If you haven't already, try out the LibRedirect extension for your browser. It takes a small amount of configuring, but it is able to redirect you to privacy oriented front ends for most social media platforms including youtube. Once set up, it can automatically take you to an invidious instance whenever you click a youtube link.

Also, you can go to inv.nadeko.net (which is my go-to) from your browser and search all of youtube through it. Same thing as using LibRedirect, it's just the manual version.

If you're on android you can use the NewPipe app. Similar idea as Invidious, it's just a self contained app and not a website.

[–] lemmydividebyzero@reddthat.com 2 points 3 days ago (1 children)

For tech people: You can host Invidious locally... No google, no ads, no popups.

[–] bytesonbike@discuss.online 7 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (2 children)

It's a lot of maintenance. I'm not knocking it, I'm just pointing out how difficult it is.

I hosted a pixelfed server for my city and it cost a few hundred bucks out of my own pocket. It was a test run so I can push my city to move their social media to open-source.

But the constant need to apply spam protection and abuse from visitors, not to mention abuse from users like copyright shit and even CSAM. My expensive side project became a full time job.

[–] lemmydividebyzero@reddthat.com 6 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Locally!!!

I'm hosting it in my own network. I access it. no one else!!

And I'm doing it, so I can tell you: It's almost no effort hosting Invidious locally for yourself. It just works. And if YouTube breaks something every 2 months, you can usually "docker compose pull; docker compose down; docker compose up" and it works again.

Just in case it is not clear: Invidious is an alternative YouTube frontend. In the backend, it uses YouTube. It's not some kind of Fediverse thing. You cannot upload videos with it / on it and you can be the only user ever using it.

https://github.com/iv-org/invidious

Conclusion: low effort to host locally.

[–] QuandaleDingle@lemmy.world 3 points 3 days ago (1 children)

It amazes me how certain people just can't help themselves with CSAM. Disgusting.

[–] bytesonbike@discuss.online 7 points 3 days ago (1 children)

My theory is that it's just a handful of people who are using anything free to mirror that content, out of fear of losing it.

[–] JackbyDev@programming.dev 5 points 3 days ago

I imagine some of them are also just trolls trying to get people in trouble. (Pedophillic trolls, to be clear.) The same way folks just wanna break stuff just to break it. But who fucking knows. Some people are just disgusting and ruin good things.