Yes, and all the download sites and tools don't use anything else either. They all just wrap yt-dlp.
If it stopped working for you, you might have to read the docs on the specific error you're getting to see how to get around it. YouTube does try to make it harder, but it's technologically difficult to fully block. There are workarounds for basically every case as far as I'm aware.
I checked it now and it works fine if I don't use VPN. but regular youtube also work fine without VPN.
If I switch to VPN both yt-dlp and normal youtube give same error "please login to prove you are not a bot" which is the problem OP is originally trying to find work around for
inv.nadeko.net is the most reliable one, followed by yewtu.be. It gets broken every once in a while, but it always bounces back. I gotta admire that about the Invidious folks.
Its not the individual instances but the underlying project.
Its not even the maintainers fault. Its a cat and mouse game. The devs have done an epic job of keeping up, but ultimately all of these projects are unreliable.
yt-dlp is the gold standard and provides the back end for many of these projects, but its cli only.
Ive found freetube desktop app to be more reliable than invidious. Also pipepipe for Android.
No, afaik every alternative frontend that still works with age-restricted videos works by letting you sign in with a Google account (which defeats the point). I've tried a few.
I just make an account for just the age-restricted videos. FreeTube still works for me for non-age restricted videos (if it doesn't for you, try changing VPN countries a few times—also you need to restart FreeTube every time you change VPN servers, otherwise it doesn't work from the new server, idk why).
Nothing, just using the latest FreeTube. Are you up to date? They've pushed out a few releases recently to get around new YouTube trickery. Your VPN server might also be blocked; I've had luck with Mullvad's Swedish servers lately.
The precise situation is that US states don’t have age verification laws right now but Texas tried to implement one on Jan 1 (Texas SB2420 - it got blocked by a judge as unconstitutional) and Louisiana and Utah have laws coming into effect soon.
So it’s both true that platforms are moving because of laws but there are no laws. The laws have been announced for many months. They aren’t trivial to implement so of course platforms are doing advance work. They might even want to test it before the laws come into effect, and see how badly it hurts them while they still have time to adjust and fiddle.
No company wants to do age verification IMO. There is no upside for them. Maybe if we actually prosecuted tech companies for harming children, there would be, but lolz.
Seems like the only way to bypass is using weird web-downloader sites which I presume use their own google accounts to get access which then it downloads onto their server.
Seems like internal A/B testing. happened to me few weeks ago in whatever device/front ends. I tried Tor but maybe it is already blocking Tor, still requires sign in. Using VPN finally works in few countries.
But 3 days later I can use NewPipe as normal.
Well except I think age-restricted videos are never accessible without login from any frontends
Unfortunately, thats only true for the, "Please sign in to confirm you're not a bot." gate. The age gate is a separate system, that blocks on a per-video rather than per-user basis.
Unfortunately, thats only true for the, "Please sign in to confirm you're not a bot." gate. The age gate is a separate system, that blocks on a per-video rather than per-user basis.
Hmm, I've mostly been able to watch age restricted videos. I think it's a bit of a tortoise and hare scenario. The workarounds eventually get there. I honestly don't understand all of the technical details
The age restricted videos like what OP asked about are unfortunately pretty common with topics like history, or games - anything that may have any amount of violence. So far as I know, the only way to bypass them is by proxy.
I understand the sentiment, but gotta say YouTube is one service that is much better when logged in. I have my history and personalization disabled everywhere except YouTube. If I open YouTube's front page in an incognito tab, it's wall-to-wall trash on the level of Jerry Springer. Meanwhile I've been getting recommendations to my precise taste for years. Lots of good music found in the recs.
I don't even open random YouTube links from social media under my account, so as to not mess up the recommendations. Always using an incognito tab instead (which is admittedly foiled by the ‘sign up’ thing when I have to use a vpn).
Hmmm, you're right, it now tells me to "search to get started". Guess the onslaught of total unmitigated crap as the default page for a region was rather embarrassing. That's the downside of using the greatest common factor as the starting point.
Thankfully I have my own interests instead, and taught them to Youtube. Works like a charm.
82 Comments
sun_is_ra@sh.itjust.works · 16 pts · 148d
Video ownloader it works but not very convenient
https://app.ytdown.to/en23/
Creat@discuss.tchncs.de · 6 pts · 148d
Just using yt-dlp also works, but locally.
PlzGivHugs@sh.itjust.works · 14 pts · 148d
Unless I'm missing something, it doesn't appear to:
sun_is_ra@sh.itjust.works · 4 pts · 148d
Does it still work for you? for me it stopped working a while back
Creat@discuss.tchncs.de · 12 pts · 148d
Yes, and all the download sites and tools don't use anything else either. They all just wrap yt-dlp.
If it stopped working for you, you might have to read the docs on the specific error you're getting to see how to get around it. YouTube does try to make it harder, but it's technologically difficult to fully block. There are workarounds for basically every case as far as I'm aware.
sun_is_ra@sh.itjust.works · 7 pts · 148d
I checked it now and it works fine if I don't use VPN. but regular youtube also work fine without VPN.
If I switch to VPN both yt-dlp and normal youtube give same error "please login to prove you are not a bot" which is the problem OP is originally trying to find work around for
MalReynolds@slrpnk.net · 2 pts · 148d
I find switching VPN endpoints works, bit whack-a-mole, but works. Actually I run a few with gluetun and just switch proxy port numbers.
PlzGivHugs@sh.itjust.works · 5 pts · 148d
Tested it, and can second that this does technically work.
DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works · 4 pts · 148d
That took one agonizing hour to download but the video seems to work.
Thanks.
muntedcrocodile@hilariouschaos.com · 13 pts · 148d
If PipePipe can't do it I doubt its possible. Unless their exists some region that u can VPN to that doesn't require said sign in but I doubt it
Semjeza@fedinsfw.app · 12 pts · 148d
You could try Invidious, or another alternative front end.
https://docs.invidious.io/instances/
fizzle@quokk.au · 3 pts · 148d
Do any of these instances ever work ?
I loved invidious for a long time but I just gave up about 6 months ago.
Even hosting your own instance it was almost always not working waiting for a new release or workaround to be pushed.
GalacticGrapefruit@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 147d
inv.nadeko.net is the most reliable one, followed by yewtu.be. It gets broken every once in a while, but it always bounces back. I gotta admire that about the Invidious folks.
fizzle@quokk.au · 3 pts · 147d
Its not the individual instances but the underlying project.
Its not even the maintainers fault. Its a cat and mouse game. The devs have done an epic job of keeping up, but ultimately all of these projects are unreliable.
yt-dlp is the gold standard and provides the back end for many of these projects, but its cli only.
Ive found freetube desktop app to be more reliable than invidious. Also pipepipe for Android.
Semjeza@fedinsfw.app · 1 pts · 148d
I watched the side boobvideo on invaneko, for science, to ensure no barriers to the video.
But I agree, they're at best inconsistent.
communism@lemmy.ml · 11 pts · 148d
No, afaik every alternative frontend that still works with age-restricted videos works by letting you sign in with a Google account (which defeats the point). I've tried a few.
I just make an account for just the age-restricted videos. FreeTube still works for me for non-age restricted videos (if it doesn't for you, try changing VPN countries a few times—also you need to restart FreeTube every time you change VPN servers, otherwise it doesn't work from the new server, idk why).
GalacticGrapefruit@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 147d
I haven't gotten FreeTube to load anything in forever. What tricks are you using?
communism@lemmy.ml · 1 pts · 147d
Nothing, just using the latest FreeTube. Are you up to date? They've pushed out a few releases recently to get around new YouTube trickery. Your VPN server might also be blocked; I've had luck with Mullvad's Swedish servers lately.
sompreno@lemmy.zip · 9 pts · 148d
Can you still vpn to a country that doesn't have age laws
DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works · 5 pts · 148d
Such as?
I'm in PA, USA and afiak there are no such laws anyways... this is just youtube being a dick
Edit: Anyways, I found one comment mentioned this web downloader thingy https://app.ytdown.to/en23/
And it works... slow af but works.
But it wont be long before they break it again... ugh
sompreno@lemmy.zip · 4 pts · 148d
Ok then did YouTube implement the age checks globally then that sucks a lot
scarabic@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 147d
The precise situation is that US states don’t have age verification laws right now but Texas tried to implement one on Jan 1 (Texas SB2420 - it got blocked by a judge as unconstitutional) and Louisiana and Utah have laws coming into effect soon.
So it’s both true that platforms are moving because of laws but there are no laws. The laws have been announced for many months. They aren’t trivial to implement so of course platforms are doing advance work. They might even want to test it before the laws come into effect, and see how badly it hurts them while they still have time to adjust and fiddle.
No company wants to do age verification IMO. There is no upside for them. Maybe if we actually prosecuted tech companies for harming children, there would be, but lolz.
GalacticGrapefruit@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 147d
VPN with a double hop ending in France or Brazil usually works for me.
DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 147d
Tried both, Doesn't work.
Seems like the only way to bypass is using weird web-downloader sites which I presume use their own google accounts to get access which then it downloads onto their server.
cheese_greater@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 148d
Just try different countries in your VPN, you'll probably stumble on a few that work.
enbiousenvy@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 8 pts · 148d
Seems like internal A/B testing. happened to me few weeks ago in whatever device/front ends. I tried Tor but maybe it is already blocking Tor, still requires sign in. Using VPN finally works in few countries.
But 3 days later I can use NewPipe as normal.
Well except I think age-restricted videos are never accessible without login from any frontends
altphoto@lemmy.today · 8 pts · 148d
If only there were videos on YouTube of people cleaning naked or trying transparent clothes.
altphoto@lemmy.today · 5 pts · 148d
Can't find much in terms of a penis.
This is an unfair double standard:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMOSBZi6cHU&t=43
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upxEK7dbYBI&t=55
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQXvRrLmS1E&t=131
Finally some real penises:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-U3evvpeDk&t=259
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3FhT10WVNg&t=4
altphoto@lemmy.today · 4 pts · 148d
Side boob much?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvDVely2Q0g&t=19
She does! LOL.
Siegfried@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 147d
Not what OP asked for bur there was a mexican gal that would do carpentry naked
altphoto@lemmy.today · 3 pts · 148d
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b86qqdlAMQQ
altphoto@lemmy.today · 1 pts · 148d
Here's one with big areolas covered in sand!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0eYPftTXLM&t=88
But you know its tits because it looks like sandy tits.
Sammirr@aussie.zone · 8 pts · 148d
You can either wait or hop from VPN endpoint to endpoint, though both are workarounds. I'd suggest that we can expect more of this too.
DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works · 5 pts · 148d
I mean I even tried without VPN and still doesn't work.
jet@hackertalks.com · 7 pts · 147d
It's automated testing to see if they can force you to login.
My VPN (mullvad) lets me use socks5 proxies for any exit node, so when I hit this I just change my freetube proxy number and it works. Annoying
It would be nice to integrate a list of socks5 proxies into freetube and have it auto rotate
PlzGivHugs@sh.itjust.works · 5 pts · 146d
Unfortunately, thats only true for the, "Please sign in to confirm you're not a bot." gate. The age gate is a separate system, that blocks on a per-video rather than per-user basis.
GalacticGrapefruit@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 147d
Invidious is what I've been using forever. On mobile, PipePipe and a VPN set to Brazil or France is the best solution.
PlzGivHugs@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 146d
Unfortunately, thats only true for the, "Please sign in to confirm you're not a bot." gate. The age gate is a separate system, that blocks on a per-video rather than per-user basis.
Mantzy81@aussie.zone · 5 pts · 148d
Have you tried making an account, lying about your age and signing in?
ExtremeUnicorn@feddit.org · 0 pts · 147d
That's a great way to give Google your location, email address and phone number.
Mantzy81@aussie.zone · 0 pts · 147d
Ehhh...yeah but all of that can be faked though...
You're lying about your age for a reason kiddo,.you've got to do the whole thing or nothing at all.
ExtremeUnicorn@feddit.org · 1 pts · 146d
Tell me how you fake your phone number, they won't accept paid (or unpaid) burner numbers.
HootinNHollerin@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 5 pts · 148d
Unwatched app for those on ios
nutbutter@discuss.tchncs.de · 5 pts · 148d
If that video contains some kind of nudity, it is possible to find it on a site like ytboob. Otherwise there is no way to watch it without an account.
JigglySackles@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 147d
It looks like that site needs an account too.
nutbutter@discuss.tchncs.de · 3 pts · 147d
No. It is working fine for me.
ytboob.com
It does not proxy the real video, they download and create a mirror. You do not connect to YouTube at all, directly or indirectly.
JigglySackles@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 147d
Weird, I must've clicked a bad link in the search. Teach me to be complacent. Lol
buttmasterflex@piefed.social · 5 pts · 148d
PipePipe!
https://apt.izzysoft.de/packages/InfinityLoop1309.NewPipeEnhanced
PlzGivHugs@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 148d
Still requires you to log in.
defaultusername@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 2 pts · 148d
No it doesn't. I'm using it right now without an account.
PlzGivHugs@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 148d
Is it regional or something? Videos are still blocked for me:
Also, funny bug in that the recommended videos are still there, but just not visible, so tapping anywhere opens a new video.
defaultusername@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 6 pts · 148d
Nothing can bypass age restricted videos AFAIK.
PlzGivHugs@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 148d
There do appear to be a couple services that use their own accounts (see here), but in general, that was my understanding too.
buttmasterflex@piefed.social · 1 pts · 148d
I use it with Mullvad. When I hit a block, I reconnect to a different server, and that usually fixes it.
PlzGivHugs@sh.itjust.works · 5 pts · 148d
I've found that works with the "Are you a bot?" blocks, but never the age restrictions.
buttmasterflex@piefed.social · 1 pts · 148d
Hmm, I've mostly been able to watch age restricted videos. I think it's a bit of a tortoise and hare scenario. The workarounds eventually get there. I honestly don't understand all of the technical details
hesh@quokk.au · 1 pts · 148d
PipePipe allows me to watch videos without signing in that ask for "sign in to confirm you're not a bot" on the normal YouTube interface.
There may be videos that are age-restricted or otherwise account-locked that it can't access I think, but I haven't run into them.
PlzGivHugs@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 148d
The age restricted videos like what OP asked about are unfortunately pretty common with topics like history, or games - anything that may have any amount of violence. So far as I know, the only way to bypass them is by proxy.
SlurpingPus@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 147d
I understand the sentiment, but gotta say YouTube is one service that is much better when logged in. I have my history and personalization disabled everywhere except YouTube. If I open YouTube's front page in an incognito tab, it's wall-to-wall trash on the level of Jerry Springer. Meanwhile I've been getting recommendations to my precise taste for years. Lots of good music found in the recs.
I don't even open random YouTube links from social media under my account, so as to not mess up the recommendations. Always using an incognito tab instead (which is admittedly foiled by the ‘sign up’ thing when I have to use a vpn).
ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net · 13 pts · 147d
This was changed some time ago. This is YT front page when you're logged out:
Which is exactly what I want to be recommended by YT.
SlurpingPus@lemmy.world · 0 pts · 147d
Hmmm, you're right, it now tells me to "search to get started". Guess the onslaught of total unmitigated crap as the default page for a region was rather embarrassing. That's the downside of using the greatest common factor as the starting point.
Thankfully I have my own interests instead, and taught them to Youtube. Works like a charm.
DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works · 8 pts · 147d
It's less about privacy more about minimalism...
I don't want too many accounts to manage... I just wanna watch a bunch of stuff and forget it
SlurpingPus@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 147d
aviationeast@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 148d
Yes.
Don't Open Youtube
listless@lemmy.cringecollective.io · 2 pts · 148d
pretty sure youtube is going to win that lil bluff.
CubitOom@infosec.pub · 4 pts · 148d
Have you tried yt-dlp?
nutbutter@discuss.tchncs.de · 11 pts · 148d
This doesn't work on age-restricted videos. You need to pass browser cookies where you have logged in to download such videos.
PlzGivHugs@sh.itjust.works · 7 pts · 148d
Unless I'm missing something, it doesn't appear to work.
DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 148d
I tried to use Seal from Fdroid, which I think uses that yt dlp thing. Doesnt work.
CubitOom@infosec.pub · 3 pts · 148d
Ive never heard of seal before. No idea if that's a good software or how it's using yt-dlp or what version of yt-dlp it is using.
I would try yt-dlp on a computer with the
--verboseflag.DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works · 0 pts · 148d
Command line breaks my brain... too Gen Z brained to figure that out.
TrickDacy@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 148d
Cringe
CubitOom@infosec.pub · 6 pts · 148d
After you install it, you type
Just replace URL with the url you want to download.
klu9@piefed.social · 4 pts · 148d
There are GUI programs that use yt-dlp underneath. I use YtDownloader, altho I haven't tried it with an age-restricted video.
https://ohai.social/@klu9/115400874929871716
(Freetube definitely can't view age-restricted videos.)
prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 1 pts · 148d
I mean, they kind of told you exactly what to write lol
sompreno@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 148d
Does this work on age restricted videos?
exaybachae@startrek.website · 3 pts · 148d
Ran into this on newpipe last week, just loaded a webpage in mobile Firefox then went back to newpipe and refreshed the page.
Not sure about your situation, but there are definitely work arounds for some situations.
TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 148d
Invidious
DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works · 9 pts · 148d
Tried... it doesn't work for age restricted videos.
sompreno@lemmy.zip · 4 pts · 148d
Same with every alternative frontend i'm pretty sure
zewm@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 148d
Can you YouTube-dl it?
hansolo@lemmy.today · 1 pts · 146d
Invidious is usually my go to. You can also try DDG searches in the video tab, but you have to fine s county that doesnt ask for a sign in.
It's still possible, but increasingly a huge PITA