What is FreeTube used for?

FreeTube is an open-source desktop YouTube client that blocks ads and Google tracking and keeps subscriptions and history stored locally. It is a good fit for watching YouTube without ads or tracking and keeping subscriptions without a Google account.

Is FreeTube open source?

Yes. FreeTube is open source under the AGPL-3.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at FreeTubeApp/FreeTube and is written mainly in Vue.

Yes. FreeTube is open source, so the software itself is free to use.

Can I self-host FreeTube?

Yes. FreeTube can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure; there is no official hosted version.

What is FreeTube an alternative to?

FreeTube is an open-source alternative to YouTube. Other open-source alternatives to YouTube include LibreTube, Invidious and Piped.

Is FreeTube actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to FreeTube was on 2 October 2026. The project has 22k stars on GitHub.

FreeTube: open-source alternative to YouTube

About FreeTube

FreeTube is a desktop application for watching YouTube with an emphasis on privacy. Instead of loading the regular YouTube website, it uses its own built-in extractor to fetch video data, so Google cannot track the viewer through cookies or JavaScript and no advertisements are shown during playback.

Subscriptions, playlists and watch history are kept on the user's own computer rather than in a Google account, and are never sent out. The Invidious API can optionally be used as another data source. The app is built with Vue on Electron and runs on Windows 10 and later, macOS 12 and later, and Linux.

FreeTube is released under the AGPL-3.0 license, and the project describes itself as being in beta, so some bugs and missing features should be expected. YouTube can still see video requests coming from the viewer's IP address, so the maintainers recommend pairing it with a VPN or Tor for stronger anonymity.

Key features

Ad-free YouTube playback on the desktop
Blocks Google cookie and JavaScript tracking
Local storage of subscriptions, playlists and history
Built-in extractor instead of official APIs
Optional Invidious API support
Windows, macOS and Linux builds

Good fit for

→Watching YouTube without ads or tracking
→Keeping subscriptions without a Google account

Built with: Vue
Tags: youtube; privacy; video-player; desktop; electron; ad-free; subscriptions

FreeTube: questions and answers

What is FreeTube used for?: FreeTube is an open-source desktop YouTube client that blocks ads and Google tracking and keeps subscriptions and history stored locally. It is a good fit for watching YouTube without ads or tracking and keeping subscriptions without a Google account.
Is FreeTube open source?: Yes. FreeTube is open source under the AGPL-3.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at FreeTubeApp/FreeTube and is written mainly in Vue.
Is FreeTube free?: Yes. FreeTube is open source, so the software itself is free to use.
Can I self-host FreeTube?: Yes. FreeTube can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure; there is no official hosted version.
What is FreeTube an alternative to?: FreeTube is an open-source alternative to YouTube. Other open-source alternatives to YouTube include LibreTube, Invidious and Piped.
Is FreeTube actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to FreeTube was on 2 October 2026. The project has 22k stars on GitHub.