence. One is extremely privacy conscious, doesn’t even have a Google account, and the other doesn’t even run an ad blocker. Both have the same phones on the same OS version, and for sake of argument, both are on the same ipv4. Does this mean that, if the privacy conscious person opens a private browsing session on their phone and visits some websites, they start getting ads their roommate should be getting? At what point would Google know “this is the same person, show their targeted ads”?
greenpizza13 4y ago
Why would people want this? YouTube creators make their money with ads, so this takes money out of their pockets, too.
- BLKNSLVR 4y ago
  Save time, save bandwidth, save privacy, minimise support for Google. I'm intentionally not addressing the advertising revenue issue as that becomes subjective very quickly, just attempting to answer your question through my lens.
BurungHantu 4y ago
More YouTube alternatives and privacy frontends: - https://www.privacytools.io/youtube-alternatives/ https://www.privacytools.io/youtube-alternatives/ - https://www.privacytools.io/privacy-frontends/ https://www.privacytools.io/privacy-frontends/
- paintman252 4y ago
  This is a joke. Youtube has no actual alternatives
s3p 4y ago
I see this is based on Electron. Do you have any plans to release a progressive web app? That would be a nice addition to win/mac/linux apps
- ksidudwbw 4y ago
  I would also like it run in-browser. Is this technically possible?
  - umeshgmrl 4y ago
    No. It must be installed locally.
lakomen 4y ago
We need one to replace vanced on Android and Android TV. We have ad blockers for browsers on the desktop.
- WickyNilliams 4y ago
  Newpipe has been my go to for years. Set it as default YouTube client in android and away you go. Breaks occasionally but devs are quick to fix (usually a day or two)
- Bilal_io 4y ago
  Revanced has been in development since Vanced stopped development. Their client takes a different approach, and it not only patches YouTube clients, but also Twitter, TikTok, Spotify and Twitch to name a few.
- SkyPuncher 4y ago
  S Tube is fantastic on AndroidTV.
- nickexyz 4y ago
  Android: https://github.com/VueTubeApp/VueTube https://github.com/VueTubeApp/VueTube Not at all feature complete yet, but looks like a really nice project. Android TV: https://github.com/yuliskov/SmartTubeNext https://github.com/yuliskov/SmartTubeNext Amazing client that completely replaced the official YT client for me.
2-718-281-828 4y ago
i use it every day and really like it. youtube gets almost every aspect of ui and ux wrong. it's not even funny considering how central it is to multimedia content.
capex 4y ago
My biggest gripe with Youtube right now is how they've left channel subscription just as a long list. I have hundreds of subscriptions, and they are clearly around a few of my interests...
- thinkingemote 4y ago
  I make new YouTube accounts (not Google) for myself for the groups of my interests as they don't overlap much.
  - newsclues 4y ago
    The fact that this is the solution is shameful.
- empyrical 4y ago
  They used to let you sort subscriptions into "Collections", but they removed this feature in 2015. I remember they teased they might bring it back in 2021, but I haven't seen much come of it. [1] [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGSHPhR8k8g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGSHPhR8k8g
- dirtyid 4y ago
  videodeck for youtube is an alright interface i ended up using this script that adds new videos into predefined playlists https://www.google.com/url?q=https://github.com/Elijas/auto-youtube-subscription-playlist-2&sa=D&source=editors&ust=1669707083234050&usg=AOvVaw3nhP6igujC2Tl4O6EPHp64 https://www.google.com/url?q=https://github.com/Elijas/auto-... this is one feature i wish more 3rd party clients had, instead of just sorting channels into categories, only do new videos in playlists which is easier to manage.
causi 4y ago
I need to get around to figuring out how to build ReVanced before Youtube Vanced stops working.
- AkshatJ27 4y ago
  I believe they have a manager now, like the vanced mananger. https://github.com/revanced/revanced-manager https://github.com/revanced/revanced-manager
Zuiii 4y ago
One and only one question: Can it limit video search to only the channels in my subscription list? Youtube seems to have had this feature at one point but it was removed. The only option is to search each channel specifically (a tedious task if you hundreds of channel subscriptions). If you can provide this incredibly useful but imposible-to-do-manually functionality (search all subscriptions), you'll have a UVP that will make people like me immediately switch.
- causi 4y ago
  If you've seen the video before you could search your view history.
basha94 4y ago
Some of the developers are so unbelievably selfish and borderline communist. I'm reading comments about installing SponsorBlock along with this FreeTube thingy. I don't understand why are some of you so anti-business here. Do you all work for free?
- Operative0198 4y ago
  Patreon exists to solve that problem.
BuckyBeaver 4y ago
Why not just set up a spam-bucket Google account and log in with that?
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
iKevinShah 4y ago
I am looking for a Youtube Client or an API that takes me back to that time where you had an opportunity to go to the crazy side of Youtube. No, I am not looking for gore or conspiracy stuff - But you get the point. You start looking at a video from vSauce and then some videos later you are seeing how zebras communicate and what we can learn from it (just an example) Closest I have seen is an extension that adds an random button but I feel that also lacks what I feel I have been looking for. Going through screenshots of this client, I couldnt find it (or maybe not listed on the page). Anyone has anything similar they have been using?
- atoav 4y ago
  There was a website which would only display videos with close to zero views. It is endlessly fascinating what stuff tou get to see there. Stuff that you wouldn't be able to find on youtube if you actively searched for using their search bar. Found it: http://astronaut.io/ http://astronaut.io/
  - huggingmouth 4y ago
    I wish it was available via https.
    - appendjeff 4y ago
      Why?
      - orand 4y ago
        Dude, you're on Hacker News and you're asking why HTTPS? Are you trolling?
beanjuice 4y ago
Is there any private application which can (or could potentially) auto download videos to a phone overnight?
- beanjuice 4y ago
  To update my own answer: You can use shortcuts to run a yt-dlp on youtube videos, which you find from an RSS feed of the youtube channel. Requires 'a-shell mini', shortcuts app, ffmpeg, and some patience.
- yurishimo 4y ago
  you could probably do this over iCloud. Set your phone to download all files, run the ffmpeg script on your computer and place the files in iCloud. If you need a to open the iCloud app to force a sync, use Shortcuts to open the app at 3am or whatever. If you're on Android, a program like Tasker could and Google Drive could likely accomplish the same results.
kimiahk 4y ago
main reason I use it for long time is to have recommended videos disabled. Also using libredirect addon to open youtube links in it. Having multiple subscription is also nice feature.
krashidov 4y ago
Does this scrape YouTube.com or do they use an API key ?
blondin 4y ago
freetube cannot be opened because the developer cannot be verified -- well, i tried.
GoofballJones 4y ago
While I applaud this endeavor, I don't watch YouTube on a computer that much. It's mainly via my TV...either on streaming box like AppleTV or others. I have this nice big 4K, 65" TV that can show those 4K YouTube videos in all their glory from the comfort of my couch. I've also carefully cultivated my YouTube watching habits that it shows exactly what I want to see. No toxic or political things get through. I watch positive, uplifting, informative channels and creators.
- knife1nhead 4y ago
  https://smartyoutubetv.github.io/ https://smartyoutubetv.github.io/
karthie 4y ago
thank you very much for the hardwork and putting this app together is nice one
mattivc 4y ago
I have had a love-hate relationship with YouTube for a long time. On the one hand, many channels put out great content that I want to watch. But the recommended videos feature is exceptional at hooking into my reptilian brain and getting me to waste a lot of time on junk that I later regret as a big waste of time. I looked into a lot of alternative clients, including FreeTube, in an attempt to solve this. I use Tube Archivist[1], an open-source project that allows you to subscribe to and auto-download YouTube channels and playlists or download individual videos and watch them in a minimal web interface. It works fine on iOS as long as you set it up to download in an iOS-compatible format. I currently have it running in a Docker container on my Synology NAS. [1] https://www.tubearchivist.com/ https://www.tubearchivist.com/
- vanderZwan 4y ago
  Darnit, I already wrote the rest of the comment below before noticing the "iOS" part of your comment. These are all Firefox add-ons for the desktop. Still, I'll post them in case they're useful to anyone else. I use the unhook add-on for that, it removes all recommended videos: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-recommended-videos/ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-recom... There's also clickbait remover to get rid of those obnoxious thumbnails: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/clickbait-remover-for-youtube/ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/clickbait-rem... youtube-audio lets you disable the video-feed. Nice when you're using it to listen to what are basically podcasts and you don't want to waste bandwidth: https://github.com/animeshkundu/youtube-audio https://github.com/animeshkundu/youtube-audio And while we're here, SponsorBlock skips sponsored segments: https://sponsor.ajay.app/ https://sponsor.ajay.app/
GekkePrutser 4y ago
Nice app! I use newpipe sometimes but I didn't have anything good for desktop. I wish there was a BSD version though..
- tintedfireglass 4y ago
  we could compile our own binaries ;)
  - GekkePrutser 4y ago
    Yeah I already checked the ports but it's not available.. And I'm not good with that stuff. But perhaps it will be added. I think electron stuff is difficult to port though - Not sure what the problem is but I heard this recently from a maintainer.
snshn 4y ago
Thought about that concept some time ago, glad to see someone else has made it! I'd love to have plugins for various video services in there, to use the same client for other video services (such as Rumble). This concept could also be used for creating a Twitter client, where it would follow people by scraping their feeds, support alternative platforms like Gettr, and send nothing but the bare minimum to the server.
wahnfrieden 4y ago
does this not exist for iOS because apple disallows it?
godshatter 4y ago
I curate links to YouTube creators and keep them in a local html file. I visit YT only in private mode, usually through a vpn, use adblock, and never log in. I drop in on creators I haven't gone to in a wild to see what they are up to. I use recommendations only to find other creators, since the actual video recommendations are usually garbage. What I really wish YT had was a creator recommendation system. A way to find creators with content similar to the creator of the video I'm currently watching would be much more helpful to me.
stiltzkin 4y ago
For Android TV I can't recommend enough SmartTubeNext, private Adblock+SponsorBlock.
defensem3ch 4y ago
I tried using this on my PC but it instantly brought up a dialog when trying to use Youtube (even SmartTubeNext on my nVIDIA Shield) asking me to confirm I'm not a robot. It persisted for several hours until after I stopped using FreeTube. Any workarounds for this issue?
dirtyid 4y ago
Are there less private clients like SmartTubeNext that uses leanback framework so you can manage playlists? Works well on chromecast but no touch interface and would be nice to having something for android. That said didn't leanback get the the axe?
rldjbpin 4y ago
might have missed it but i am surprised nobody mentioned LibreTube / Piped here (https://piped.video https://piped.video). it is open source (for both client and hosting), and allows all the major features advertised here.
jsmcgd 4y ago
Are there any plans to incorporate other video platforms in this client?

364 points by night-rider 4y ago

poulpy123 4y ago

Looks nice. Can it import/export subscription with newpipe ?

3np 4y ago
Looks like it: https://github.com/FreeTubeApp/FreeTube/pull/2604 https://github.com/FreeTubeApp/FreeTube/pull/2604
illuminerdy 4y ago
Yes, but when I tried, it was kind buggy. May have improved since then.
ekianjo 4y ago
yes they have compatible json exports

illuminerdy 4y ago

I've been using FreeTube for quite a while now. It's great for subscribing to channels that you don't necessarily want to infect your regular YouTube feed and recommendations.

europeanguy 4y ago
Why not just RSS? Don't get me wrong, I hate Google's monopoly as much as anyone else, but in this specific case I don't see the benefit of using some app for the subscriptions, vs rss
- ekianjo 4y ago
  It goes beyond just feeds
  - MattDemers 4y ago
    Just to add, Freetube has support for comments, timestamp segments, and other things that goes beyond RSS.

timbit42 4y ago

Does it support SponsorBlock?

femboy 4y ago
Yes.
- mardifoufs 4y ago
  Can't believe your name wasn't taken before two weeks ago!
  - system2 4y ago
    Unlike reddit, the nicknames are not too vulgar. That must be the reason why. You can find many others not taken.
    - femboy 4y ago
      How do you define vulgar?
      - system2 4y ago
        Let me put it this way: This is a technology forum where sex, race and other personal life indicators are unnecessary which create some sort of conflict. This is what I think. It could be different maybe others could explain differently.

ipaddr 4y ago

Can it save video content through browser addons or build in functionity?

ajvs 4y ago
Built in but I don't find it reliable, I instead opt for yt-dlp.
ekianjo 4y ago
it uses yt_dlp under the hood to save video afair

sneak 4y ago

It says Private right in the name, but on launch it immediately phones home to GitHub and some VPSes.

ekianjo 4y ago
Private from youtube as in you do not need a Google account
- googlryas 4y ago
  YouTube.com doesn't require an account either. What exactly is this buying us that you don't get from just opening the site in incognito mode?
  - agluszak 4y ago
    But without account on youtube.com you cannot subscribe to channels. With FreeTube you can. And also it is open-source[1] [1] - https://github.com/FreeTubeApp/FreeTube https://github.com/FreeTubeApp/FreeTube
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
    - fijiaarone 4y ago
      Once upon a time browsers had a way to bookmark web pages and nobody knew it but you.
      - bogwog 4y ago
        Browser bookmarks != Youtube subscriptions
        aliqot 4y ago
        all youtube channels can be added as RSS feeds natively.

charcircuit 4y ago

It's easier and better to just make a new YouTube account or use incognito mode. The only benefit I see from FreeTube is no ads. This can be replicated by just using an adblocker. Having watch history and other data tied to an account is more convenient since you can access it anywhere and YouTube can recommend videos for you to watch which is a killer feature that FreeTube lacks.

ekianjo 4y ago
Nope. No ads as in no sponsor ads either. You cant replicate that with an adblocker. Also it prevents youtube from making a profile out of what you consume.
- pessimizer 4y ago
  > No ads as in no sponsor ads either. You cant replicate that with an adblocker. https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/sponsorblock/ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/sponsorblock/ https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/sponsorblock-for-youtube/mnjggcdmjocbbbhaepdhchncahnbgone https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/sponsorblock-for-y...
  - ekianjo 4y ago
    That's not your typical adblocker. That's an extra one that you have to trust to give access to all of your website data, on top of that. Freetube uses the API, I prefer that approach to trusting random extensions that get automatic updates.

arbol 4y ago

Now we just need an Android version of this!

ekianjo 4y ago
Its called Newpipe
- 2OEH8eoCRo0 4y ago
  I love NewPipe and use it heavily on my phone and Shield TV. https://github.com/TeamNewPipe/NewPipe https://github.com/TeamNewPipe/NewPipe
- arbol 4y ago
  Nice, thx

walrus01 4y ago

I would encourage anybody interested in this sort of thing to search for yt-dlp, which is a fork and continuation of the YouTube-dl project. CLI tool to download and mirror YouTube videos and audio to local disk.

2OEH8eoCRo0 4y ago
You can even stream twitch. For example, I've used: $ yt-dlp -o - <twitch channel> | vlc -

sourcecodeplz 4y ago

I don't mind Youtube making a profile of me and recommending similar things. But then again I use youtube to watch channels I'm subscribed to and maybe once a week I watch the recommended stuff.

colinsane 4y ago
i just find the youtube login process terrible. my browser doesn’t persist cookies, so i have to re-login every day. not problematic for most sites that use a single login form (like HN) and play nice with a password manager. but for Youtube its: 1. go to login page. 2. enter username, hit enter. 3. enter password, hit enter. 4. at the 2FA page hunt for the “other method” option and click it. 5. select “authenticate with Google Authenticator” (i.e. OTP). 6. enter TOTP code, hit enter 7. select either “use this method in the future” or “no” — they don’t take effect because no cookies. sure, it’s self-inflicted on behalf of me not persisting cookies. but a 7 step login process? get real. 3rd party clients like this solve that. in theory i could also whitelist youtube cookies to be specifically persisted, but figuring out how to do that would be a lot more troublesome than just using a 3rd party client.
- InCityDreams 4y ago
  My cookies dont persist. I do steps 1, 2, and 3 - almost daily. And that, to me, is a pain. As you say, "self-inflicted" - i can't help but think of the guy-on-the bicycle-meme. No snark intended, but your steps 4-7 (2fa+) seem remarkably...unnecessary for youtube?
  - ThePowerOfFuet 4y ago
    It's not just YouTube; they are signing into their Google Account.
    - colinsane 4y ago
      yeah, if Youtube wasn’t connected to my old gmail account which secures way too much of my life, i wouldn’t use 2FA. now that you point it out i should rather create a separate account specifically for Youtube, which wouldn’t need 2FA.

the_third_wave 4y ago

I'm using a private [1] Invidious [2] instance on all platforms to gain access to Youtube content without feeding the beast more than needed. The advantage of something like Invidious is that it allows you to access subscriptions anywhere you can access the 'net instead of just on those platforms where you installed something like Freetube or Newpipe or any of the other alternative clients. [1] private for now since my instance ended up being very popular in Japan for some reason, this being rather odd given that I live in Sweden. I'll keep it private for a few months and open it up again to see whether traffic remains within reasonable bounds. [2] https://github.com/iv-org/invidious https://github.com/iv-org/invidious

lrvick 4y ago
Freetube has built-in support to proxy all content via Invidious.
- the_third_wave 4y ago
  Sure, but what is the advantage of using Freetube when you're running your own instance of Invidious? What extra functionality does it offer over what Invidious already offers? As far as I can see the advantages of hosting your own Invidious - or a similar application offering anonymous Youtube (etc.) access - outweigh those of using specific desktop/mobile applications like Freetube and Newpipe. I used to use Newpipe before I started hosting my own Invidious instance but more or less stopped using that app since then, not because there is something wrong with Newpipe but because there is no need for it any more.
  - lrvick 4y ago
    I find freetube much nicer to use on a TV personally.

ramonezy 4y ago

I think as developers we have to be careful that we don't overstep logical boundaries. Youtube provides a free service that hosts immense volumes of video and creates an ecosystem allowing creators to earn a living. It's selfish to use the services of YouTube while removing their main source of revenue. If you have a problem with YouTube's tracking, simply don't use it

Waterluvian 4y ago
This is how I feel about all the bold circumvention of paywalls. It’s a legally fuzzy area in some cases, but to me at least, it is basically people saying, “here, let me help you steal!”
- 2OEH8eoCRo0 4y ago
  YouTube could kill all of this by simply forcing a login to watch anything but they won't because they're cowards.
  - magic_hamster 4y ago
    They won't because they can still serve you ads regardless of you being logged in or not. Why force you to log in and give up the instant ad impression?
  - Tozen 4y ago
    They can't, because one of several YouTube competitors (Dailymotion, Vimeo, DTube, Twitch, etc...) would replace them and not force logins. YouTube is about the content creators, and people and advertisers will go, where they are at. So if there is a mass exodus of content creators and users, YouTube is pretty much finished.
- fijiaarone 4y ago
  That’s rich coming from someone defending a site that existed for a decade purely on helping people to steal copyrighted content until they had a monopoly and were able to force copyright holders to license it to them.

MattDemers 4y ago

I love Freetube, and try to contribute to people directly if I'm going to use Freetube. It'll truly become killer when I can save multiple playlists, like I can on Newpipe. Sadly right now you're stuck with one playlist of "Favourites", and then copy-pasting a playlist link from YouTube to queue things up.

mirkules 4y ago

I use Musi on iOS. Ability to play in the background, save playlists locally, no YouTube ads (just ads on screen in the app while music plays in the background, for non-paid versions), and no link to your YouTube account. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/musi-simple-music-streaming/id591560124 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/musi-simple-music-streaming/id...

elashri 4y ago
The app is tracking location and user information
- comprev 4y ago
  I've looked in iOS settings and can't see anything other than mobile data on/off and Siri?
  - elashri 4y ago
    Apps now require to report what they collect and what tracking they are using. This information is available on app store page of the app.
    - varenc 4y ago
      I see that in the app privacy report, but it doesn’t ask for location permission. Not really sure what to think. Perhaps it’s just tracking/logging your IP’s geo location and that alone is enough to require disclosure?
      - speedyapoc 4y ago
        It just tracks country/city info for internal stats based on IP address. Nothing more granular. Source: built it
        varenc 4y ago

squarefoot 4y ago

Is there something similar built as Kodi addon? I made heavy use of its YT addon in the past, then a few years ago Google revoked their free API keys so that anyone wanting to watch YouTube videos had to login using their personal API key (which I don't have and don't plan to get) with all privacy implications. I can watch videos on a PC, so why do I have to give my credentials to do the same on Kodi? In both early 2021 and early 2022 I spent hours in bed every day because of severe health issues and being able to watch my favorite channels would have helped a lot to kill that time.

mongol 4y ago
The Kodi Youtube addon can play videos without API key. On Android you can share a Youtube URL to the Yatse remote control app and it will play on Kodi

n4bz0r 4y ago

People here talking about how they don't want YouTube to make a profile of their preferences, and here I am, wishing YouTube had a better profile of my preferences. Lately, there is almost no new videos in my recommendation feed. It's mostly either the things I've already watched or new videos from the channels I'm already subscribed to. It really feels like I've exhausted the internet at some point. This can't possibly be true now, can it? :') Where do I opt-in for more tracking?

MR4D 4y ago
I think you might not be understanding the context of the argument. Google has tons of information on you - way more than it needs, and yet it still doesn’t get recommendations as good as we expect (as you rightly point out). So the issue is that it has tons of extra data than they need because it * doesn’t make their recommendation any better.* Gathering data for the sake of gathering data in todays world of information privacy and hackers, leaks, etc. And that is what they are doing. In my opinion (sample size of 1), YouTube is incredibly simplistic in its recommendations. I find it very hard to believe that they couldn’t achieve the same quality with much less info on me. For instance, my IP changes when I travel, but I’m an American who speaks English, and yet YouTube insists in showing me local ads in different languages when I’m in foreign countries, despite having my home address (verified with my credit card no less!!!) That’s just laughable.
- bogwog 4y ago
  > For instance, my IP changes when I travel, but I’m an American who speaks English, and yet YouTube insists in showing me local ads in different languages when I’m in foreign countries, despite having my home address (verified with my credit card no less!!!) That’s just laughable. I bet those advertisers that are wasting money on ads that you don't understand aren't laughing
  - nwienert 4y ago
    For years YouTubes top hero banner purposely loaded quite a bit later than the rest of the page. I never noticed it, until I moved to Spain for a while. Our place had slow internet, and I watched my roommates hit the ad multiple times a day on accident because it loaded right into where the search box was exactly as you’d naturally click there.

soheil 4y ago

How is this any different than running youtube in a Firefox container? I feel like it's a lot of reinventing the wheel if you have to do things like Sponsorblock, Adblock, etc. all over again instead of just relying on your current browser setup.

lrvick 4y ago
You can route all traffic through community invidious instances so Google can not even track what content is consumed by your IP. It also automatically skips all ads, even sponsor segments in videos. You also avoid needing to have a Google account to keep up with subscriptions, and you avoid content suppression as the sponsor-prioritized advertiser-friendly algorithms are turned off.
- judge2020 4y ago
  > so Google can not even track what content is consumed by your IP. "Google uses IPs to track you" has been theorized since 2010 or maybe even before, but I've never seen any study or evidence that it actually does so. So, so much of the internet is built on NAT, shared IP space, and short-lived IP addresses that it really doesn't seem like there is any ROI in having engineers keep their IP correlation tech in service and tracking its efficacy.
  - cuttysnark 4y ago
    IP addresses are frequently kept and stored to show users their active sessions. Are you sincerely doubting that a company like Google doesn't or can't use this information in other ways that support their core business? You don't have to call it "tracking", but I can't think of a better name.
    - judge2020 4y ago
      What is a scenario where this actually happens, though? Imagine two people live in the same residence. One is extremely privacy conscious, doesn’t even have a Google account, and the other doesn’t even run an ad blocker. Both have the same phones on the same OS version, and for sake of argument, both are on the same ipv4. Does this mean that, if the privacy conscious person opens a private browsing session on their phone and visits some websites, they start getting ads their roommate should be getting? At what point would Google know “this is the same person, show their targeted ads”?

greenpizza13 4y ago

Why would people want this? YouTube creators make their money with ads, so this takes money out of their pockets, too.

BLKNSLVR 4y ago
Save time, save bandwidth, save privacy, minimise support for Google. I'm intentionally not addressing the advertising revenue issue as that becomes subjective very quickly, just attempting to answer your question through my lens.

BurungHantu 4y ago

More YouTube alternatives and privacy frontends: - https://www.privacytools.io/youtube-alternatives/ https://www.privacytools.io/youtube-alternatives/ - https://www.privacytools.io/privacy-frontends/ https://www.privacytools.io/privacy-frontends/

paintman252 4y ago
This is a joke. Youtube has no actual alternatives

s3p 4y ago

I see this is based on Electron. Do you have any plans to release a progressive web app? That would be a nice addition to win/mac/linux apps

ksidudwbw 4y ago
I would also like it run in-browser. Is this technically possible?
- umeshgmrl 4y ago
  No. It must be installed locally.

lakomen 4y ago

We need one to replace vanced on Android and Android TV. We have ad blockers for browsers on the desktop.

WickyNilliams 4y ago
Newpipe has been my go to for years. Set it as default YouTube client in android and away you go. Breaks occasionally but devs are quick to fix (usually a day or two)
Bilal_io 4y ago
Revanced has been in development since Vanced stopped development. Their client takes a different approach, and it not only patches YouTube clients, but also Twitter, TikTok, Spotify and Twitch to name a few.
SkyPuncher 4y ago
S Tube is fantastic on AndroidTV.
nickexyz 4y ago
Android: https://github.com/VueTubeApp/VueTube https://github.com/VueTubeApp/VueTube Not at all feature complete yet, but looks like a really nice project. Android TV: https://github.com/yuliskov/SmartTubeNext https://github.com/yuliskov/SmartTubeNext Amazing client that completely replaced the official YT client for me.

2-718-281-828 4y ago

i use it every day and really like it. youtube gets almost every aspect of ui and ux wrong. it's not even funny considering how central it is to multimedia content.

capex 4y ago

My biggest gripe with Youtube right now is how they've left channel subscription just as a long list. I have hundreds of subscriptions, and they are clearly around a few of my interests...

thinkingemote 4y ago
I make new YouTube accounts (not Google) for myself for the groups of my interests as they don't overlap much.
- newsclues 4y ago
  The fact that this is the solution is shameful.
empyrical 4y ago
They used to let you sort subscriptions into "Collections", but they removed this feature in 2015. I remember they teased they might bring it back in 2021, but I haven't seen much come of it. [1] [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGSHPhR8k8g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGSHPhR8k8g
dirtyid 4y ago
videodeck for youtube is an alright interface i ended up using this script that adds new videos into predefined playlists https://www.google.com/url?q=https://github.com/Elijas/auto-youtube-subscription-playlist-2&sa=D&source=editors&ust=1669707083234050&usg=AOvVaw3nhP6igujC2Tl4O6EPHp64 https://www.google.com/url?q=https://github.com/Elijas/auto-... this is one feature i wish more 3rd party clients had, instead of just sorting channels into categories, only do new videos in playlists which is easier to manage.

causi 4y ago

I need to get around to figuring out how to build ReVanced before Youtube Vanced stops working.

AkshatJ27 4y ago
I believe they have a manager now, like the vanced mananger. https://github.com/revanced/revanced-manager https://github.com/revanced/revanced-manager

Zuiii 4y ago

One and only one question: Can it limit video search to only the channels in my subscription list? Youtube seems to have had this feature at one point but it was removed. The only option is to search each channel specifically (a tedious task if you hundreds of channel subscriptions). If you can provide this incredibly useful but imposible-to-do-manually functionality (search all subscriptions), you'll have a UVP that will make people like me immediately switch.

causi 4y ago
If you've seen the video before you could search your view history.

basha94 4y ago

Some of the developers are so unbelievably selfish and borderline communist. I'm reading comments about installing SponsorBlock along with this FreeTube thingy. I don't understand why are some of you so anti-business here. Do you all work for free?

Operative0198 4y ago
Patreon exists to solve that problem.

BuckyBeaver 4y ago

Why not just set up a spam-bucket Google account and log in with that?

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

iKevinShah 4y ago

I am looking for a Youtube Client or an API that takes me back to that time where you had an opportunity to go to the crazy side of Youtube. No, I am not looking for gore or conspiracy stuff - But you get the point. You start looking at a video from vSauce and then some videos later you are seeing how zebras communicate and what we can learn from it (just an example) Closest I have seen is an extension that adds an random button but I feel that also lacks what I feel I have been looking for. Going through screenshots of this client, I couldnt find it (or maybe not listed on the page). Anyone has anything similar they have been using?

atoav 4y ago
There was a website which would only display videos with close to zero views. It is endlessly fascinating what stuff tou get to see there. Stuff that you wouldn't be able to find on youtube if you actively searched for using their search bar. Found it: http://astronaut.io/ http://astronaut.io/
- huggingmouth 4y ago
  I wish it was available via https.
  - appendjeff 4y ago
    Why?
    - orand 4y ago
      Dude, you're on Hacker News and you're asking why HTTPS? Are you trolling?

beanjuice 4y ago

Is there any private application which can (or could potentially) auto download videos to a phone overnight?

beanjuice 4y ago
To update my own answer: You can use shortcuts to run a yt-dlp on youtube videos, which you find from an RSS feed of the youtube channel. Requires 'a-shell mini', shortcuts app, ffmpeg, and some patience.
yurishimo 4y ago
you could probably do this over iCloud. Set your phone to download all files, run the ffmpeg script on your computer and place the files in iCloud. If you need a to open the iCloud app to force a sync, use Shortcuts to open the app at 3am or whatever. If you're on Android, a program like Tasker could and Google Drive could likely accomplish the same results.

kimiahk 4y ago

main reason I use it for long time is to have recommended videos disabled. Also using libredirect addon to open youtube links in it. Having multiple subscription is also nice feature.

krashidov 4y ago

Does this scrape YouTube.com or do they use an API key ?

blondin 4y ago

freetube cannot be opened because the developer cannot be verified -- well, i tried.

GoofballJones 4y ago

While I applaud this endeavor, I don't watch YouTube on a computer that much. It's mainly via my TV...either on streaming box like AppleTV or others. I have this nice big 4K, 65" TV that can show those 4K YouTube videos in all their glory from the comfort of my couch. I've also carefully cultivated my YouTube watching habits that it shows exactly what I want to see. No toxic or political things get through. I watch positive, uplifting, informative channels and creators.

knife1nhead 4y ago
https://smartyoutubetv.github.io/ https://smartyoutubetv.github.io/

karthie 4y ago

thank you very much for the hardwork and putting this app together is nice one

mattivc 4y ago

I have had a love-hate relationship with YouTube for a long time. On the one hand, many channels put out great content that I want to watch. But the recommended videos feature is exceptional at hooking into my reptilian brain and getting me to waste a lot of time on junk that I later regret as a big waste of time. I looked into a lot of alternative clients, including FreeTube, in an attempt to solve this. I use Tube Archivist[1], an open-source project that allows you to subscribe to and auto-download YouTube channels and playlists or download individual videos and watch them in a minimal web interface. It works fine on iOS as long as you set it up to download in an iOS-compatible format. I currently have it running in a Docker container on my Synology NAS. [1] https://www.tubearchivist.com/ https://www.tubearchivist.com/

vanderZwan 4y ago
Darnit, I already wrote the rest of the comment below before noticing the "iOS" part of your comment. These are all Firefox add-ons for the desktop. Still, I'll post them in case they're useful to anyone else. I use the unhook add-on for that, it removes all recommended videos: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-recommended-videos/ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-recom... There's also clickbait remover to get rid of those obnoxious thumbnails: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/clickbait-remover-for-youtube/ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/clickbait-rem... youtube-audio lets you disable the video-feed. Nice when you're using it to listen to what are basically podcasts and you don't want to waste bandwidth: https://github.com/animeshkundu/youtube-audio https://github.com/animeshkundu/youtube-audio And while we're here, SponsorBlock skips sponsored segments: https://sponsor.ajay.app/ https://sponsor.ajay.app/

GekkePrutser 4y ago

Nice app! I use newpipe sometimes but I didn't have anything good for desktop. I wish there was a BSD version though..

tintedfireglass 4y ago
we could compile our own binaries ;)
- GekkePrutser 4y ago
  Yeah I already checked the ports but it's not available.. And I'm not good with that stuff. But perhaps it will be added. I think electron stuff is difficult to port though - Not sure what the problem is but I heard this recently from a maintainer.

snshn 4y ago

Thought about that concept some time ago, glad to see someone else has made it! I'd love to have plugins for various video services in there, to use the same client for other video services (such as Rumble). This concept could also be used for creating a Twitter client, where it would follow people by scraping their feeds, support alternative platforms like Gettr, and send nothing but the bare minimum to the server.

wahnfrieden 4y ago

does this not exist for iOS because apple disallows it?

godshatter 4y ago

I curate links to YouTube creators and keep them in a local html file. I visit YT only in private mode, usually through a vpn, use adblock, and never log in. I drop in on creators I haven't gone to in a wild to see what they are up to. I use recommendations only to find other creators, since the actual video recommendations are usually garbage. What I really wish YT had was a creator recommendation system. A way to find creators with content similar to the creator of the video I'm currently watching would be much more helpful to me.

stiltzkin 4y ago

For Android TV I can't recommend enough SmartTubeNext, private Adblock+SponsorBlock.

defensem3ch 4y ago

I tried using this on my PC but it instantly brought up a dialog when trying to use Youtube (even SmartTubeNext on my nVIDIA Shield) asking me to confirm I'm not a robot. It persisted for several hours until after I stopped using FreeTube. Any workarounds for this issue?

dirtyid 4y ago

Are there less private clients like SmartTubeNext that uses leanback framework so you can manage playlists? Works well on chromecast but no touch interface and would be nice to having something for android. That said didn't leanback get the the axe?

rldjbpin 4y ago

might have missed it but i am surprised nobody mentioned LibreTube / Piped here (https://piped.video https://piped.video). it is open source (for both client and hosting), and allows all the major features advertised here.

jsmcgd 4y ago

Are there any plans to incorporate other video platforms in this client?