I’m using a stock Samsung Galaxy 8 phone right now (with Android 10) and I disabled the YouTube app. I was basically sick of its s***. Since then, I never sign in to the app/site, and so may aspects of using the site are much better now.
- Everything is faster, since they don’t know me / aren’t tracking as much.
- I always open YT in Firefox Focus, which doesn’t ever keep cookies or history each time I close it, so there’s no history for YT to mine each time I visit again.
- I’m pretty sure I see fewer ads since I don’t have a deep history for YT to mine / target.
- More random suggestions from YT means I am mostly broken out of the bubble caused by their tracking. I find new, interesting music, for instance, now, from the suggestions.
- Hitting “back” in the browser means I go back wherever I was before, not to the YT home page (like the app used to do to me)
I still visit the site often, and appreciate all the good music and channels I watch, but now it’s overall a much more positive experience, more like YT was a few years ago versus the horrible mess it’s become recently.
I’d still appreciate any other tips anyone has for making YT visits even more enjoyable.
Pro-tip: use NewPipe and you’ll never want to go back. You can install it from F-Droid.
YouTube ReVanced is also a must-have for Android users.
For whatever it’s worth, and whoever reads this, I’ve had extensive buffering issues with Vanced/Revanced for months. Recently purged the MicroG and vanced software, and reinstalled the Revanced Extended, and it works flawlessly!
deleted by creator
Misinformation
The only problem with newpipe is you can’t log in and manage your own stuff.
On the other I love that you don’t need an account to be able to “subscribe” for a custom feed, group channels into custom categories, or make playlists. And all being able to get backed up locally.
On one hand it’s great that it works that way. On the other hand, I use youtube only sometimes on my tablet so I would like to have my subscriptions carried over. Can’t have it all I guess.
You can have playlists and subscriptions but it’s just that they’re going to be local.
What “own stuff” can’t you manage? Do you mean your own channel’s videos? Or do you mean your account’s subscribed channels?
deleted by creator
I’m enjoying LibreTube as well
I second this, it’s great if you care about a modern interface that feels in line with other Android apps these days. Pretty darn slick app with a lot of nice customization features
Yah, I use Piped and https://yewtu.be/ now too.
But the last time I tried to use NewPipe, it was slowwww and would frequently be broken by changes made by YT. I’ll have to check it out again.
If you already use Piped and have Android then you can use LibreTube, a client for Piped
Removed by mod
I use bubble upnp. If you share the yt link to it, you can cast the video to your Chromecast devices https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bubblesoft.android.bubbleupnp
Also there’s
. There is also
.
Or even better: LibreTube
I don’t understand people not wanting recommandations based on ehat they watch… I discovered so much great channel because of it
My issue was just that YT puts me in a bubble where it thinks I want to be. But then you only see videos like the ones you’ve been watching - a bubble. Imo, it’s better to see lots of different videos.
YT knows I have ADHD so it cycles through a few trying to guess my mood. It’s kind of frightening how satisfied I am with it tbh
That’s true. But personally, if I want something different, I will simply search on DuckDuck “Reddit good “something” Youtube channels” and I will find a lot of things. I did it for horror channels, I start watching a lot of them and Youtube then show me other horror channels that I didn’t see before. And when i’m bored of the same subject, I rinse and repeaf
Yes I do t like that either and sort of want it too for some channels so what I do is use YouTube revanced with login , I purge my history once three months , and start a random video for first time like may be a documentary or a really.old/new song and then it germinates very different things for me from there on. And I got no ads at all. :)
It’s too repetitive. I want to see videos other than 5 hours elden ring speedrun/challenges sometimes too, thanks.
For me it’s because I don’t use YouTube for that. I don’t watch channels or personalities. If I go to YouTube, I’m there searching for something specific.
And when I find the video that shows me how to open my key fob to replace the battery, I’m not interested in a series of key fob videos. If I watch a video related to a news story, I’m not interested in all the reaction videos or analyses by people who don’t know what they’re talking about. I’m most certainly not interested in any other video with a thumbnail of someone with their mouth agape at something
I don’t want it suggesting more of them, and I certainly don’t want it automatically advancing to some other video after it’s done. All I want is a video host that plays the videos I asked to watch. Everything else is just a reminder that the kind of videos they push are the exact kinds of videos I don’t want to watch.
They get in the way, they draw attention to the wrong things, and they encourage people to make more of the kinds of videos that get in the way of finding the actual useful information
Me I use it while i’m working. One plug in my ear, and I listen to videos or podcasts like that. In that case, I need a lot of videos to watch/listen
I have accidentally stumbled on “default” YouTube and it’s horrible af. Clickbait and fake news all over. It could be better, but I’m very grateful for my current feed.
I can understand both, sometimes YouTube just force me in a loophole of shit
Yeah YouTube overall does quite a good job recommending me videos I’m actually interested in.
Removed by mod
My main way to consume YT is with the recommended row of Smart Tube recommended feed in my Nvidia Shield TV, so I agree with you.
Because it leads to echo chambers. It’s working for you now. Great. Then a few months later you get a totally different kind of content and you didn’t realize of that transition. Amd that’s not a good thing.
I’m not saying that will happen to you, specifically. But it has happened to a ton of people.
YT recomened keeps trying to feed me fascist propaganda.
The recommendations on Piped (privacy-focused YouTube front-end) are fine for me. I actually prefer it when the suggestions are related to the video I am watching right now, than when they are related to some random video I watched 2 weeks ago and I have no interest in.
YouTube recommendations shows me spoilers if I rely on it, since I don’t get around to games right away. I also hate most YouTube channel personalities. Me and YouTube channels don’t get along. It gets the topic right but I’m too picky over channels I want to even watch, and back out of so many videos I check out. I’m fine with my current list of streamlined subs, and periodically unsub from a bunch due to ending up not watching most of the content anyways and it just cluttering my feed.
Firefox for android supports uBlock which blocks all youtube add btw. I’ve been using the website as my YouTube client for nearly a year now
A Firefox install without uBlock is half baked. Also, Firefox Preview let’s you use any addon, including Sponserblock.
any addon? like ones usually only on PC? 🥺
Yes
My Firefox for Android crashes about every 3rd time I open a YouTube video full screen. It finally got so bad that I installed Newpipe.
I’ve had some weirdness with youtube in the past too. For a few weeks firefox would refuse to go into landscape when i opened videos in fullscreen. Kinda cursed
I think Google intentionally breaks it on Firefox, but it’s just a suspicion, I don’t have any proof.
Doesn’t have to be malicious. Most likely just don’t test on it, or at least not a lot.
Yeah it doesn’t work in my browser but I just use revanced if I want to do YouTube
I always open YT in Firefox Focus, which doesn’t ever keep cookies or history each time I close it, so there’s no history for YT to mine each time I visit again.
This is not true. Google doesn’t much care about cookies; they employ far more effective means of fingerprinting.
Base YouTube is a cancer experience. I used vanced back when it existed. The second they shut down, I stopped using mobile YouTube and just used it on Firefox PC with ad block. When I heard reVanced was a thing, I downloaded it and it’s essentially just like vanced.
I will never use YouTube without adblock unless they either change their monetization system, or ad system.
For anyone else not aware of this.
Cries on iPhone
You can use Yattee. There’s a guide on how to set it up correctly. You can also just add the Piped website to your homescreen. That’s what I’ve been doing for over a year, before I switched to GrapheneOS. Now I can enjoy LibreTube.
Cheers. I’ll check it out :)
you can use ublock origin on firefox for android
I used to use the YT app before migration to Revanced. The main advantages I’ve experienced so far: -No ads -Defaults to auto skip video intros and sponsorships -Ability to disable shorts
Personally disabling shorts was the selling point for me, I’d find myself clicking one on an interesting topic then getting sucked in and distracted from the original video.
Came here to say that exact same thing! Shorts are the bane of my existence, whenever I open my real Youtube App instead of Revanced (still need it to Cast to my Chromecast sometimes), there’s a solid 50/50 chance that I get sucked in by shorts and scroll them for hours. It’s ridiculous, they aren’t even interesting most of the time and I learn nothing from it, but it just keeps happening :/
It feels like playing a slot machine to me, you mindless keep scrolling in hopes of better content. YouTube has always put users at the whim of the algorithm but shorts feel almost predatory in an addictive way to me.
God yes. Fuck shorts. That format should be banned from any platform
I just want to disable Shorts!
YouTube ReVanced
yeah this solves pretty much all problems people have with modern youtube on android.
cries with iOS
Hey, at least you guys have USB C now!
Doesn’t help my TV
Smartube so.
I removed shorts and for a while my life was better until I got arrested.
Maybe the “No pants subway ride” will be held next year. You should join them. :p
Is that a thing? If so I’m down
It was back in the day. You’ll need to see if there’s a local group in your area organising it. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Pants_Subway_Ride
Youtube needs to realize its not tiktok and trying to be tiktok will just push the people who actually like that to tiktok and everyone else will just go somewhere else
Ublock Origin is also able to block YouTube shorts
If you’re using Firefox, install uBlock as well. You can also add the YouTube website as a shortcut to your desktop.
LibreTube is the way to go.
I tried LibreTube from FDroid and it doesn’t seem to load any videos. Is that a known issue (I have a Pixel 6)?
You might want to change the Piped backend instance in the settings. Google is currently trying to IP-ban all Piped servers, just find an instance that works well. You need to click on the three dots, then select settings, go to ‘Instance’ and at the top you can hit ‘Choose…’ to change the Piped instance. I haven’t experienced any issues with
adminforge.de.Does libre have cast support?
No, because it requires proprietary Google libraries. If you want to stream YouTube to your TV in a private way, you can try Piped in Firefox with the fx_cast extension. Only works on Desktop Firefox though.
Our TV has a YT app on it and I never sign in. I have way better experience with it because it randomly suggests stuff that the algorithm would probably think isn’t something I like and yet it TOTALLY is something I like.
This is the problem with all these attempts at AI. They don’t have the capacity to be actually random when they’re using large databases of accumulated input from us.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure the non logged in version I’m experiencing is also constrained by my prior choices, but it seems like the data they’re holding is much smaller which allows for better chances at a random find.
Plus my kids get on there and search for their weird gamer streamer blah blah BS too which I’m sure really throws a curve ball.
Algorithms ≠ Artificial Intelligence
Sufficiently advanced technology looks like magic, sufficiently advanced algorithms look like artificial intelligence.
Oh, algorithms that write algorithms that write algorithms… they’re still algorithms.
Side tangent but god, just unbelievable how an app like YouTube would ever be a system app on Stock that you can’t just uninstall without needing to go through hoops like ADB. Samsung includes so much fuckery on their variants of Android, but to be fair, I believe even on stock Pixels, YouTube is a system app as well, so can’t even entirely blame them for this case. Still unacceptable and insane to me.
Stock Android just sucks, can’t see myself ever going back to it unless I absolutely had to. Props to you for making it work.
It’s also a system app on OnePlus as well (at least it is on my US OnePlus 9 pro)
Try the Universal Android Debloater. You can also use it to remove a lot of other pre-installed crap from your phone. Debloating improves your storage, battery consumption and your privacy.
Somewhat off topic, but related question for everyone: some time ago on Lemmy I saw somebody making a list of awesome Firefox extensions that would make the general browsing experience better. I was not smart and installed some add-ons right away and I forgot their names
I usually have unblock origin, no script, privacy badger always on, but I seem to remember one or two more that sounded cool, like one that should reject all cookies everywhere and never make me click them
Do you have cool recommendations?
Sponsor block, because sponsor segments are ads and darkreader because dark mode is just better
Thanks! I already use dark reader so much I’ve become a vampire and can’t stand anything with white background!
Some other plugins I would recommend: Decentraleyes- prevents tracking from CDN Sponsorblock- skips youtube sponsored segments Clearurls- makes the url field in browser cleaner by removing tracking segments Dark Reader- dark theme for websites Soundfixer- change volume for the webpage User-agent switcher and manager- pretty useful user agent switcher Violentmonkey- one of many script managers. You can download scripts from greasyfork, etc.
And some other plugins that are interesting: Flagfox- shows flag for the location of the website Terms and Service; Didn’t Read- shows you the terms of service of the website, compiled by volunteers Bypass Paywalls Clean- bypasses paywalls of news websites. Unfortunately it has been removed from Firefox plugins website so you would have to download it via the plugin author’s gitlab
Most of the plugins are good to use on Android too. You just need to make a plugin collection and select it in the Fennec browser. Having ublock origin, Dark Reader, and Violentmonkey makes browsing on Android so much better
Mull is a superior fork of Fennec.
Thanks for the heads up! I’ll check that out
Holy cow! This is a very long list of add-ons! I’ll try them out, thanks! I didn’t see either the Fennec or the Mull browsers on the Google Play Store. I suppose I need to install them separately
Edit: grammar
You’re welcome!
I use NewPipe and what has helped me the most is not having to deal w/ the recommendation algorithm.
I reset my subscriptions to only be the most relevant feeds from YouTube and then I only check the subscription page. I’ve consciously curated the feed to be more productive and I’m much less likely to get distracted when watching videos
I’m pretty sure I see fewer ads since I don’t have a deep history for YT to mine / target.
I used normal FF with ublock. I never see ads at all. Can you add extensions to Firefox Focus?
normal FF with ublock
This is the way (assuming you mean Ublock Origin, which I understand is superior to just-plain Ublock.) I also use SponsorBlock.
Is sponserblock on the standard Firefox or is it on the nightly builds still?
You can get the sponsorblock exension on standard android firefox now, if that’s what you’re asking.
That was what I was asking. Thank you! I didn’t know it was available yet.
I do mean Ublock Origin, just a bit lazy in typing.
I have sponsor block on the pc and do need to add it to mobile. (that lazyness kicking in again as it has only been a few weeks that you could add it)
Do you have a uBlock setting recommendation for me?
I have made no changes to the default settings and it works fine for me.,
If anyone else has tweaks they use, please reply to @perishthethought.
Thanks - I just checked, I’m using FF on my desktop, and my android browser, both have uBlock enabled and I still see ads sometimes on youtube.com. I would be interested in changing hat for sure.
Do you have ublock or ublock origin?
ublock origin is what I use. I also made no changes to the defaults on pc and see no adds on youtube there as well.
uBlock Origin in both desktop and mobile.
Then not sure why you are seeing ads.
Are the in video sponsor pieces? As sponsor block is quite good at skipping them in most case.
YouTube is playing cat and mouse with the adblockers, so recently it is sometimes able to show you ads even if you have uBlock Origin enabled. Only reliable way to completely get rid of the ads is to go through a Piped or Invidious instance, or the NewPipe app on Android.
Can you add extensions to Firefox Focus?
Just tried it, you can’t.
Thanks for checking.
Then I would suggest that if the OP wants to view youtube on mobile they go with normal FF and ublock.
It sounds like Firefox Focus just has a few privacy extensions rolled in but still allows adds.
Unfortunately, no. And AFAIK, we can’t have multiple profiles on the full Firefox web browser. (I would need 2 profiles since for some sites, I still want to keep cookies/history around longer, at least I think that makes sense)
As a Pixel user, I don’t appear to have the option of uninstalling YouTube. Imagine that.
You can install revanced and make it your default app for YouTube links
As a pixel user, you are able to install graphene OS!
Yeah, Graphene is the way to go.
Just know, I can’t uninstall it either. Instead I went into the Android settings, did Force Stop on the YT app, and then I was able to Disable it.
Thanks for the info. I’ll do that.
But you have a bloat free device…/s
Try the Universal Android Debloater. Or switch to GrapheneOS.
