NewPipe is a libre (Free, with a capitalized ‘F’) frontend for YouTube which runs on Android devices.
The inconvenience, data collection, and speed issues of YouTube had bothered me for quite a while before I finally decided to switch to an open-source, preferably Free, alternative. It does have a trending tab, though, and the last time I checked, it couldn’t be turned off. However, this isn’t a huge issue since recurring MrBeast content isn’t very tempting anyway.
With NewPipe you can:
- Avoid Ads.
- Save Videos as actual redistributable files.
- Play videos on the background.
- Avoid recommendations “tailor-made” (read: corporate manipulation) by analyzing your watch history.
- Resynchornise your subscription (the list of which, by the way, you can export from your actual YT account and import into NewPipe, for starters) feed whenever you choose to.
- Pull in a PeerTube, SoundCloud (but why? ðŸ˜) or Bandcamp feed.
- Disable video comments without enabling Restricted Mode.
There’s practically no reason why you shouldn’t run it on your Android, unless you unironically don’t believe in internet privacy, and love the consumption of a feed curated for you with much, much care by an algorithm.
Now, I do use YouTube’s original client now and then, to comment on videos and bypass age (account) locked videos and what not, but hey, NewPipe is still pretty neat.