Invidious is the best known private front end for YouTube. Its pages are made on the server and work without JavaScript.
Use it now: invidious.tiekoetter.com
Have a link from the original site? Paste it into the link converter.
Working when we checked on 9 November 2026 (tested from two networks, no bot check). Search works with no check; video pages run a short automatic check first. iPhone 7 (iOS 14): links from the link converter ask for an MP4 file (H.264 and AAC) sent through the instance, which Safari plays. Browsing from the start page instead? This instance plays DASH by default, which iOS 14 cannot play: open Preferences, set Preferred video quality to Medium, turn on Proxy videos, and press Save preferences.
Checked on 9 November 2026 from two different networks, with the user agent of Safari on iOS 15.8 (the newest system for an iPhone 7). Talk about this guide in the Privacy Enjoyers board.
What it replaces
Invidious replaces the YouTube website for searching, watching and following channels without a Google account.
- Search, channel pages, playlists and comments.
- No JavaScript needed for the pages.
- An option to send the video itself through the instance (the local setting).
- A choice of video quality in the address.
Instances on 9 November 2026
| Address | Result | Note |
|---|---|---|
| invidious.tiekoetter.com | works | Search works; watch pages run a bot check first. |
| inv.nadeko.net | works | Search works; watch pages run a bot check first. |
| invidious.nerdvpn.de | bot check | A JavaScript check runs first. |
Results: works = a real content page came back; bot check = a short JavaScript check runs before the site opens; loads = the start page opens, but a content page was not confirmed; moved = the address now forwards somewhere else; down = no answer. Public instances change often, so check the project's own instance list too.
How to use it
- Open an instance and search, or change the domain of a YouTube watch link.
- On the watch page, wait a few seconds for the bot check to finish.
- On an iPhone 7, add &local=true&quality=medium to the end of the watch address (see the next section).
| Normal address | Private address |
|---|---|
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID | https://invidious.tiekoetter.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID |
(for an iPhone 7) | https://invidious.tiekoetter.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID&local=true&quality=medium |
On an iPhone 7 (iOS 15.8, Safari 15.6)
iPhones on iOS 15 do not have Media Source Extensions, so the DASH player cannot play. With quality=medium, Invidious offers YouTube's single-file MP4 marked medium, which Safari plays directly; it is normally 360p (the Invidious documentation table says 480p, and we could not confirm the resolution today because the watch pages were behind the bot check). local=true sends the video through the instance instead of straight from Google's video servers.
What you keep private, and what you do not
Without local=true the video file comes straight from Google's video servers, which then see your IP address; with local=true only the instance sees it. The instance you choose still sees your IP address and the pages you open, the same as any website does, so pick an operator you trust, or run your own copy. No guide here needs an account or an email address.
Run your own copy
- Source code: https://github.com/iv-org/invidious (licence AGPL-3.0).
- Last code change seen on 2026-11-06.
- The project publishes installation instructions on its documentation site (docs.invidious.io).
Known problems
- Both listed instances now run a bot check on watch pages; scripts and some old browsers can fail it.
- The instance API refused our test request (HTTP 403).
Sources
- Invidious repository and README, read 9 November 2026.
- Invidious URL parameters, read 9 November 2026.
- Invidious player template (quality selection), read 9 November 2026.
- Can I use: Media Source Extensions, read 9 November 2026.