SmartTube
Hacker ApprovedRanked 3 of 9 YouTube clients by recommenders
Free app that blocks YouTube ads and sponsor segments with a cleaner interface. Critics warn it was recently compromised and requires a Google account.
Free app that blocks YouTube ads and sponsor segments with a cleaner interface. Critics warn it was recently compromised and requires a Google account.
48 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 41
- criticize it
- 7
- approval share
- 85%
Recommended in 11 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 41 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 5.9 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 11 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Blocks YouTube ads
“a person can install SmartTube and watch ad-free YouTube with a configurable glitz-free remote-oriented interface and SponsorBlock”
Comment from 26 Nov 2025 in “Someone at YouTube Needs Glasses: The Prophecy Has Been Fulfilled” “sideload apps like Smarttube to watch ad-free YouTube that would never be allowed on Play Store/App Store”
Comment from 20 Oct 2026 in “Facebook Pages require paid subscription to post more than two links per month” “You can choose the grid size, among many other things (most importantly, no ads!).”
Comment from 26 Nov 2025 in “Someone at YouTube Needs Glasses: The Prophecy Has Been Fulfilled” - Comment from 11 Feb 2026 in “YouTube's $60B revenue revealed amid paid subscriber push”
- Comment from 7 Oct 2026 in “Paramount Skydance has completed its $111B merger with Warner Bros. Discovery”
- Comment from 13 Sep 2026 in “Why is Google still serving dodgy ads?”
- Comment from 2 Apr 2026 in “Men are ditching TV for YouTube as AI usage and social media fatigue grow”
- Comment from 27 Feb 2026 in “Smartphone Mkt to Decline 13% in '26, Largest Drop Ever Due to Memory Shortage”
- Comment from 20 Oct 2026 in “An ad-free Android TV”
- Comment from 1 Feb 2026 in “Nvidia's 10-year effort to make the Shield TV the most updated Android device”
Built-in SponsorBlock skips sponsor segments
“SmartTube with both ad-blocking and sponsor block is the killer feature of Android TV as a platform.”
Comment from 24 Dec 2025 in “I didn't realize my LG TV was spying on me until I turned off Live Plus” “I would add Smarttube with Sponsorblock extension for android TV to the list.”
Comment from 8 Dec 2025 in “How I block all online ads” “There's smarttube for Android TV like nvidia shield, no ads and sponsorblock.”
Comment from 11 Feb 2026 in “YouTube's $60B revenue revealed amid paid subscriber push” - Comment from 1 Dec 2025 in “SmartTube Compromised”
- Comment from 15 Dec 2025 in “Microsoft Copilot AI Comes to LG TVs, and Can't Be Deleted”
- Comment from 13 Sep 2026 in “Why is Google still serving dodgy ads?”
- Comment from 2 Apr 2026 in “Men are ditching TV for YouTube as AI usage and social media fatigue grow”
- Comment from 1 Dec 2025 in “SmartTube Compromised”
- Comment from 1 Feb 2026 in “Nvidia's 10-year effort to make the Shield TV the most updated Android device”
Better interface and customization
“SmartTube lets us eliminate them, as well as all the other awesome UI customization makes it a far superior experience.”
Comment from 1 Dec 2025 in “SmartTube Compromised” “a YouTube client with ad blocking, other features and zillion UX improvements”
Comment from 13 Dec 2025 in “Sick of smart TVs? Here are your best options” “It has SponsorBlock and better UI customization than the official one.”
Comment from 1 Dec 2025 in “SmartTube Compromised” - Comment from 7 Oct 2026 in “Paramount Skydance has completed its $111B merger with Warner Bros. Discovery”
- Comment from 1 Dec 2025 in “SmartTube Compromised”
- Comment from 1 Dec 2025 in “SmartTube Compromised”
- Comment from 9 Oct 2026 in “Sorry, I'm in a meeting”
Works well on Android TV
“controlled conveniently with your TV remote instead of some mouse, cables, etc.”
Comment from 11 Mar 2026 in “YouTube ads are about to get even longer and they'll be unskippable” “SmartTube on Android TV has no ads and skip sponsors”
Comment from 2 Apr 2026 in “Men are ditching TV for YouTube as AI usage and social media fatigue grow” “nothing is as good as SmartTube on androidtv”
Comment from 16 Apr 2026 in “YouTube now lets you turn off Shorts” - Comment from 13 Oct 2026 in “Show HN: NewTube – a fast, touch-first, open-source YouTube client for Android”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Recently compromised or hacked
“Apparently, yes. My guess is it was the Shai-hulud npm malware leaking their Github keys.”
Comment from 1 Dec 2025 in “SmartTube Compromised” “SmartTubeNext recently got hacked too”
Comment from 13 Jan 2026 in “Floppy disks turn out to be the greatest TV remote for kids” “it was recently compromised”
Comment from 8 Dec 2025 in “How I block all online ads” Requires a Google account
“You risk losing your entire Google account along with all documents, photos, mail”
Comment from 1 Dec 2025 in “SmartTube Compromised” “I didn't want to trust this app with a google account, it's mandatory to use it.”
Comment from 1 Dec 2025 in “SmartTube Compromised” Vague release info and undated downloads
“The official announcement is very sparse on details.”
Comment from 1 Dec 2025 in “SmartTube Compromised” “still offers undated "Stable" and "Beta" downloads”
Comment from 1 Dec 2025 in “SmartTube Compromised”
Other YouTube clients people recommend
The four most recommended other YouTube clients, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
See all 9 YouTube clients, rankedWhat people said
40 of the 65 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“opting for more privacy-respecting alternatives like Smarttube over YouTube standard”
“They do a pretty good job of blocking Google's nonsense and just showing you the videos.”
“it is hosted on GitHub where it is well received, with plenty of stars”
“the article's recommended Projectivy, SmartTube, and Wolphin projects are all better according to the metrics you've listed”
“sideload apps like Smarttube to watch ad-free YouTube that would never be allowed on Play Store/App Store”
“SmartTube is excellent for ad-free YouTube.”
“SmartTube is how I watch YouTube on the TV”
“I actually prefer the more minimalist UI of Smarttube.”
“eliminates all the ads, and lets you configure practically everything”
“I block the ads using SmartTube which includes SponsorBlock”
“Shorts is the #1 reason I switched to the SmartTube app on my Chromecast.”
“nothing is as good as SmartTube on androidtv”
“"Shorts" is the #1 reason I switched to the SmartTube app on my Chromecast.”
“SmartTube on Android TV has no ads and skip sponsors”
“controlled conveniently with your TV remote instead of some mouse, cables, etc.”
“their website would function a lot like SmartTube, made by a solo dev”
“It runs SmartTube, and displays no ads on Youtube.”
“There's smarttube for Android TV like nvidia shield, no ads and sponsorblock.”
“removes YouTube ads and sponsored segments”
“SmartTubeNext recently got hacked too”
“SmartTube with both ad-blocking and sponsor block is the killer feature of Android TV as a platform.”
“it lets me install SmartTube and use DeArrow and Sponsor Block”
“a YouTube client with ad blocking, other features and zillion UX improvements”
“it was recently compromised”
“I would add Smarttube with Sponsorblock extension for android TV to the list.”
“Just make sure you're using the new version (old one was compromised)”
“I use it along with youtube premium to get a stellar experience.”
“The UX is just so much better in SmartTube than the Youtube app.”
“SmartTube lets us eliminate them, as well as all the other awesome UI customization makes it a far superior experience.”
“Its such a good client. With the YT Roku app, if you change playback speed, quality will drop to 720p or lower.”
“It has a far better user interface than the official YT interface.”
“It has SponsorBlock and better UI customization than the official one.”
“Apparently, yes. My guess is it was the Shai-hulud npm malware leaking their Github keys.”
“The sponsor block integration on my TV is brilliant.”
“still offers undated "Stable" and "Beta" downloads”
“You risk losing your entire Google account along with all documents, photos, mail”
“The official announcement is very sparse on details.”
“I didn't want to trust this app with a google account, it's mandatory to use it.”
“a person can install SmartTube and watch ad-free YouTube with a configurable glitz-free remote-oriented interface and SponsorBlock”
“You can choose the grid size, among many other things (most importantly, no ads!).”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.