LibreTube is an open-source Android YouTube client that routes requests through the Piped API instead of Google directly. It supports SponsorBlock, ReturnYouTubeDislike, DeArrow, subscriptions, playlists, and background playback, with a Material 3 interface.
Reviewed by Marcus Holmberg
LibreTube
libretube.dev 2 ratings so far*
Rate LibreTube: No account needed
Threat level
Covered
A covered pick. Anyone can use it as a private drop-in, with no setup or know-how. Enough for most people. Threat levels
Our take
LibreTube is the Android YouTube alternative for users who prioritize a polished, modern interface over raw platform breadth. Routing through Piped means your requests never reach Google directly, and the built-in SponsorBlock plus DeArrow integration is hard to beat for a clean viewing experience. The trade-off is that this dependency on Piped also means your IP is visible to whichever Piped instance you choose, shifting trust there. It covers YouTube only, so users who also stream from SoundCloud or PeerTube should look at NewPipe instead. Solid pick for anyone on a standard Android phone who wants a Google-free YouTube experience that looks great.
GitHub at a glance
libre-tube/LibreTube
Stars
12,284
+ 123 this week
Last commit
15d ago
healthy
License
GPL-3.0
Latest release
v31.4
2mo ago
Stars, last 35d
Website at a glance
libretube.dev
C score 50
Basic website security headers
Graded by Mozilla HTTP Observatory, tested 3d ago
Inspect this site yourself
Measures the security configuration of the tool's own website, not the privacy of the product itself. A strong tool can still score low here.
LibreTube alternatives
LibRedirect Automatically redirects requests from popular websites to alternative and privacy friendly frontends. Uses random instances by default. You can modify this and add custom…
FreeTube FreeTube is an open-source desktop YouTube client for Windows, macOS, and Linux. It uses a built-in local extractor or the Invidious API to fetch content, blocks ads by default, and stores subscriptions, history, and playlists entirely on your device.
NewPipe NewPipe is a libre Android app for streaming content from YouTube, SoundCloud, PeerTube, Bandcamp, and media.ccc.de without Google Play Services, accounts, or ads. It stores subscriptions and playlists locally and is available on F-Droid.
Invidious Desktop: FreeTube . For Windows, Mac and Linux.
libremdb All requests go through the backend; client never talks to IMDb. List of Instances .
Piped Piped is an open-source, self-hostable web frontend for YouTube that makes no connections to Google servers during playback. It supports SponsorBlock, playlists, subscriptions, and a public JSON API, and runs as a federated multi-instance network.
LibreTube license, in plain English
GPL-3.0 Strong copyleft
Free to use and modify, but anything you distribute that is built on it must also be open under the same license.
Permits
- Commercial use
- Modification
- Distribution
- Patent use
- Private use
Requires
- Disclose source
- Same license
- State changes
- License and copyright notice
Does not provide
- Liability cover
- Warranty
Why it matters: Strong copyleft keeps every distributed version open. A vendor cannot fold this into a closed product and ship it without releasing their changes.
Plain-language summary of the project's license, not legal advice. Read the full text for the exact terms.
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