Block YouTube Ads on Android & iPhone for Free in 5 Ways

YouTube ads have become incessant and intrusive, to everyone’s dismay except Google’s.

Beyond the pricey YouTube Premium, numerous free alternatives exist for ad-free viewing, with added perks like enhanced privacy and reinstated dislike count.

How much does YouTube Premium cost?

The cost of YouTube Premium in the United States is $12 per month.

With YouTube’s Premium plan you can watch ad-free, play videos in the background, download, and get YouTube Music Premium as well. YouTube Premium Lite (EU-pilot only) is just free of commercials, without all the other Premium options.

The 5 Best Youtube Vanced Alternatives

The best YouTube Vanced alternatives are ReVanced, NewPipe, SkyTube, LibreTube, Kiwi Browser, & Blokada.

Vanced received a restraining order from YouTube in March 2022 to stop offering the app through its official website.

Vanced is longer developed but you can still install the latest version with a workaround, however we do not recommend that. Instead, download the ReVanced manager below.

ReVanced and ReVanced Extended

YouTube ReVanced is a modded version of the YouTube interface designed to enhance your viewing by removing ads – continuing the legacy of Vanced.

It offers an array of features, including the ability to download videos, background replay, and more, without requiring any subscription.

Key Features of YouTube ReVanced

• Advertisement-Free Experience: Watch your favorite YouTube content without any ad interruptions.
• Video Downloading: Easily download YouTube videos directly to your device.
• Back ground Play back: Listen to music or podcasts on YouTube while using other apps or when your screen is off.
• Auto Repeat: Set videos to repeat automatically without manually restarting them.

The Simplicity of ReVanced Manager

To access these features, download the Community ReVanced Manager. It provides a user-friendly interface that helps you install, manage, and update all ReVanced applications without any technical hassle.

What About ReVanced Extended?

For those seeking a lighter program with the same core functionalities, ReVanced Extended is your go-to. Developed by inotia00, a key contributor to the original project, it offers a similar experience with distinct differences, focusing on a more streamlined and lightweight operation.

Distinct Features of ReVanced Extended

• Lightweight: A simpler, more agile version of YouTube ReVanced.
• Sponsor Block: Automatically skips sponsored segments in videos for a smoother viewing experience.
• Return YouTube™ Dislike: Brings back the dislike count on YouTube videos, offering a fuller understanding of a video’s reception.

Installation & Downloads

For both ReVanced and ReVanced Extended, the installation process is straightforward:

1. Visit ReVanced.net.
2. Choose the version that best fits your needs.
3. Download the Community ReVanced Manager for easy installation and updates.
4. Follow the instructions provided by the Manager to get started.

Please note, revanced.net is a community-driven platform and does not represent the official source of ReVanced. The official sources are github.com/ReVanced and revanced.app.

ReVanced is not just software; it’s a community movement. It is driven by the collective effort of enthusiasts devoted to maintaining a clean, no-ads experience on YouTube. By choosing ReVanced, you’re not just enhancing your own experience; you’re part of a larger community focused on bettering online video consumption for all.

NewPipe

NewPipe is actually an substitute for the premium YouTube plan, that has been around even longer than Vanced. It is open-source and is completely free.
Some of the features of NewPipe:

• Background playback
• Picture-in-picture
• Video downloading
• Share videos from YouTube on NewPipe
• Chromecasts without ads

With this Vanced option, you don’t have to deal with ads. And new features are being added all the time. A big advantage for people who care about their privacy is that with NewPipe you can not log in with your YouTube account.

If convenience is more important to you then this is more of a disadvantage. You can, however, import your “Channel Subscriptions”. In Vanced you do not have to deal with this.

What we liked is that you can automatically open videos in NewPipe that you have received via a messenger, for example. A disadvantage is that the videos take longer to load because they are redirected, which is not the case with Vanced. What is also not possible is to respond to comments, something that is possible with Vanced.

NewPipe can be downloaded from the NewPipe web page, GitHub, or F-Droid.

• Download NewPipe from their website
• Download NewPipe from GitHub

SkyTube

SkyTube has two variants. SkyTube Extra has closed video libraries and is compatible with the YouTube application and supports casting. The other option is a full open-source (F-droid) YouTube surrogate. It has fewer features and updating takes longer.

Besides watching videos free of ads, you can use SkyTube to Chromecast without ads.

SkyTube can be downloaded from F-Droid. SkyTube Extra is only available through the SkyTube website.

LibreTube

The beta version of LibreTube has some nice features and looks interesting despite still being in beta. If you want to get away from Google altogether then you will like that LibreTube uses Piped, which allows you to never connect directly to Google servers.

Libre lets you choose an intermediate server that sits between your device and Google. You can even register an account on that intermediate server, to customize your feed and remember your favorites, but without this info ending up at Google.

Unfortunately, LibreTube is only available on Android. You can Chromecast without advertisements, no ad blocker needed.

LibreTube can simply be downloaded via GitHub or F-Droid. After opening the link, scroll down a bit to “Assets” and the file app-arm64-v8a-release.apk should be what you are looking for, as shown in the screenshot.

Kiwi Browser

In addition to those video apps, give Kiwi browser a shot. It’s not just for watching videos; you can surf the web and jam out to your favorite tunes too.

Because it is based on Chrome you can use ad blocker Chrome extensions from the Play Store. It can be tricky to set up but after that, it works well. We tested the following extensions, uBlock Origin, Return YouTube Dislike, YouTube Enhancer, and SponsorBlock.

This allows you to watch high-quality videos without ads although some features are slightly less convenient than with the apps mentioned above. If you only want to avoid ads then you can use the Brave browser with the built-in ad blocker.

Installing Vanced on your Android anyway

Despite Google forcing them to stop, there are still ways to install Vanced on your Android. You just have to watch out for fake Vanced on internet sites and app stores.

The advantage is that only with Vanced you can respond to comments. The videos load the fastest because you are logged in via Google’s servers. Options such as dislike and SponsorBlock are also available.

A still working option to installing Vanced anyway is to use the built-in setting to change the download server in Vanced Manager. Download Vanced Manager from Apkmirror, launch it, open the three-point menu, tap ‘About Vanced’, tap the Vanced Team box several times to unlock Dev options.

Go back to the main screen, open the three-dot menu again, tap Settings, tap the cog in the upper right, tap Channel URL, change the URL from https://api.vancedapp.com/api/v1 to https://mirror.codebucket.de/vanced/api/v1 and bam, it works.

As a second alternate option, you can use the latest (v17.03.38) original split APK files (for as long as it works).

Blokada – Block YouTube ads on Android and iOS apps

Blokada is an open-source ad blocker and privacy tool for Android and iOS. It is an effective way to get rid of ads, trackers, and malware on both the Internet and apps.

You not only protect your privacy with this but also save on your data usage. To avoid YouTube ads, you need to go to the ‘Advanced’ tab in Blokada > select ‘Blocklists’ > select ‘Goodbye Ads’ and then checkmark ‘YouTube’.

You can download Blokada from their website, F-Droid, or AppStore.

Bonus Update: Just when we were about to publish this article, I stumbled across YouTube Pro . It is very similar to Vanced while based on a newer YouTube version. At the moment, casting works in contrast to Vanced.

You need to remove Vanced and microG before installing this app. Sam is a skilled developer who also provides modded Instagram, Twitter, and Whatsapp apps with better privacy features. However you would need to trust his bytes because his mods are not open-source.

A totally different way to get access to great (video) content is by searching Usenet with an Usenet indexer.

Frequently Asked Questions