Invidious is a free and open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.[2][3] It is available as a Docker container,[4] or from the GitHub master branch.[5] It is intended to be used as a lightweight and "privacy-respecting" alternative to the official YouTube website.[2] Many privacy preserving redirecting software as well as YouTube clients use Invidious instances.[6][7][8][9]
 | |
| Original author(s) | Omar Roth |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Samantaz Fox, unixfox, Matthew McGarvey[1] |
| Initial release | August 13, 2018 |
| Stable release | 2024.08.26-4782a67
/ August 26, 2024 |
| Repository | Mirror from GitHub: gitea |
| Written in | Crystal, HTML, JavaScript |
| Type | Frontend |
| License | AGPLv3 |
| Website | invidious |
Invidious does not use the official YouTube API but scrapes the website for video and metadata such as likes and views.[10] This is done intentionally to decrease the amount of data shared with Google, but YouTube can still see a user's IP address.[11] The web-scraping tool is called the Invidious Developer API.[10] It is also partially used in the free and open-source app, Yattee.[12]
History
editIn 2020, Omar Roth stated that he would be stepping down from the project and shutting down the main instance at invidio.us.[13] However, the project still continues and unofficial instances of the service still exist.[14]
In June 2023, Invidious received a take-down order from YouTube.[15][16] The cease and desist notice followed recent "experiments" by YouTube of blocking non-premium users who use an ad-blocking web browser.[17][18] The Invidious developers decided to ignore the letter as they did not use the YouTube API.[19] Jules Roscoe of Vice.com stated YouTube was not alone in "cracking down", and noted new developer fees at Reddit are causing third-party developers to shut down.[20] According to Der Spiegel, "Invidious is installed on servers, which then act as unlicensed YouTube mirrors" to allow users to watch videos "free of advertising and tracking." Invidious was _targeted by Google due to them having struggled for years to block downloading and uncontrolled access to videos and music.[21]
See also
edit- Comparison of YouTube downloaders
- Youtube-dl
- Nitter, a Twitter viewer inspired by Invidious
References
edit- ^ "Team". Invidious.io. Retrieved 2024-01-21.
- ^ a b "5 Apps to Protect Your Privacy on YouTube and Stop Google From Tracking You". MUO. 2021-08-28. Retrieved 2021-11-10.
- ^ Betts, Andy (November 14, 2019). "How to Watch Flagged YouTube Videos Without Logging In". MUO.
- ^ "Installation - Invidious Documentation". docs.invidious.io. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
- ^ "Installation - Invidious Documentation". docs.invidious.io. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
- ^ "Improve Your Safari Browsing Experience With These Automatic Redirects". Lifehacker. 2022-11-22. Retrieved 2023-06-03.
- ^ "The 8 Best Media Players for the Steam Deck". MUO. 2023-05-07. Retrieved 2023-06-03.
- ^ "How to Watch YouTube Videos in the Linux Terminal With ytfzf". MUO. 2022-11-23. Retrieved 2023-06-03.
- ^ Kocher, Laveesh (2022-12-01). "FreeTube, An Open Source Private YouTube Client". Retrieved 2023-06-03.
- ^ a b "Release Week 1: Invidious API and Geo-Bypass · iv-org/invidious". GitHub. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
- ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". docs.invidious.io. Retrieved 2024-09-26.
- ^ Yattee, Yattee, 2022-08-24, retrieved 2022-08-24
- ^ "Omar Roth". omar.yt. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
- ^ "Invidious Instances". api.invidious.io. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
- ^ "YouTube legal team asked Invidious developers to take down the service within 7 days". AlternativeTo.net. June 10, 2023. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
- ^ Rossmann, Louis (9 June 2023). "Youtube's war on adblockers continues, sends cease & desist to invidious.io - you know what to do 😉". YouTube. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
- ^ Thomas, Dallas (10 May 2023). "YouTube has started blocking ad blockers". Android Police. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
- ^ Cadenas, Cesar (11 May 2023). "YouTube is attempting to block your ad-blocker in new experiment". TechRadar. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
- ^ "YouTube Orders 'Invidious' Privacy Software to Shut Down in 7 Days * TorrentFreak". Retrieved 2023-08-06.
- ^ Roscoe, Jules (2023-06-15). "YouTube Tells Open-Source Privacy Software 'Invidious' to Shut Down". Vice. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
- ^ "Google will werbefreie YouTube-Alternative Invidious stoppen" [Google wants to legally stop ad-free YouTube alternative]. Der Spiegel (in German). 2023-06-16. ISSN 2195-1349. Archived from the original on 19 August 2023. Retrieved 2023-06-19.