FreeTube is a feature-rich and user-friendly YouTube client with a focus on privacy.

I just wanted to share a program I’ve been using quite a lot recently which is Freetube.

FreeTube is what YouTube should have been: an ad-free, hackable, curated feed of videos from only the creators I enjoy. The app has a small developer base but is very complete with all the essential features.

FreeTube can either source videos from YouTube or Invidious depending on what you prefer, it also has additional settings for importing and exporting history and subscriptions, changing the user interface/player, and neat things like DeArrow video titles for less click-baity thumbnails.

The app is cross-platform though my preferred method is installing via flatpak on Linux.

Limitations: It is a “read-only” interface to YouTube, meaning that commenting, uploading videos, personalized recommendations and other YouTube provided services will not be available. Think of this as Invidious on the desktop.

“I have not used the YouTube app/website for over a year and a half. It’s going to stay that way”

  • YearOfTheCommieDesktop [they/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
    4·
    6 months ago

    very nice I wonder if it scales down to mobile UI size cleanly. Also wonder if the performance is good enough for a slow mobile platform like the pinephone but hey worth a shot. I’ve got a DIY’ed chromecast alternative that runs on a raspberry pi, and watch a lot of youtube videos through mpv or invidious, but I find myself going back to youtube proper for discovery (my watch history is turned off so I “only” get subscriptions, but I do get per-video recommendeds as well, just not personalized.

    edit: ooh it looks like it scales down pretty well, gonna install it on mobile too. would be nice to stop using youtube proper at all, and if I can port my subscriptions this might do it

    edit 2: this also seems a lot more user friendly and thought out than other attempts I’ve seen at the same type of app, like newpipe and others