I am moving more and more away from Google and as a result, I need to also move away from YouTube. I don’t like being tracked. I want a safe, secure, and private internet experience. That being said, I want to find something similar to NewPipe where I can access YouTube and all my subs without being signed in or contributing to their system/site. Is there a good alternative for Linux desktop?
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There are a number of options but the only one I have ever used has been FreeTube.
You don’t see ads and there is no tracking since you don’t need to login to use it. The issue is, it can be a bit buggy at times. Sometimes videos don’t show right away or the app can crash. It depends on what distro you use. I liked it for awhile but ended up back on YouTube because I enjoy commenting on videos.
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Wow, FreeTube, never heard of this. Thanks! I’m going to start using this for YouTube. I really hate all of Google’s tracking. Now if only someone would make an app for my Roku and Apple TV that would replace the YouTube app…
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If you don’t mind something that requires a bit more setting up, youtube-dl might be an option. You basically just download the videos you want to watch them. You would still be required to go on YouTube which may be something you want to avoid entirely. I mainly used youtube-dl for getting music.
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I don’t think this is what the OP was asking for. I only say that as I use this myself and like you, I use it for downloading music. It would be a pain to download all the videos just to watch and later delete them unless he planned on building some sort of library of content for himself.
I tried this the other day when I read your reply. It looked perfect and exactly what I wanted but I could not manage to get it to work properly with my display I don’t know if there is a fix for this either.
I am using the ASUS ProArt (PA278QV) 27” display. I have had scaling issues on certain desktop environments using this display as well. I should have considered returning it but at this point, I have already had it too long. I will just have to find a solution or wait for a sale and try to resell this one.
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I saw that. Some people online reported having issues with larger displays. I am not sure there is a solution for this. It would likely have to be a backend update done by the devs. Maybe try contacting them, see if they plan on rolling anything out that will fix it.
The perfect solution for you on Linux is Red. It delivers the same YouTube experience but with additional focus on privacy. It’s powerful machine pulls videos from YouTube to show you when you search. You don’t have to sign in but but you can see your subscriptions very well. Beats all other alternatives from my own point of view.