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My family and I have been using FF and ad-blockers for so many years now that we've forgotten what the 'real' web looks like. And it's all thanks to people lik

My family and I have been using FF and ad-blockers for so many years now that we've forgotten what the 'real' web looks like. And it's all thanks to people like Raymond Hill.

nicbou 5y ago
It takes a minute or two to realize you've picked the wrong browser, when every website has a cookie notice and a ton of ads. I also started using the YouTube mobile website instead of the apps after getting 2 ads before a 3 minute video.
- 3r8Oltr0ziouVDM 5y ago
  >I also started using the YouTube mobile website instead of the apps after getting 2 ads before a 3 minute video. Have you tried NewPipe? https://newpipe.net https://newpipe.net
  - LeonenTheDK 5y ago
    Not the person you responded to, but doing the same thing. Had tried NewPipe for a while and it was great at first, but at the time it would frequently crash and act janky in other ways that I can't quite remember now. The mobile site was just smoother, but it might be time to give it another try.
    - 3r8Oltr0ziouVDM 5y ago
      It can certainly break if YouTube changes something on their side, but I've never had huge issues, so it's probably not something that happens very often. But the mobile site is a good fallback option.
      - danShumway 5y ago
        I do experience pretty regular issues, but in really specific areas: listening to long music playlists can get janky if they're left open across multiple days, sometimes videos stop working after that and I need to force quit and restart the app (I assume it's doing something to refresh some cookie or connection). Mostly the benefits outweigh the downsides for me, for a lot of reasons: data export is a big one. The ability to download videos/audio is another. Background listening is another. It's also way more battery efficient than any of Youtube's official apps for video or music. One thing I would recommend, the version in the offical F-Droid repo works, but you can also install the direct source in F-Droid, which will get updates/bugfixes much more quickly.
        crtasm 5y ago
        > ...I need to force quit and restart the app Same sometimes happens for me with a single video if I come back to rewatch/finish watching the next day. I can live with it too.
        efreak 5y ago
        Plus if you install the direct source in fdroid, it's signed by the same key as the official releases, so if you don't want to wait for fdroid to update all the other random repos you're too lazy to remove, you can still update directly from the notification/app/website.
  - nicbou 5y ago
    I tried something like that - E: YouTube Vanced - but apparently sideloaded it from the wrong place and nearly got my identity stolen. Long story short, it tried to use my phone as a disposable phone number. For about a month I was getting messages from adult dating sites, verification numbers for all sorts of services, and a few phone calls from bitcoin banks trying to verify my ID. Had I given the app permission to read my text messages, it would have been a catastrophe. Fortunately, I didn't and nothing bad happened.
    - 3r8Oltr0ziouVDM 5y ago
      In case you'd want to try it: NewPipe is open source and it's on F-Droid which is a very safe place to get apps from.
  - OOPMan 5y ago
    I prefer Vanced YouTube
- BiteCode_dev 5y ago
  Youtube vence and firefox mobile are life savers on android
KingOfCoders 5y ago
Same here, whenever I use a browser without adblock I'm amazed how every page is flooded with ads.

My family and I have been using FF and ad-blockers for so many years now that we've forgotten what the 'real' web looks like. And it's all thanks to people like Raymond Hill.

nicbou 5y ago

It takes a minute or two to realize you've picked the wrong browser, when every website has a cookie notice and a ton of ads. I also started using the YouTube mobile website instead of the apps after getting 2 ads before a 3 minute video.

3r8Oltr0ziouVDM 5y ago
>I also started using the YouTube mobile website instead of the apps after getting 2 ads before a 3 minute video. Have you tried NewPipe? https://newpipe.net https://newpipe.net
- LeonenTheDK 5y ago
  Not the person you responded to, but doing the same thing. Had tried NewPipe for a while and it was great at first, but at the time it would frequently crash and act janky in other ways that I can't quite remember now. The mobile site was just smoother, but it might be time to give it another try.
  - 3r8Oltr0ziouVDM 5y ago
    It can certainly break if YouTube changes something on their side, but I've never had huge issues, so it's probably not something that happens very often. But the mobile site is a good fallback option.
    - danShumway 5y ago
      I do experience pretty regular issues, but in really specific areas: listening to long music playlists can get janky if they're left open across multiple days, sometimes videos stop working after that and I need to force quit and restart the app (I assume it's doing something to refresh some cookie or connection). Mostly the benefits outweigh the downsides for me, for a lot of reasons: data export is a big one. The ability to download videos/audio is another. Background listening is another. It's also way more battery efficient than any of Youtube's official apps for video or music. One thing I would recommend, the version in the offical F-Droid repo works, but you can also install the direct source in F-Droid, which will get updates/bugfixes much more quickly.
      - crtasm 5y ago
        > ...I need to force quit and restart the app Same sometimes happens for me with a single video if I come back to rewatch/finish watching the next day. I can live with it too.
      - efreak 5y ago
        Plus if you install the direct source in fdroid, it's signed by the same key as the official releases, so if you don't want to wait for fdroid to update all the other random repos you're too lazy to remove, you can still update directly from the notification/app/website.
- nicbou 5y ago
  I tried something like that - E: YouTube Vanced - but apparently sideloaded it from the wrong place and nearly got my identity stolen. Long story short, it tried to use my phone as a disposable phone number. For about a month I was getting messages from adult dating sites, verification numbers for all sorts of services, and a few phone calls from bitcoin banks trying to verify my ID. Had I given the app permission to read my text messages, it would have been a catastrophe. Fortunately, I didn't and nothing bad happened.
  - 3r8Oltr0ziouVDM 5y ago
    In case you'd want to try it: NewPipe is open source and it's on F-Droid which is a very safe place to get apps from.
- OOPMan 5y ago
  I prefer Vanced YouTube
BiteCode_dev 5y ago
Youtube vence and firefox mobile are life savers on android

KingOfCoders 5y ago

Same here, whenever I use a browser without adblock I'm amazed how every page is flooded with ads.