NewPipe
Free Our pickYouTube without ads, tracking or an account — plus background play and downloads. From F-Droid.
YouTube: replace YouTube
6 private options, our pick first. Every download link goes straight to the source — F-Droid, the developer's GitHub releases (one tap into Obtainium), the Play listing you can install anonymously through Aurora Store, or the official site. None of these are affiliate links. Updated October 2026.
These YouTube alternatives let you watch videos on Android without ads, tracking or a Google account. NewPipe is the main pick, with background play and downloads. PipePipe, LibreTube and Grayjay offer different takes on the same idea, and PeerTube is a separate video network of its own.
The trade-off is reliability. Third-party clients break when YouTube changes things and need frequent updates, and you can't comment, like or keep a synced history. For viewers they replace the app well in 2026. If a creator matters to you, support them directly; a private client makes that a choice, not a default.
PeerTube
FreeNot a YouTube mirror — a federated video world of its own.
PipePipe
FreeNewPipe fork with SponsorBlock, extra services and some fixes faster.
LibreTube
FreeModern-looking YouTube client that can route through Piped instances for extra separation from Google.
Grayjay
FreeFUTO's multi-platform video app (YouTube, PeerTube, Twitch and more). Source-available, APK from grayjay.app.
How to switch from YouTube
- Export your subscriptions with Google Takeout, selecting only YouTube and YouTube Music to keep the archive small. It includes a subscriptions.csv file listing your channels.
- If your channel lives under a YouTube Brand Account, run the Takeout export from that account. Otherwise the subscription list comes out short or nearly empty.
- Install NewPipe from F-Droid and import the file from its Subscriptions screen. NewPipe accepts the CSV file, and recent versions also take the Takeout zip directly.
- Turn on automatic updates for NewPipe through F-Droid or Obtainium. When YouTube changes something, a fix usually arrives as an update, and old versions may stop playing videos.
- Sign out of YouTube in your browser and uninstall or disable the YouTube app. Your playlists and history stay in the Google account if you want them later.
- Back up NewPipe's data from its settings every so often. Subscriptions and playlists live only on the phone, so that backup file is what carries them to your next one.
YouTube questions
Will YouTube ban my account for using NewPipe?
NewPipe doesn't sign in to YouTube, so there is no account to ban. What YouTube can do is change its site in ways that stop third-party clients from playing videos for a while. The NewPipe team usually ships fixes, which is why keeping this app updated matters more than with most apps on your phone. F-Droid or Obtainium can handle that for you.
Can I keep my YouTube Premium perks or watch history?
Not inside NewPipe. It works without an account, so Premium features, synced watch history and your YouTube Music library stay with Google. NewPipe keeps its own history, subscriptions and playlists on the phone, and you can export that database from its settings as a backup. Treat it as a fresh start rather than a copy.
Can these apps skip sponsor segments?
The main NewPipe app doesn't. The PipePipe fork includes SponsorBlock, which uses crowd-sourced timestamps to skip sponsor reads and intros, and LibreTube supports it too. Both are on F-Droid and update often. If you watch creators whose income relies on sponsors, you can leave the feature off for their channels or altogether.