Grayjay
this post was submitted on 18 Aug 2024
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Privacy
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i forget is this app proprietary? i know a lot of their apps are
It's basically source available with rights to modify and redistribute for non-commercial purposes and without removing the ability to pay for the app.
Here is the license.
Custom license that doesn't meet the FSF's definition. Tldr restrictions on redistribution and minor restrictions on modification. It isn't on fdroid's main, but they host a fdroid compatible one with a out of date version of Grayjay
It's on fdroid so I don't think
It's not on F-Droid, they have their custom F-Droid repository but that doesn't really mean anything. Anyone can put any app in a custom F-Droid repo, it doesn't have any meaning in regard to FOSS licensing or user freedom.
I just tried Tubular, a NewPipe fork and it works properly.
Newpipe sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. I think your case was just lucky.
NewPipe stops working whenever Google updates YouTube with a breaking change that NewPipe needs to integrate then, e. g. renaming parameters, changing URLs and the like.
NewPipe has been steadily working for years, with the expected interrupts as they have to play catch up with YouTube. That typically only lasts a few days, sometimes hours, though.
The newest issue is different because YouTube started requiring login more and more often to "prove that you're not a bot".
It's been working for me most of the time. Tends to break when Google breaks something, but gets fixed pretty fast. For me it has been working for a couple of weeks after the last update. On TV I use SmartTube, and it has been incredibly solid.
I'd say that your best bet is FreeTube, which got ported to Android back in 2020. I've only been using it for a few weeks, since I only got ahold of an Android device this month, but it has never let me down.
It's available on the IzzyOnDroid repo, and as an APK, so you can install it with F-Droid or Obtainium (or manually).
That downloads directly from YouTube, and for that the best Android app by far is NewPipe and its forks, like Tubular.
Neither newpipe nor libretube work for me anymore for a while now.
...except NewPipe doesn't work.
It works great these past few days, and I've used it today. It works. You might not use the latest version.
Don't use F-droid official repos, use the NewPipe f-droid repo or the IzzyOnDroid one.
On chromecast I’ve been happy with SmartTube, which includes sponsor block and still allows me to log into YT so I get to keep my history.
In Firefox I’ve just discovered an extension called Lib Redirect, which works for YT, Reddit, Twitter, and other sites. Highly recommend.
Have you tried Grayjay?
I second that
I'm happy with Pipepipe myself, it's on the izzyondroid F-droid repo.
Newpipe works for me right now?
Newpipe is working. Just make sure you are on the latest update. YouTube broke it twice in a row not long ago. But latest update has been working for weeks now. Check the github. Looks like v0.27.2 is the latest.
Ive been using these front ends for a while now and there are constant issues.
Ive switched to http://odysee.com
its now ad free, and Ive found that: mental outlaw, Louis Rossman, someordinarygamers, Brodie Robertson, tech lore, switched to linux, the Linux cast and loads of others are also on the platform.
Odysee is not a YouTube front end, is a hot spring for hate content and misinformation, was financially mismanaged, and was recently sold for parts to a blockchain company whose primary goal is bolstering its own blockchain
The blockchaim & finance topic doesn't really affect me, as long as I can use it for watching videos then it works. (and I'm not helping google)
In regards to the hate content, I would rather have the ability to self censor these things (mute/block) then have the platform itself decide what I am allowed to see.
I think the main problem with allowing hate content is how it fosters harassment to those who are against their narratives.
What if I want to watch something other than the people who always show up at the top of the Youtube technology category page, or venture capitalist-funded yoga videos summoned to create the impression somebody is home?
LibreTube uses Piped, which currently is getting blocked by YouTube. They're working on a way to get around it.
You can follow the progress here. It seems like they might have found a way.
tubular , which is a fork of newpipe , works for me . AFAIK its maintained by the person who used to maintain newpipe+sponsorblock
Are there Linux versions of this that aren't apks?
no , its made explicitly as an android application .
Mostly all officially endorsed invidious instances work in my experience. They are using at least one, maybe two techniques for evading youtube rate limiting restrictions that piped does not (yet?) use.
The only other alternative I know is SongTube
Revanced is still going strong on android
For sure, because it's fetching the content directly from the YouTube servers
Am I missing something? Why is it being downvoted? I use it every day and it's an alternative frontend.