I wouldn’t call them ‘better’ alternatives. They’re easier to install for sure. Personally, I’ve used revanced, newpipe, and libretube and love them all. I stuck with newpipe, since that’s what my family uses now, and it’s easier to troubleshoot when I have it too. And revanced takes some steps, more than just “install this package, done”.
They aren’t better IF you enjoy most of YouTubes features. Usability is key, and messing around with Revanced manager twice a year has been worth it easily.
I appreciate your viewpoint, as it’s a part of what makes the software development community so great. I don’t necessarily agree with it, personally, since they all rely on proprietary backend (YouTube), but I truly do appreciate it.
I just don’t want any proprietary software on my devices (for many reasons, most importantly privacy and user freedom). I can use a VPN to privately connect to the YouTube backend, but things get much harder when the proprietary spyware is actually on my device.
I don’t disagree with this point. Calling them objectively better however, is not covering the whole story imo. They are objectively better if your goal is to deproprietarize (not a real word) as much as possible. But if your goal is to just block ads as seamlessly as possible while still keeping all other features in YouTube, then those FOSS apps drop to subjectively better.
Well yeah, I agree. FOSS apps do lack features like logging in (to a Google account), the recommendation algorithm, etc. On the other hand, ReVanced is not exactly easy to install for new users. Both approaches are valid and get the job done (blocking annoying ads). I appreciate the calm and pleasant conversation.
I agree completely. It’s actually why I went with NewPipe as a recommendation to family and friends. After a few months using it, I really didn’t miss the original YouTube app, and it has become, when combined with the ease of installation, my go-to recommendation for Android users who want to block ads and be able to play audio in the background with the screen off. All of these solutions have the potential to temporarily break as google (needlessly, imo) fights them. The FOSS solutions fix is to apply the update, where as revanced is to re-revance the YouTube app (not so simple).
And as for your calm and pleasant comment, I try to always be : ) we’re (mostly) all here to have a conversation (at least, I treat everyone as though they are, until they show me otherwise lol). So, thank you : )
Which one of those do I pick if I actually want to be logged in and have Youtube keep track of my watch history, automatically synchronized between devices?
If you want to use YouTube for that, it seems like ReVanced is your only option. But you can also create an account on a Piped instance, and have your playlists synced. LibreTube is the only app that supports this.
Revanced with MicroG. I use YouTube 50/50 on mobile and Shield (SmartTube) and if my watch history, subscriptions etc. didn’t work, I wouldn’t be using it.
And revanced takes some steps, more than just “install this package, done”.
It depends. Personally I patch it and then share the patched apk with friends and family, so for them it’s literally just “install this package, done” without compromising security.
not gonna lie, a little envious that your family knows how to install from apk, that would be my first bottleneck. They would hit the first scare screen and raise the white flag
just make sure you either install it for them or let them know to only install this app not any app. getting them in the habit of installing any apk from email/text is bad news bears
Now do Android TV! All I want is to be able to allowlist channels for my kids but block everything else. I know an htpc is a better option but I’m lazy.
There are better alternatives for Android like NewPipe, Tubular and LibreTube
For PC, you can use FreeTube
I wouldn’t call them ‘better’ alternatives. They’re easier to install for sure. Personally, I’ve used revanced, newpipe, and libretube and love them all. I stuck with newpipe, since that’s what my family uses now, and it’s easier to troubleshoot when I have it too. And revanced takes some steps, more than just “install this package, done”.
I’d say they are objectively better, because are independent, free & open source apps, instead of relying on patching Google’s proprietary software.
They aren’t better IF you enjoy most of YouTubes features. Usability is key, and messing around with Revanced manager twice a year has been worth it easily.
Being OS doesn’t suddenly make worse UX better.
I appreciate your viewpoint, as it’s a part of what makes the software development community so great. I don’t necessarily agree with it, personally, since they all rely on proprietary backend (YouTube), but I truly do appreciate it.
I just don’t want any proprietary software on my devices (for many reasons, most importantly privacy and user freedom). I can use a VPN to privately connect to the YouTube backend, but things get much harder when the proprietary spyware is actually on my device.
I don’t disagree with this point. Calling them objectively better however, is not covering the whole story imo. They are objectively better if your goal is to deproprietarize (not a real word) as much as possible. But if your goal is to just block ads as seamlessly as possible while still keeping all other features in YouTube, then those FOSS apps drop to subjectively better.
Well yeah, I agree. FOSS apps do lack features like logging in (to a Google account), the recommendation algorithm, etc. On the other hand, ReVanced is not exactly easy to install for new users. Both approaches are valid and get the job done (blocking annoying ads). I appreciate the calm and pleasant conversation.
I agree completely. It’s actually why I went with NewPipe as a recommendation to family and friends. After a few months using it, I really didn’t miss the original YouTube app, and it has become, when combined with the ease of installation, my go-to recommendation for Android users who want to block ads and be able to play audio in the background with the screen off. All of these solutions have the potential to temporarily break as google (needlessly, imo) fights them. The FOSS solutions fix is to apply the update, where as revanced is to re-revance the YouTube app (not so simple).
And as for your calm and pleasant comment, I try to always be : ) we’re (mostly) all here to have a conversation (at least, I treat everyone as though they are, until they show me otherwise lol). So, thank you : )
Which one of those do I pick if I actually want to be logged in and have Youtube keep track of my watch history, automatically synchronized between devices?
If you want to use YouTube for that, it seems like ReVanced is your only option. But you can also create an account on a Piped instance, and have your playlists synced. LibreTube is the only app that supports this.
Revanced with MicroG. I use YouTube 50/50 on mobile and Shield (SmartTube) and if my watch history, subscriptions etc. didn’t work, I wouldn’t be using it.
It depends. Personally I patch it and then share the patched apk with friends and family, so for them it’s literally just “install this package, done” without compromising security.
I thought about doing this, but didn’t want to essentially be their maintainer. I do that enough at work lol
Tbh I share an apk twice a year on a shared Whatsapp group and that’s all the “maintaining” I do, so I don’t care that much. I’ve had worse
That’s fair. It’s more of when google breaks YouTube for the custom apps, that people start to get all pissy lol
not gonna lie, a little envious that your family knows how to install from apk, that would be my first bottleneck. They would hit the first scare screen and raise the white flag
just make sure you either install it for them or let them know to only install this app not any app. getting them in the habit of installing any apk from email/text is bad news bears
Obligatory post mentioning that Freetube exists on Android as well. With Syncthing, I sync history, playlists and subscriptions. It’s brilliant.
I know that it exists, I don’t think it’s a particularly good solution on Android though. There are native apps like the ones I mentioned before.
Btw syncing an SQLite database with syncthing sounds painful. How often do you have to deal with sync conflicts?
Now do Android TV! All I want is to be able to allowlist channels for my kids but block everything else. I know an htpc is a better option but I’m lazy.
Pipepipe, its like Tubular but more reliable ime