Google warns users of these apps that their experience may deteriorate soon. They may “experience buffering issues” or see errors such as “the following content is not available on this app” when trying to watch videos.

Similar to Google Search, ads have become insufferable for many users of the service. There are too many of them, they may break the viewing experience, and they may show inappropriate content.

YouTube Premium is expensive. What weights more for some users is that its functionality is severely limited when compared to third-party apps.

The cat and mouse game continues.

For those looking to avoid ads or improve privacy, here are some options for free, open source, privacy-friendly frontends to YouTube without advertisements:

https://www.privacyguides.org/en/frontends/#youtube

      • @[email protected]
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        245 months ago

        Yeah let me fork over my rapidly disappearing regular people money for a service which used to be free, whose price will only keep going up, and whose features will only keep disappearing to be locked behind a higher tier of paid subscription, thus giving me less and less, for more and more payment. You meet me over there. Let me just grab my little red wig and honk my nose a few times first and I’ll be right over.

        • @[email protected]
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          5 months ago

          The service was never fucking free you goober it always had ads. Since the moment it expanded beyond a couple dozen 240p videos, it had ads. You know what they did though? Tried to pay the people you watch so they could make a living giving you content. But yes throw a fucking tantrum that you have to pay the website so they can stay running and pay the people so they can earn that “regular people money” you ignorant fuckwit. YouTube still, to this day, doesn’t make a profit and still comes at an expense to Google/Alphabet.

          You’ve been comfortable in that red wig and nose for way too long already.

          • @[email protected]
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            65 months ago

            Yes, I’m the “ignorant fuckwit” who is “throwing a tantrum”. Read above and behold me being immature, for the crime of calling out the poor little giant corporation who reportedly generated $31.5 BILLION dollars last year. Clearly they’re just trying to keep the lights on, and not kowtowing to investors whose sole, stated goal, is to buy low, and cash out when line goes up. I’m the fuckwit for pointing out that this shouldn’t be the system we’re all just okay with accepting. Clearly.

        • @[email protected]
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          5 months ago

          Does it even pay the people you watch? No… wait… it just freeloads off YouTube by piping that content to their site.

          • @[email protected]
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            75 months ago

            it just freeloads

            I watch a number of creators that YT has demonetized so I’m not worried about it.

            YT can clearly see what people want in these apps. They simply need to provide the exact same functionality and set a price. They won’t though because they want control and data as well.

          • mbfalzar
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            45 months ago

            YouTube Red content can only be seen with Premium, but not only does Premium not have new exclusive content, Premium features don’t work with member videos if you’re paying for channel membership

      • @[email protected]
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        95 months ago

        There’s multiple issues with this but a lot of them come down to: it’s Google.

        They will charge. They have heaps of money, they will enzhittify. They will kill and recommend a new less capable app.

        They’re Google and I’m moving away from them hard.

        I do use YT a lot, and for now I pay. But give me a little time and that won’t be as true.

      • Cait
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        75 months ago

        If it was fairly priced then maybe, but as of now yt premium just isn’t a good opntion

        • @[email protected]
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          5 months ago

          $15 a month is on par with other subscriptions, part of that money goes to the people you watch so they can get paid for what they do, I don’t see what’s unfair about this pricing. Yes, the features they give are lackluster and could easily be done by third party apps before they killed them but I pay for premium so the people who do YouTube as a job can make a living.

          • Cait
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            75 months ago

            Because YouTube is well known for actually paying their creators… A lot of the creators I watch get a lot of their videos demonotized for nothing really, so I’d have to become a channel member to support them, at wich point I might as well just completly switch to their patreon. And just because it’s on par with other stupid subscriptions, doesn’t make it fair. There are a ton of useless perks to me I’d have to pay for. Doest Premium still come with YT music? Yeah that kinda shit. I you use all the stuff, fair, but I certainly wont, so no the price is not fair for me

      • @[email protected]
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        75 months ago

        But that doesn’t get rid of the ads, it just get rid of some. Sponsorblock would still be needed. Why pay a huge amount for something ineffective?