FreeTube is an open source desktop YouTube player built with privacy in mind.
Use YouTube without advertisements and prevent Google from tracking you with
their cookies and JavaScript. Available for Windows, Mac & Linux thanks to
Electron.
FreeTube is an open-source desktop YouTube player designed to provide a private and ad-free viewing experience. Built with privacy as its core focus, FreeTube allows users to enjoy YouTube without advertisements or Google’s tracking through cookies and JavaScript.
Key Features:
Ad-Free Experience: Watch videos without interruptions from ads.
Privacy Protection: Blocks Google's data collection methods, ensuring your browsing habits remain private.
Customizable Interface: Tailor the player to suit your preferences with a variety of themes and settings.
Offline Playback: Download videos for offline viewing when you’re away from an internet connection.
Cross-Platform Support: Available on Windows, Mac, and Linux thanks to Electron.
Audience & Benefit:
Ideal for users who prioritize privacy and seek a distraction-free YouTube experience. FreeTube empowers individuals to watch content securely without worrying about data tracking or intrusive ads. It offers a thoughtful alternative for those looking to regain control over their online viewing habits.
FreeTube can be installed via winget, making it easy to integrate into your workflow while maintaining focus on privacy and simplicity.
README
FreeTube is an open source desktop YouTube player built with privacy in mind.
Use YouTube without advertisements and prevent Google from tracking you with their cookies and JavaScript.
Available for Windows (10 and later), Mac (macOS 11 and later) & Linux thanks to Electron.
> [!NOTE]
> FreeTube is currently in Beta. While it should work well for most users, there are still bugs and missing features that need to be addressed.
>
> If you have an idea or if you found a bug, please submit a GitHub issue so that we can track it. Please search the existing issues before submitting to prevent duplicates!
FreeTube uses a built in extractor to grab and serve data / videos. The Invidious API can also optionally be used. FreeTube does not use any official APIs to obtain data. While YouTube can still see your video requests, it can no
longer track you using cookies or JavaScript. Your subscriptions and history are stored locally on your computer and never sent out.
> [!IMPORTANT]
> Using a VPN or Tor is highly recommended to hide your IP while using FreeTube.
Features
Watch videos without ads
Use YouTube without Google tracking you using cookies and JavaScript
Two extractor APIs to choose from (Built in or Invidious)
Subscribe to channels without an account
Connect to an externally setup proxy such as Tor
View and search your local subscriptions, history, and saved videos
Organize your subscriptions into "Profiles" to create a more focused feed
Export & import subscriptions
Youtube Trending
Youtube Chapters
Most popular videos page based on the set Invidious instance
SponsorBlock
Open videos from your browser directly into FreeTube (with extension)
Watch videos using an external player
Full Theme support
Make a screenshot of a video
Multiple windows
Mini Player (Picture-in-Picture)
Keyboard shortcuts
Option to show only family friendly content
Show/hide functionality or elements within the app using the distraction free settings
View channel community posts
Browser Extensions
The following extensions open YouTube links directly in FreeTube:
LibRedirect automatically redirect YouTube links to FreeTube.
> [!IMPORTANT]
> To ensure proper functionality, select FreeTube as Frontend in the Services settings of the extension.
RedirectTube, doesn’t automatically open YouTube links in FreeTube. Instead, it adds buttons to the toolbar and context menu, which you can click to open videos in FreeTube manually.
Download RedirectTube from Mozilla Add-ons (for Firefox based-browsers).
> [!NOTE]
> These extensions do not work on Linux portable builds!
>
> If you have issues with the extension working with FreeTube, please create an issue in this repository instead of the extension repository.
Download Links
Official Downloads
> [!CAUTION]
> FreeTube is only supported on Windows 10 and later, macOS 11 and above, and various Linux distributions. Installing it on unsupported systems may result in unexpected issues.
> [!WARNING]
> Use these builds at your own risk. These are pre-release versions and are only intended for people that want to test changes early and are willing to accept that things could break from one build to another.
Builds are automatically created from changes to our development branch via GitHub Actions.
The first build with a green check mark is the latest build.
> [!IMPORTANT]
> You will need to have a GitHub account to download these builds.
Unofficial Downloads
> [!WARNING]
> These builds are maintained by the community. While they should be safe, download at your own risk. There may be issues with using these versus the official builds. Any issues specific with these builds should be sent to their respective maintainer. Make sure u always try an official download before reporting your issue to us!
If you like to get your hands dirty and want to contribute, we would love to
have your help. Send a pull request and someone will review your code.
> [!IMPORTANT]
> Please follow the Contribution Guidelines before sending your pull request.
Localization
We are actively looking for translations! We use Weblate to make it easy for translators to get involved. Click on the badge above to learn how to get involved.
For the Linux Flatpak, the desktop entry comment string can be translated at our Flatpak repository.
While your donations are much appreciated, only donate if you really want to. Donations are used for keeping the website up and running and eventual code signing costs.
> [!TIP]
> If you are using the Invidious API then we recommend that you donate to the instance that you use. You can also donate to the Invidious team or the Local API developer.
License
FreeTube is Free Software: You can use, study share and improve it at your
will. Specifically you can redistribute and/or modify it under the terms of the
GNU Affero General Public License as
published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
(at your option) any later version.
