MiniTube is a great YouTube client which allows you to subscribe to your favorite youtube channels…without the need for Google Account! So why not have this for the Librem 5?
It’s been around for some time and is already made for the desktop. It used to be able to download mp4s from YouTube as well. If someone made this for the Librem5… you can again! It’s still possible in the code!
However, I would still be happy with the client even if it didn’t have that.
Any thoughts?
Dude, stop spamming with so much crap. You need a google API key, so this will never get implemented. Even if it did, I wouldnt use it at all. If someone would/could make a youtube client it would be NewPipe! Port it to the store. Nothing is better than that!
I am not in tech or anything, but don’t you need an account in order to get an API key? Would that make the title of this post false?
I am trying to get away from Google and their products. That’s why I’m not just buying an android phone to replace my iPhone.
I use more and more PeerTube (https://joinpeertube.org/), a free, decentralized alternative to youtube.
@Nami
I’m not spamming anyone with anything. I am making suggestions is all. If you or anyone do not like my suggestions then you can simply ignore them. However, I for one, am going to continue to make suggestions and ask questions…especially if any company wants my money for their products. Cheers.
@rjm
MiniTube is not a Google product but a Linux client. Watch the video. This client does not ask for a google account or anything google related. Which is why I suggest it. Give it a look. If you don’t like it, then no worries. Cheers. 
The readme says the opposite:
Google is now requiring an API key in order to access YouTube Data web services. Create a “Browser Key” at https://console.developers.google.com and enable the Youtube Data API.
Can this app run without the Youtube Data web service access?
There is invidious, an alternate YouTube web frontend that’s libre, doesn’t need a Google account, doesn’t need JavaScript, can be self-hosted, supports subscriptions and more. There’s also public instances if you can’t self-host.
Just seeing this thread, but I don’t think Seven is wrong for suggesting this.
Purism is about providing convenience to its customers. Expecting all of their potential customers to go cold turkey on everything they know is kind of a ridicules proposition.
If youtube could be de-googled, then it is still the largest video repository on the internet. While MiniTube through no fault of it’s own might not be able to do this anymore, an app in the future which could, should not automatically be dismissed.
After all Google’s services are not evil because of what they are capable of, but because of how they are implemented to harvest personal data.
If Google decided to change course and goes full FOSS on all of their offerings, you would be screaming about how there isn’t any software that comes anywhere close to what Google offers and you’d be right. Google has the market that it does because it offers truly compelling services.
So thanks Seven for trying to share this.
I used minitube for a long time and loved it. You do not need to create a google account to use it.
Another alternative to watch web videos is also gnome videos:
replace “services” with “paid-digital-bullying” and we have a winner here !
Well, they need a good bait to lure us into the trap (clicking I accept) :-). In old days people gave themselves as slaves if they were starving and in the hope of getting a meal now and then.
what i fear more than snoople is my stomach … 
On android I use “NewPipe” from the F-Droid store. It says that it does not use Google Framework libraries or the YouTube API, does not use the “Google Services” and doesn’t need a YouTube user account.
It works by analysing the YouTube website. It’s FOSS.
I am not sure if it makes sense to port it to Linux, because as it is an android app I would expect it to be Java based and bound to android APIs (I never wrote an android APP so my knowledge is limited on that part).
By the way: I am always on the never ending search for the perfect programming language. One of my favorite is Scala. I consider working with it even for the Librem 5, reducing startup times with compiling the bytecode to native code with the GraalVM. I did that once for a simple program which worked fine. I don’t know anything about licensing of programs built this way, yet. Also I guess the resulting programs are bigger than that of native languages, but I think this is only significant for small programs.
P.S.: Sometimes I use MiniTube on my desktop system, too. Unfortunately there are many videos it can’t play. I don’t know why.
Thanks @prolog! App seems to work great! I wonder if you can set it up so that it intercepts YT links instead of the youtube app.
Doesn’t really matter anyway, I can get rid of the youtube app.
For what it’s worth, I believe YouTube’s new terms of service, which go live in like December or something, allow them to ban your account if for any reason they suspect that providing the service to you is no longer commercially viable. I have a feeling third-party clients will all fall under that umbrella, so my suspicion is that using third-party clients for YouTube will get your account banned.
If others know more, I’d be happy to be corrected.
Cool, and good information, but if they don’t know your account to begin with, because it isn’t being forwarded to the service, how would they ban you?
@taylor-williamc
MiniTube does NOT require an account to watch videos. Like New Pipe. So I can’t see how your account can be banned if you are not logged into it to begin with.
Ah yeah, fair enough. Hopefully MiniTube and the like continue to work fine then.