What is LibreTube used for?

LibreTube is a privacy-focused alternative YouTube frontend for Android with subscriptions, playlists, downloads and background playback, no ads or tracking. It is a good fit for watching YouTube on Android with less tracking and listening to videos in the background.

Is LibreTube open source?

Yes. LibreTube is open source under the GPL-3.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at libre-tube/LibreTube and is written mainly in Kotlin.

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

Can I self-host LibreTube?

Yes. LibreTube can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.

What is LibreTube an alternative to?

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

Is LibreTube actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to LibreTube was on 2 October 2026, and the latest release is v32.1, published on 20 August 2026. The project has 13k stars on GitHub.

LibreTube: open-source alternative to YouTube

About LibreTube

LibreTube is an open-source Android app that offers an alternative way to watch YouTube. The developers argue that YouTube collects a great deal of personal data, so the app aims to be independent from Google and to send only the minimum data needed to load the video you want to play, without tracking how you use the app.

The feature list covers subscriptions and subscription groups, user playlists and playlist bookmarks, watch and search history, downloads and background playback. Optional user accounts work through Piped. Community integrations include SponsorBlock to skip sponsored segments, Return YouTube Dislike for dislike statistics and DeArrow for alternative titles and thumbnails. The interface follows Material Design 3 styling.

LibreTube is written in Kotlin and licensed under GPL-3.0. Nightly builds are offered for people who want features before the official release, with the warning that they are less stable. The Matrix room is the main support channel, and feature or bug requests are accepted only on GitHub, not on the community platforms.

Key features

No ads or tracking in the app
Subscriptions and subscription groups
Playlists, bookmarks and watch history
Downloads and background playback
SponsorBlock, DeArrow and dislike integrations
Optional accounts via Piped

Good fit for

→Watching YouTube on Android with less tracking
→Listening to videos in the background

Built with: Kotlin
Tags: youtube; android; privacy; piped; kotlin; video-player; material-design

LibreTube: questions and answers

What is LibreTube used for?: LibreTube is a privacy-focused alternative YouTube frontend for Android with subscriptions, playlists, downloads and background playback, no ads or tracking. It is a good fit for watching YouTube on Android with less tracking and listening to videos in the background.
Is LibreTube open source?: Yes. LibreTube is open source under the GPL-3.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at libre-tube/LibreTube and is written mainly in Kotlin.
Is LibreTube free?: Yes. LibreTube is open source, so the software itself is free to use.
Can I self-host LibreTube?: Yes. LibreTube can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.
What is LibreTube an alternative to?: LibreTube is an open-source alternative to YouTube. Other open-source alternatives to YouTube include FreeTube, Yattee and NewPipe.
Is LibreTube actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to LibreTube was on 2 October 2026, and the latest release is v32.1, published on 20 August 2026. The project has 13k stars on GitHub.