Invidious
Open-source, self-hostable web front-end for watching YouTube without ads or a Google account.
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- Alternatives ranked
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About Invidious
Invidious is an alternative web interface for YouTube. You open it in a browser, either on a public instance someone else runs or on your own server, and watch YouTube videos without ads or Google tracking. It supports accounts that are separate from Google, so you can subscribe to channels and build playlists without a YouTube login, and it integrates with SponsorBlock. It also offers a documented REST API that apps such as FreeTube can use. It's free and licensed under the AGPL-3.0; anyone can host it, and the docs cover installation, reverse proxies and keeping a public instance running. The catch is reliability: YouTube actively blocks these front-ends, so public instances come and go, and self-hosting means dealing with those blocks yourself.
Best for: Privacy-minded viewers and self-hosters who want YouTube in any browser without ads.
Pros and cons
What works
- Works in any browser, no install needed on the device
- Subscriptions and playlists without a Google account
- Self-hostable, with a documented API
Why people leave
- Public instances are often slow or blocked by YouTube
- Running your own instance takes ongoing maintenance
- Fewer features than YouTube's own site
Top Invidious alternatives
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Why people left Invidious
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Invidious: common questions
Is Invidious free?
Yes. Invidious is free, open-source software that you can host yourself.
Is Invidious open source?
Yes. The source code is on GitHub at iv-org/invidious. You can also run it on your own server.
What platforms does Invidious run on?
Invidious is available for Web and Self-hosted.
What are the best alternatives to Invidious?
The highest-ranked Invidious alternatives right now are FreeTube, NewPipe and Grayjay. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.