Being allergic to ads, I can’t watch YT on the default app. Google isn’t one of my favorite companies, so getting premium isn’t on my wishlist either.

When at home, I use a computer with Firefox and uBlock origin, but now I’m traveling light , so I left my laptop at home. Previously, it was possible to use my iPad to block YT ads, but that stopped working about two months ago. There are ways to watch those videos anyway, but I thought it would be fun to see if I can avoid YT instead.

Currently, I’m traveling with a tablet and several video apps, such as Nebula, Odysee and even Loops. My local TV channels have made some video apps, and nextDNS can block those ads without any issues, so now is the time to explore those as well.

Got any thoughts, questions, comments, or random stuff?

  • hisao@ani.socialEnglish
    7·
    2 days ago

    Have a nice journey! Me using Lemmy started as “1 month popular sites alternatives challenge” which I arranged for myself after growing increasingly more annoyed by moderation at sites like Reddit and 4chan. Some other systems I started using more as a result of that are Mastodon and Bluesky.

    • Hamartiogonic@sopuli.xyzOPEnglish
      1·
      1 day ago

      Thanks! I am aware that it might end up being more than just a brief experiment. What if I get used to not having any of the annoyances that are common on YT. What if going back will truly open my eyes and I’ll see how bad it really is. If that happens, I may end up cutting back a lot more than I ever anticipated.

      Quitting Reddit and switching to Lemmy wasn’t really a problem at all. There was only one really interesting subreddit, but it turned into a complete dumpster fire just before the APIcalypse, so even that one wasn’t holding me back. Most subreddits worth following have already been sufficiently replicated on Lemmy, so I don’t really miss Reddit at all. Besides, I also like the vibe of a smaller place.

  • stardust@lemmy.caEnglish
    9·
    2 days ago

    1blocker + sponsor block + safari is what I’ve used when I had to use iOS or iPadOS. Never installed the YouTube app.

    Added benefit of being able to airplay video to the TV and have it skip ads and utilize sponsor lock without needing to set up smarttubenext on the TV.

  • bad_news@lemmy.billiam.netEnglish
    21·
    1 day ago

    I believe Apple opened up progressive web apps outside the EU so you could use Freetube as a PWA on your iPad possibly

  • JackGreenEarth@lemm.eeEnglish
    3·
    2 days ago

    Presumably you have a phone, too? Install LibreTube and enable local stream extraction in Settings

    • Hamartiogonic@sopuli.xyzOPEnglish
      1·
      1 day ago

      I did that too for a very long time. Recently, something changed on YT, and now there’s an aggressive ad-blocker-blocker. All videos run for about 60 seconds and then they just stop. It applies to all mobile browsers and all ad-blockers I’ve ever tried. Still not a major issue, since real computers are unaffected.

        • Hamartiogonic@sopuli.xyzOPEnglish
          2·
          19 hours ago

          My guess is, YT is experimenting with different ways to discourage ad blocking. We’ve seen similar tactics before. During an experiment like this, a new feature is rolled out to only some users. If it works out as expected, it becomes a standard feature for the entire platform and every user.

          I may just be one of the lucky few Guinea pigs.

  • Jeena@piefed.jeena.netEnglish
    3·
    2 days ago

    I’m also allergic to ads, so I think I would do the same in your situation.

    On Android I have Tubular which removes ads and uses sponsor block.