{"slug": "freetube", "name": "FreeTube", "category": "media", "category_name": "Media and creative", "description": "", "recommenders": 3, "commenters": 4, "warners": 0, "score": 3.011, "rising": 0.35, "first": "2025-12-07", "latest": "2026-10-31", "why": "I use Freetube instead of YouTube exactly because no login, no algorithm, no ads, no sponsored content.", "why_is_quote": true, "has_verdict": false, "sentiment": {"recommend": 3, "neutral": 1, "compare": 0, "warn": 0}, "spark": [0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 1], "listed": true, "loved": [], "caveat": "", "short_quote": "I use Freetube instead of YouTube exactly because no login, no algorithm, no ads, no sponsored content.", "icon": true, "domain": null, "github_repo": null, "official_url": "https://freetubeapp.io", "pricing": "", "aliases": ["FreeTube"], "verdict": null, "praise": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 805098544, "item_id": 50318659, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50318659", "by": "lrvick", "date": "2026-10-31", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use Freetube instead of YouTube exactly because no login, no algorithm, no ads, no sponsored content.", "excerpt": "I use Freetube instead of YouTube exactly because no login, no algorithm, no ads, no sponsored content. Just chronological actual content from channels I care about. It really is a big difference. That said I would only -consume- content ripped from YouTube. I have no account and no interest in publishing there.", "context": "", "use_case": "watching YouTube content privately", "switched_from": "", "story": "Digital minimalism"}, {"id": 775323008, "item_id": 48457688, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48457688", "by": "dlcarrier", "date": "2026-06-09", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I watch YouTube videos on FreeTube, SmartTube, and PipePipe, from my computer, TV, and phone, respectively.", "excerpt": "I watch YouTube videos on FreeTube, SmartTube, and PipePipe, from my computer, TV, and phone, respectively. Really, I use PipePipe on my phone for podcasts, and the computer and phone for video. I subscribe to over 400 channels (locally, not through a Google account) and use a chronological feed, so I just see what I'm interested in. Both video and podcasts are a mix of educational, edutainment, entertainment, and ne", "context": "subscribes to 400+ channels locally", "use_case": "watching YouTube on computer", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: Where do you like to consume content anymore?"}, {"id": 739031332, "item_id": 46189458, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46189458", "by": "pmontra", "date": "2025-12-07", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Desktop: Freetube.", "excerpt": "Desktop and mobile: Firefox and uBlock Origin. Mobile: Blockada to prevent apps from reaching their ad servers. NewPipe. Desktop: Freetube. uBO has the bonus to have an element picker that I use to remove the empty areas where ads would show. I do it for sites that I use often. I also remove some useless menus and headers. I particularly hate sticky ones.", "context": "", "use_case": "YouTube on desktop", "switched_from": "", "story": "How I block all online ads"}]}], "caveats": [], "who": [{"by": "dlcarrier", "context": "subscribes to 400+ channels locally", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48457688", "date": "2026-06-09"}], "tags": [], "use_cases": ["watching youtube content privately", "youtube via vpn", "watching youtube on computer", "youtube on desktop"], "compared": [{"slug": "firefox", "name": "Firefox", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "ublock-origin", "name": "uBlock Origin", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}], "makers": [{"id": 797725490, "item_id": 49857843, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49857843", "by": "TomasEkeli", "date": "2026-09-26", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Personally I use my own fork of FreeTube on desktops", "excerpt": "Works well for me on Firefox with uBlock origin without any special lists. Personally I use my own fork of FreeTube on desktops, though, falling back to Firefox with uBlock when there are outages.", "context": "maintains own fork", "use_case": "YouTube on desktop", "switched_from": "", "story": "PipePipe: NewPipe hard fork implementing SponsorBlock"}], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50313661", "title": "Digital minimalism", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49842764", "title": "PipePipe: NewPipe hard fork implementing SponsorBlock", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49130047", "title": "Show HN: SmokeVPN \u2013 All-in-One WireGuard VPN Hub \u2013 Switch Exits in Realtime", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48455779", "title": "Ask HN: Where do you like to consume content anymore?", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46185816", "title": "How I block all online ads", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {}, "2025-12": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-01": {}, "2026-02": {}, "2026-03": {}, "2026-04": {}, "2026-05": {}, "2026-06": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-07": {}, "2026-08": {"neutral": 1}, "2026-09": {}, "2026-10": {"recommend": 1}}, "quotes": [{"id": 805098544, "item_id": 50318659, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50318659", "by": "lrvick", "date": "2026-10-31", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use Freetube instead of YouTube exactly because no login, no algorithm, no ads, no sponsored content.", "excerpt": "I use Freetube instead of YouTube exactly because no login, no algorithm, no ads, no sponsored content. Just chronological actual content from channels I care about. It really is a big difference. That said I would only -consume- content ripped from YouTube. I have no account and no interest in publishing there.", "context": "", "use_case": "watching YouTube content privately", "switched_from": "", "story": "Digital minimalism"}, {"id": 788888050, "item_id": 49305503, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49305503", "by": "viking_fullz", "date": "2026-08-14", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "great for specific things such as Freetube to dodge youtube vpn blocks", "excerpt": "This looks quite promising. I think I'll give it a shot. This actually has exactly what I look for in vpn providers. Specifically what I like are the following features: - unusual countries, Appreciate the option, its less likely in my experience to face Captcha's when you use exit nodes in Central or South America or the MENA region (though it would be nice to see more south American options). Moldova and Bulgaria i", "context": "", "use_case": "YouTube via VPN", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: SmokeVPN \u2013 All-in-One WireGuard VPN Hub \u2013 Switch Exits in Realtime"}, {"id": 775323008, "item_id": 48457688, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48457688", "by": "dlcarrier", "date": "2026-06-09", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I watch YouTube videos on FreeTube, SmartTube, and PipePipe, from my computer, TV, and phone, respectively.", "excerpt": "I watch YouTube videos on FreeTube, SmartTube, and PipePipe, from my computer, TV, and phone, respectively. Really, I use PipePipe on my phone for podcasts, and the computer and phone for video. I subscribe to over 400 channels (locally, not through a Google account) and use a chronological feed, so I just see what I'm interested in. Both video and podcasts are a mix of educational, edutainment, entertainment, and ne", "context": "subscribes to 400+ channels locally", "use_case": "watching YouTube on computer", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: Where do you like to consume content anymore?"}, {"id": 739031332, "item_id": 46189458, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46189458", "by": "pmontra", "date": "2025-12-07", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Desktop: Freetube.", "excerpt": "Desktop and mobile: Firefox and uBlock Origin. Mobile: Blockada to prevent apps from reaching their ad servers. NewPipe. Desktop: Freetube. uBO has the bonus to have an element picker that I use to remove the empty areas where ads would show. I do it for sites that I use often. I also remove some useless menus and headers. I particularly hate sticky ones.", "context": "", "use_case": "YouTube on desktop", "switched_from": "", "story": "How I block all online ads"}]}