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iv-org/invidious

📈 Trending★ 20,058CrystalAudience · vibe coderComplexity · 3/5ActiveLicenseSetup · moderate

TLDR

A privacy-focused alternative interface for YouTube that strips ads, tracking, and algorithms. Watch videos without a Google account or JavaScript, with your data staying on your chosen server.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((Invidious))
    What it does
      Privacy YouTube interface
      No ads or tracking
      Works without JavaScript
    Key features
      Subscribe without Google
      Audio-only playback
      Import/export subscriptions
    How to use
      Public server instances
      Self-host your own
      Browser extension redirect
    Tech stack
      Crystal backend
      Minimal frontend
      AGPL v3 licensed

Things people build with this

USE CASE 1

Watch YouTube videos without ads, tracking, or algorithmic recommendations on any device.

USE CASE 2

Subscribe to YouTube channels and manage your watch history without a Google account.

USE CASE 3

Host your own Invidious server to keep all your viewing data private and under your control.

USE CASE 4

Listen to video content like podcasts in audio-only mode while doing other tasks.

Tech stack

CrystalYouTube data fetchingSelf-hostable

Getting it running

Difficulty · moderate Time to first run · 30min

Requires Crystal runtime installation and self-hosting setup; YouTube API data fetching may need configuration.

Open source under AGPL v3: you can use, modify, and distribute freely, but any modified versions must also be open source and share improvements back to the community.

In plain English

Invidious is an open source alternative interface for watching YouTube. Instead of going to YouTube's website directly, where you get ads, tracking cookies, and algorithms designed to keep you watching, you visit an Invidious instance that fetches the same videos from YouTube behind the scenes and presents them in a clean, minimal interface. The key point is that Invidious never uses YouTube's official APIs, which means YouTube's tracking infrastructure is largely bypassed. The main appeal is privacy and simplicity. Invidious works without JavaScript enabled in your browser, shows no ads, does no tracking, and lets you subscribe to YouTube channels without a Google account. Your subscriptions and watch history live on the Invidious server (or in your own account on a self-hosted instance) rather than in Google's databases. It also supports audio-only playback, useful for listening to video content like podcasts in the background on mobile. You can import your existing YouTube subscriptions and watch history, and export them to other privacy-focused video apps like FreeTube or NewPipe. Anyone can use Invidious right now by picking a public server from a community-maintained list. People who want full control can host their own instance, which also means their data never touches a third-party server. A browser extension called Privacy Redirect can automatically send any YouTube link you click through Invidious instead. The server-side code is written in Crystal, a compiled language with Ruby-like syntax, and the project is licensed under AGPL v3.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
How do I set up my own Invidious instance to watch YouTube privately without Google tracking me?
Prompt 2
Show me how to import my YouTube subscriptions into Invidious and keep them synced across devices.
Prompt 3
What's the easiest way to redirect all my YouTube links through Invidious automatically using a browser extension?
Prompt 4
How does Invidious fetch YouTube videos without using the official API, and what privacy benefits does that give me?
Prompt 5
Can I use Invidious to download videos or listen to audio-only streams, and how do I set that up?
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Generated 2026-05-18 · Model: sonnet-4-6 · Verify against the repo before relying on details.