{"slug": "pipepipe", "name": "PipePipe", "category": "media", "category_name": "Media and creative", "description": "Open-source Android YouTube client forked from NewPipe, with built-in SponsorBlock support.", "recommenders": 5, "commenters": 7, "warners": 0, "score": 5.164, "rising": 1.02, "first": "2026-01-31", "latest": "2026-10-31", "why": "Liked as an ad-free, privacy-friendly YouTube client with SponsorBlock built in, and as a more full-featured alternative to NewPipe and Tubular.", "why_is_quote": false, "has_verdict": true, "sentiment": {"recommend": 5, "neutral": 2, "compare": 0, "warn": 0}, "spark": [0, 0, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1, 1], "listed": true, "loved": ["SponsorBlock, no ads", "Features"], "caveat": "Auto-skip", "short_quote": "I just switched from Tubular[0] to PipePipe. It has more feature than Tubular!", "icon": true, "domain": null, "github_repo": "github.com/infinityloop1308/pipepipe", "official_url": "https://github.com/InfinityLoop1308/PipePipe", "pricing": "open source", "aliases": ["PipePipe"], "verdict": [{"text": "Liked as an ad-free, privacy-friendly YouTube client with SponsorBlock built in", "cites": [{"id": 800882067, "item_id": 50055129, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50055129", "by": "hilbert42", "date": "2026-10-12", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Using NewPipe and sponsor block on PipePipe increases privacy and makes YouTube ad free.", "excerpt": "My default is to run without JS and selectively enable it when absolutely necessary, so when I clicked on this story the page was prefaced with the following comment: \"You're protected from the methods I use here. You disabled JavaScript, so this fingerprinting trick can't run at all. You're still vulnerable to network-based methods. Read on to see what it does to everyone else. From now on I\u2019ll call you:\u2026\" I've run ", "context": "runs without JS by default", "use_case": "ad-free YouTube", "switched_from": "", "story": "Fingerprints are the new cookies"}, {"id": 797811888, "item_id": 49863243, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49863243", "by": "DanOpcode", "date": "2026-09-27", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Nice! Have installed it now.", "excerpt": "Nice! Have installed it now. I have been using NewPipe for a while, but was missing SponsorBlock and had read that the NewPipe developer didn't want to add it. So this seems great!", "context": "", "use_case": "YouTube client with SponsorBlock", "switched_from": "NewPipe", "story": "PipePipe: NewPipe hard fork implementing SponsorBlock"}, {"id": 805134385, "item_id": 50320899, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50320899", "by": "firefoxd", "date": "2026-10-31", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use the app to find videos and copy them to pipepipe.", "excerpt": "With the new wave of ads on mobile, the ones with the \"next\" button, I gave up. Instead I use the app to find videos and copy them to pipepipe. Maybe the curated list can be exported to load on other apps.", "context": "", "use_case": "watching YouTube videos without ads", "switched_from": "YouTube", "story": "HackerTube: YouTube built from videos recommended by HN"}]}, {"text": ", and as a more full-featured alternative to NewPipe and Tubular.", "cites": [{"id": 797811888, "item_id": 49863243, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49863243", "by": "DanOpcode", "date": "2026-09-27", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Nice! Have installed it now.", "excerpt": "Nice! Have installed it now. I have been using NewPipe for a while, but was missing SponsorBlock and had read that the NewPipe developer didn't want to add it. So this seems great!", "context": "", "use_case": "YouTube client with SponsorBlock", "switched_from": "NewPipe", "story": "PipePipe: NewPipe hard fork implementing SponsorBlock"}, {"id": 752348032, "item_id": 47021752, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47021752", "by": "Erenay09", "date": "2026-02-14", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I just switched from Tubular[0] to PipePipe. It has more feature than Tubular!", "excerpt": "I just switched from Tubular[0] to PipePipe. It has more feature than Tubular! I also migrated my database without any problems. 0: https://github.com/polymorphicshade/Tubular", "context": "", "use_case": "YouTube client", "switched_from": "Tubular", "story": "NewPipe: YouTube client without vertical videos and algorithmic feed"}]}, {"text": " The main caveat raised is that automatic sponsor skipping can be annoying", "cites": [{"id": 797821904, "item_id": 49863869, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49863869", "by": "hobo123", "date": "2026-09-27", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use Pipepipe, but auto skipping content is the one thing I turned off pretty fast.", "excerpt": "Is this really a thing people want? I use Pipepipe, but auto skipping content is the one thing I turned off pretty fast. It can be pretty annoying (I think it was on the latest Tony Iommi video where it wanted to skip large portions). I don't mind the channels I like having sponsors, and if I do I just double tap forward a couple of times to skip the minute.", "context": "", "use_case": "YouTube client", "switched_from": "", "story": "PipePipe: NewPipe hard fork implementing SponsorBlock"}]}, {"text": ", with one user saying it tried to skip large portions of a video.", "cites": [{"id": 797821904, "item_id": 49863869, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49863869", "by": "hobo123", "date": "2026-09-27", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use Pipepipe, but auto skipping content is the one thing I turned off pretty fast.", "excerpt": "Is this really a thing people want? I use Pipepipe, but auto skipping content is the one thing I turned off pretty fast. It can be pretty annoying (I think it was on the latest Tony Iommi video where it wanted to skip large portions). I don't mind the channels I like having sponsors, and if I do I just double tap forward a couple of times to skip the minute.", "context": "", "use_case": "YouTube client", "switched_from": "", "story": "PipePipe: NewPipe hard fork implementing SponsorBlock"}]}], "praise": [{"label": "SponsorBlock, no ads", "summary": "Commenters value the built-in SponsorBlock and ad-free YouTube viewing.", "quotes": [{"id": 800882067, "item_id": 50055129, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50055129", "by": "hilbert42", "date": "2026-10-12", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Using NewPipe and sponsor block on PipePipe increases privacy and makes YouTube ad free.", "excerpt": "My default is to run without JS and selectively enable it when absolutely necessary, so when I clicked on this story the page was prefaced with the following comment: \"You're protected from the methods I use here. You disabled JavaScript, so this fingerprinting trick can't run at all. You're still vulnerable to network-based methods. Read on to see what it does to everyone else. From now on I\u2019ll call you:\u2026\" I've run ", "context": "runs without JS by default", "use_case": "ad-free YouTube", "switched_from": "", "story": "Fingerprints are the new cookies"}, {"id": 797811888, "item_id": 49863243, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49863243", "by": "DanOpcode", "date": "2026-09-27", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Nice! Have installed it now.", "excerpt": "Nice! Have installed it now. I have been using NewPipe for a while, but was missing SponsorBlock and had read that the NewPipe developer didn't want to add it. So this seems great!", "context": "", "use_case": "YouTube client with SponsorBlock", "switched_from": "NewPipe", "story": "PipePipe: NewPipe hard fork implementing SponsorBlock"}, {"id": 805134385, "item_id": 50320899, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50320899", "by": "firefoxd", "date": "2026-10-31", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use the app to find videos and copy them to pipepipe.", "excerpt": "With the new wave of ads on mobile, the ones with the \"next\" button, I gave up. Instead I use the app to find videos and copy them to pipepipe. Maybe the curated list can be exported to load on other apps.", "context": "", "use_case": "watching YouTube videos without ads", "switched_from": "YouTube", "story": "HackerTube: YouTube built from videos recommended by HN"}]}, {"label": "Features", "summary": "Seen as having more features than Tubular and filling gaps left by NewPipe.", "quotes": [{"id": 752348032, "item_id": 47021752, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47021752", "by": "Erenay09", "date": "2026-02-14", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I just switched from Tubular[0] to PipePipe. It has more feature than Tubular!", "excerpt": "I just switched from Tubular[0] to PipePipe. It has more feature than Tubular! I also migrated my database without any problems. 0: https://github.com/polymorphicshade/Tubular", "context": "", "use_case": "YouTube client", "switched_from": "Tubular", "story": "NewPipe: YouTube client without vertical videos and algorithmic feed"}, {"id": 797811888, "item_id": 49863243, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49863243", "by": "DanOpcode", "date": "2026-09-27", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Nice! Have installed it now.", "excerpt": "Nice! Have installed it now. I have been using NewPipe for a while, but was missing SponsorBlock and had read that the NewPipe developer didn't want to add it. So this seems great!", "context": "", "use_case": "YouTube client with SponsorBlock", "switched_from": "NewPipe", "story": "PipePipe: NewPipe hard fork implementing SponsorBlock"}]}, {"label": "Privacy", "summary": "Used for more private viewing, including local subscriptions without a Google account.", "quotes": [{"id": 800882067, "item_id": 50055129, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50055129", "by": "hilbert42", "date": "2026-10-12", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Using NewPipe and sponsor block on PipePipe increases privacy and makes YouTube ad free.", "excerpt": "My default is to run without JS and selectively enable it when absolutely necessary, so when I clicked on this story the page was prefaced with the following comment: \"You're protected from the methods I use here. You disabled JavaScript, so this fingerprinting trick can't run at all. You're still vulnerable to network-based methods. Read on to see what it does to everyone else. From now on I\u2019ll call you:\u2026\" I've run ", "context": "runs without JS by default", "use_case": "ad-free YouTube", "switched_from": "", "story": "Fingerprints are the new cookies"}, {"id": 775323010, "item_id": 48457688, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48457688", "by": "dlcarrier", "date": "2026-06-09", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use PipePipe on my phone for podcasts", "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": "YouTube and podcasts on phone", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: Where do you like to consume content anymore?"}]}, {"label": "Easy migration", "summary": "One user moved their database over from Tubular without problems.", "quotes": [{"id": 752348032, "item_id": 47021752, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47021752", "by": "Erenay09", "date": "2026-02-14", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I just switched from Tubular[0] to PipePipe. It has more feature than Tubular!", "excerpt": "I just switched from Tubular[0] to PipePipe. It has more feature than Tubular! I also migrated my database without any problems. 0: https://github.com/polymorphicshade/Tubular", "context": "", "use_case": "YouTube client", "switched_from": "Tubular", "story": "NewPipe: YouTube client without vertical videos and algorithmic feed"}]}], "caveats": [{"label": "Auto-skip", "summary": "Automatic sponsor skipping can be annoying and cut large portions of videos.", "quotes": [{"id": 797821904, "item_id": 49863869, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49863869", "by": "hobo123", "date": "2026-09-27", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use Pipepipe, but auto skipping content is the one thing I turned off pretty fast.", "excerpt": "Is this really a thing people want? I use Pipepipe, but auto skipping content is the one thing I turned off pretty fast. It can be pretty annoying (I think it was on the latest Tony Iommi video where it wanted to skip large portions). I don't mind the channels I like having sponsors, and if I do I just double tap forward a couple of times to skip the minute.", "context": "", "use_case": "YouTube client", "switched_from": "", "story": "PipePipe: NewPipe hard fork implementing SponsorBlock"}]}], "who": [{"by": "hilbert42", "context": "runs without JS by default", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50055129", "date": "2026-10-12"}, {"by": "dlcarrier", "context": "subscribes to 400+ channels locally", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48457688", "date": "2026-06-09"}], "tags": ["for ad-free YouTube", "for NewPipe users", "for podcasts on phone", "for mobile"], "use_cases": ["youtube client", "watching youtube videos without ads", "ad-free youtube", "youtube client with sponsorblock", "youtube and podcasts on phone", "youtube background playback"], "compared": [{"slug": "newpipe", "name": "NewPipe", "co": 3, "switched_from": 1, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "youtube", "name": "YouTube", "co": 1, "switched_from": 1, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "tubular", "name": "Tubular", "co": 1, "switched_from": 1, "switched_to": 0}], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49842764", "title": "PipePipe: NewPipe hard fork implementing SponsorBlock", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50319510", "title": "HackerTube: YouTube built from videos recommended by HN", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50048642", "title": "Fingerprints are the new cookies", "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=47020218", "title": "NewPipe: YouTube client without vertical videos and algorithmic feed", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46834441", "title": "YouTube blocks background video playback on Brave and other Browsers", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {}, "2025-12": {}, "2026-01": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-02": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-03": {}, "2026-04": {}, "2026-05": {}, "2026-06": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-07": {}, "2026-08": {}, "2026-09": {"recommend": 1, "neutral": 1}, "2026-10": {"recommend": 1, "neutral": 1}}, "quotes": [{"id": 805134385, "item_id": 50320899, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50320899", "by": "firefoxd", "date": "2026-10-31", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use the app to find videos and copy them to pipepipe.", "excerpt": "With the new wave of ads on mobile, the ones with the \"next\" button, I gave up. Instead I use the app to find videos and copy them to pipepipe. Maybe the curated list can be exported to load on other apps.", "context": "", "use_case": "watching YouTube videos without ads", "switched_from": "YouTube", "story": "HackerTube: YouTube built from videos recommended by HN"}, {"id": 800882067, "item_id": 50055129, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50055129", "by": "hilbert42", "date": "2026-10-12", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Using NewPipe and sponsor block on PipePipe increases privacy and makes YouTube ad free.", "excerpt": "My default is to run without JS and selectively enable it when absolutely necessary, so when I clicked on this story the page was prefaced with the following comment: \"You're protected from the methods I use here. You disabled JavaScript, so this fingerprinting trick can't run at all. You're still vulnerable to network-based methods. Read on to see what it does to everyone else. From now on I\u2019ll call you:\u2026\" I've run ", "context": "runs without JS by default", "use_case": "ad-free YouTube", "switched_from": "", "story": "Fingerprints are the new cookies"}, {"id": 797821904, "item_id": 49863869, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49863869", "by": "hobo123", "date": "2026-09-27", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use Pipepipe, but auto skipping content is the one thing I turned off pretty fast.", "excerpt": "Is this really a thing people want? I use Pipepipe, but auto skipping content is the one thing I turned off pretty fast. It can be pretty annoying (I think it was on the latest Tony Iommi video where it wanted to skip large portions). I don't mind the channels I like having sponsors, and if I do I just double tap forward a couple of times to skip the minute.", "context": "", "use_case": "YouTube client", "switched_from": "", "story": "PipePipe: NewPipe hard fork implementing SponsorBlock"}, {"id": 797811888, "item_id": 49863243, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49863243", "by": "DanOpcode", "date": "2026-09-27", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Nice! Have installed it now.", "excerpt": "Nice! Have installed it now. I have been using NewPipe for a while, but was missing SponsorBlock and had read that the NewPipe developer didn't want to add it. So this seems great!", "context": "", "use_case": "YouTube client with SponsorBlock", "switched_from": "NewPipe", "story": "PipePipe: NewPipe hard fork implementing SponsorBlock"}, {"id": 775323010, "item_id": 48457688, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48457688", "by": "dlcarrier", "date": "2026-06-09", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use PipePipe on my phone for podcasts", "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": "YouTube and podcasts on phone", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: Where do you like to consume content anymore?"}, {"id": 752348032, "item_id": 47021752, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47021752", "by": "Erenay09", "date": "2026-02-14", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I just switched from Tubular[0] to PipePipe. It has more feature than Tubular!", "excerpt": "I just switched from Tubular[0] to PipePipe. It has more feature than Tubular! I also migrated my database without any problems. 0: https://github.com/polymorphicshade/Tubular", "context": "", "use_case": "YouTube client", "switched_from": "Tubular", "story": "NewPipe: YouTube client without vertical videos and algorithmic feed"}, {"id": 749363536, "item_id": 46835221, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46835221", "by": "GvS", "date": "2026-01-31", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I recommend PipePipe", "excerpt": "I recommend PipePipe: https://github.com/InfinityLoop1308/PipePipe", "context": "", "use_case": "YouTube background playback", "switched_from": "", "story": "YouTube blocks background video playback on Brave and other Browsers"}]}