Invidious
Original author(s)Omar Roth
Developer(s)Samantaz Fox, Émilien Devos, Matthew McGarvey[1]
Initial releaseAugust 13, 2018 (2018-08-13)
Stable release
2023.06.02-2bdf3ef / June 2, 2023 (2023-06-02)
RepositoryMirror from GitHub: gitea.invidious.io/iv-org/invidious, GitHub: github.com/iv-org/invidious
Written inCrystal, HTML, JavaScript
TypeFrontend
LicenseAGPLv3
Websiteinvidious.io

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]

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. The web-scraping tool is called the Invidious Developer API.[10] It is also partially used in the free and open-source app, Yattee.[11]

In 2020, Omar Roth stated that he would be stepping down from the project and shutting down the main instance at invidio.us.[12] However, the project still continues and unofficial instances of the service still exist.[13]

In June 2023, Invidious received a take-down order from YouTube.[14][15] The cease and desist notice followed recent "experiments" by YouTube of blocking non-premium users who use an ad-blocking web browser.[16][17] The Invidious developers decided to ignore the letter as they did not use the YouTube API.[18] 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.[19] 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 is the latest target of Google, which has struggled for years to block downloading and uncontrolled access to videos and music.[20]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Team". Invidious.io. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
  2. 1 2 "5 Apps to Protect Your Privacy on YouTube and Stop Google From Tracking You". MUO. 2021-08-28. Retrieved 2021-11-10.
  3. ↑ Betts, Andy (November 14, 2019). "How to Watch Flagged YouTube Videos Without Logging In". MUO.
  4. ↑ "Installation - Invidious Documentation". docs.invidious.io. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
  5. ↑ "Installation - Invidious Documentation". docs.invidious.io. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
  6. ↑ "Improve Your Safari Browsing Experience With These Automatic Redirects". Lifehacker. 2022-11-22. Retrieved 2023-06-03.
  7. ↑ "The 8 Best Media Players for the Steam Deck". MUO. 2023-05-07. Retrieved 2023-06-03.
  8. ↑ "How to Watch YouTube Videos in the Linux Terminal With ytfzf". MUO. 2022-11-23. Retrieved 2023-06-03.
  9. ↑ Kocher, Laveesh (2022-12-01). "FreeTube, An Open Source Private YouTube Client". Retrieved 2023-06-03.
  10. 1 2 "Release Week 1: Invidious API and Geo-Bypass · iv-org/invidious". GitHub. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
  11. ↑ Yattee, Yattee, 2022-08-24, retrieved 2022-08-24
  12. ↑ "Omar Roth". omar.yt. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
  13. ↑ "Invidious Instances". api.invidious.io. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
  14. ↑ "YouTube legal team asked Invidious developers to take down the service within 7 days". AlternativeTo.net. June 10, 2023. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  15. ↑ 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.
  16. ↑ Thomas, Dallas (10 May 2023). "YouTube has started blocking ad blockers". Android Police. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  17. ↑ Cadenas, Cesar (11 May 2023). "YouTube is attempting to block your ad-blocker in new experiment". TechRadar. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  18. ↑ "YouTube Orders 'Invidious' Privacy Software to Shut Down in 7 Days * TorrentFreak". Retrieved 2023-08-06.
  19. ↑ Roscoe, Jules (2023-06-15). "YouTube Tells Open-Source Privacy Software 'Invidious' to Shut Down". Vice. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
  20. ↑ "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. Retrieved 2023-06-19.
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