Table of contents
Invidious.io
Invidious is an alternative front-end to YouTube.
As Invidious.io is an open source project, you can find more
open source alternatives and stats
on LibHunt.
Pricing:
- Open Source
Privacy
Invidious.io enhances user privacy by not tracking user activity and eliminating ads that typically collect data on traditional video hosting platforms.
Ad-Free Experience
Users can watch videos without interruptions from advertisements, offering a smoother and more enjoyable viewing experience.
Open Source
Invidious is open-source software, which allows for community contribution, transparency in development, and the potential for customization.
Lightweight
The interface is designed to be lightweight and fast, which is beneficial for users with slower internet connections or older devices.
Alternative Frontend
It provides an alternative frontend for YouTube, allowing users to access YouTube content while avoiding the platform's direct data collection practices.
Invidious.io is generally considered good for users who prioritize privacy and ad-free browsing. It offers similar functionality to YouTube with additional features for privacy-conscious users. However, as with any third-party service, it may not have perfect uptime or all features available on official platforms, so it's important to weigh these trade-offs.
We have collected here some useful links to help you find out if Invidious.io is good.
Check the traffic stats of Invidious.io on SimilarWeb. The key metrics to look for are: monthly visits, average visit duration, pages per visit, and traffic by country. Moreoever, check the traffic sources. For example "Direct" traffic is a good sign.
Check the "Domain Rating" of Invidious.io on Ahrefs. The domain rating is a measure of the strength of a website's backlink profile on a scale from 0 to 100. It shows the strength of Invidious.io's backlink profile compared to the other websites. In most cases a domain rating of 60+ is considered good and 70+ is considered very good.
Check the "Domain Authority" of Invidious.io on MOZ. A website's domain authority (DA) is a search engine ranking score that predicts how well a website will rank on search engine result pages (SERPs). It is based on a 100-point logarithmic scale, with higher scores corresponding to a greater likelihood of ranking. This is another useful metric to check if a website is good.
The latest comments about Invidious.io on Reddit. This can help you find out how popualr the product is and what people think about it.
Because of the way shorts serves video the exact same way it serves any other video it sounds like a man-in-the-middle proxy server would be needed. Which to enforce would still require per device config(loading corp style keys). A per device config that would probably be trickier than a shorts killer browser extension. This is why DoH makes me nervous. Once the embedded ad engines(cough smart tv's) figure it out,... - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
IME newpipe breaks at once every few weeks, presumably because underlying youtube changes / obfuscation. Or at least that was the case a few years ago. I've had more success hosting an invidious instance and using the materialious client for mobile. And a bonus is that it comes with sponsorblock built in. https://invidious.io/. - Source: Hacker News / 5 months ago
This is why I use invidious. Much more lightweight without all the tracking and Google bullshit. https://invidious.io. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
I'm looking for an answer to that. https://invidious.io/ looks like what I want, but I haven't tried it to see. - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
In your comment you said "the first video taken down from LTT", which is not true. Yes, this might be the first video removed for _one specific reason_. This also might be the first video where he broke external links policy[1] > Links to websites, apps, or other sources that give unauthorized access to audio content, audiovisual content, video games, software, or streaming services that normally require payment... - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
For those who have not already heard of it, check out invidious: https://invidious.io/ A list of public instances (which you probably want to use if you're concerned about being identified) here: https://docs.invidious.io/instances/. - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
Going to drop this here for others who haven't heard of it https://invidious.io/ Now, how do we fix this? YouTube's ad model sucks. Their algorithm sucks. Their front page sucks. They've captured a bunch of creators though so often YouTube is the only place you can find someone. I want those creators to benefit from me viewing their videos. I want the fact that I view a video and like it to help other people find... - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
Sometimes a half-solution will do, like Invidious or Piped. [0] https://invidious.io/ [1] https://github.com/TeamPiped/Piped. - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
Invidious has no ads. No need for adblocker. https://invidious.io/. Source: over 2 years ago
You can find public instances but they are a bit hit or miss since youtube can often throttle those instances. I have it running on my home server (so not throttled) and am quite happy with the result. [1]: https://invidious.io/. - Source: Hacker News / almost 3 years ago
Invidious is a good piped alternative for those starting to look at this space: https://invidious.io/ Yattee is a good front end app for both piped and invidious for Apple TV (and iOS and macOS but I prefer the browser on those platforms). - Source: Hacker News / almost 3 years ago
Let's be more clear than the title, the machine can run YT, barely It loads YT very slowly and the video even slower, I know about h264ify, but due to the old browsers I use, they are too old to support plugins, I can't use It. I know about invidious.io but the VP8/VP9 process It uses for video loading is still loading videos slowly, and makes them not play that well. Has anybody got any solution? (BTW my machine... Source: almost 3 years ago
If you're planning to setup a homelab, look into Invidious [1] or Piped [2] self-hosting too. Mix well with Tailscale (or your mesh VPN of choice) and enjoy. 1. https://invidious.io/ 2. https://github.com/TeamPiped/Piped. - Source: Hacker News / almost 3 years ago
I haven't seen it, but I use https://invidious.io. - Source: Hacker News / almost 3 years ago
It is limited to 720p unfortunately since I turned video content proxying off (It proxies all YouTube content like the metadata, comments, thumbnail etc EXCEPT the video stream itself, and Youtube requires a special player for higher quality DASH content) Since video proxying is insanely bandwidth intensive to thousands of people for obvious reasons, however there are other instances over at invidious.io that do... Source: almost 3 years ago
Invidious - https://invidious.io - https://github.com/iv-org/invidious/ Stackoverflow, also completely skinned down to just the content and nothing more:. - Source: Hacker News / almost 3 years ago
I'd watch it from invidious tho. No need to give them views. [Invidious - An open source alternative front-end to YouTube]. Source: almost 3 years ago
These are Invidious instances[1], which proxy Youtube content for privacy reasons, though the project is having some legal troubles right now. [1] https://invidious.io [2] https://blog.thefrenchghosty.me/posts/im-not-invidious/. - Source: Hacker News / about 3 years ago
Https://invidious.io/ (I believe) is scraping the YT website and offering a video player using directly the video stream. Source: about 3 years ago
Also, you can try to move away from youtube, using a youtube proxy https://invidious.io/. Source: about 3 years ago
Ah yes, DNS based blockers suffer from that. You can check if there is a Safari extension for adblocking, download Brave browser, or use Invidious (basically a private youtube frontend). Source: about 3 years ago
Invidious.io has garnered diverse public opinions, primarily on its role as a privacy-focused alternative to YouTube. As a front-end, it allows users to access YouTube content without ads or tracking, offering a level of anonymity that many privacy-conscious users appreciate. This has positioned Invidious as a prominent alternative in the landscape of YouTube alternatives, which includes platforms like NewPipe, FreeTube, and more.
Privacy-First Approach: Invidious is often praised for its commitment to user privacy. Unlike YouTube, which extensively tracks user activity for targeted advertising, Invidious does not collect user data. This feature is particularly attractive to individuals concerned about Google's data collection policies, making it a stable choice for those striving to de-Google their online activities.
Ad-Free Experience: Another strong point for Invidious is its ad-free experience. Users frequently mentioned that Invidious allows them to watch videos without the interruptions of advertisements, a feature that multiple users regard as a primary advantage over YouTube's ad-driven model. This aligns with the growing fatigue over YouTube's aggressive ad strategies.
Ease of Use for Self-Hosting: Invidious has been noted for its capability to be self-hosted, which adds a layer of control and customization. This is significant for users who manage their digital ecosystems and prefer self-hosted solutions to avoid potential throttling by YouTube on public instances.
Limitations in Quality: One noted drawback of Invidious concerns video streaming quality. Users have expressed that while running default settings, video streaming is limited to 720p unless specific instances provide video proxying, which can reach 1080p or 4K. This can be a turn-off for users seeking higher resolution content.
Legal and Competitive Challenges: Invidious faces legal challenges related to its operation, as it proxies YouTube content, raising potential copyright issues. Whether such issues will have long-term effects on the platformโs viability remains an open question.
Alternative Front-End: Users generally view Invidious as a viable method to bypass YouTubeโs stringent policies on ad-blockers. It acts as an intermediary, providing access to video content while keeping the user experience lightweight and privacy-respectful. Yet, it remains reliant on YouTube for content, highlighting its incomplete independence as a video platform.
In community discussions, Invidious is often recommended as part of a suite of alternative tools to YouTube, alongside Piped and FreeTube. Its ability to reduce reliance on traditional social media frameworks represents a growing sentiment towards decentralized and privacy-friendly internet structures. However, while appreciated for its functional pros, users acknowledge that Invidious is not without its functional and ethical controversies due to its dependence on YouTubeโs infrastructure.
Overall, Invidious.io is acknowledged for what it offers in terms of privacy, control, and an ad-free viewing experience. Yet, it also shows that while being a favorable alternative for many, it has hurdles to overcome both in terms of functionality and possibly legal compliance. Its standing among platforms will likely evolve as user priorities and legal actions unfold.
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