How to block Youtube ads on Android TV?

If you have Android TV (i.e. now Google TV) you probably know how frustrating Youtube commercials can be. Play some relaxing music that lasts for an hour and during that time you are suddenly startled by a mountain of commercials. Or play a "do it yourself" video and an advertisement appear right next to the most important part. This would not be a problem on the computer because we can click "skip" or whatever, but on TV this is not possible sometimes.

I support those creators should make money, but here the problem is greedy Google because of which users cannot enjoy the content. That's why I support Patreon and similar services.

Well, we can easily block advertisements on a computer with various add-ons and programs, but on TV, it's not that easy. Before we move on to the instructions, first a little introduction.

Why is it hard to block Youtube commercials on TV?

On the computer, especially in the web browser, we can install a program/add-on that filters ads using the "proxy" method. This is possible because such programs have the ability (permission) to intercept traffic and change codes on the site itself. Of course, these tools have technical permission from the system, and you give them permission by trusting the developer.

However, on Android TV (and the Android system in general) it is not easy to block Youtube ads because the applications do not have that level of permission from the system (at least not without root access - which is the case with most). Therefore, the only method is blocking at the DNS level. This method simply intercepts DNS requests, and if an application encounters a request made to a link that serves ads, it simply blocks it.

The problem with this method is that we need to know every possible link (URL) that Google uses to serve ads in the Youtube app. It is not possible to know this because the links are different, change frequently, and use the main domain that is otherwise used to serve the videos themselves. In translation: if we block links from advertisements, we will also block links to the video clips themselves - which is not good. More on that later.

The solution? SmartTubeNext application

Since the DNS blocking method is not the solution, all we have to do is somehow block the ads in the application itself. Since Google does not allow this, various developers are making their own solutions. One such (and best) solution is the STN (SmartTubeNext) application.

This is an open-source application (meaning that anyone can see its code) and was created specifically for the Android TV operating system as a replacement for the official Youtube application.

The application is written from scratch (so it is not a reworked official application as is the case with Vanced) and is coded to be fast, has a bunch of additional options, blocks ads, and has a built-in SponsorBlock.

All you need to do is install this app following the official instructions and use it instead of the official Youtube app.

Advantages and disadvantages compared to the official Youtube application

Since this is an unofficial application, it has several disadvantages, but also many advantages. Here are the ones.

Advantages

• Removes all ads (from video, around video ()
• Integration with SponsorBlock
• Ability to choose a higher resolution than Youtube normally allows (say 4K)
• Possibility to dial 60 FPS
• HDR option (for devices that support it)
• Select video speed
• Codec selection (AV1, VP9, ​​AVC)
• Don't use Google services (unless you sign in to your account)
• Supports Android TV, Nvidia Shield, Android TV Box devices, Amazon FireTV
• … And much more through a bunch of settings

Disadvantages

• No Live Chat option
• Voice search may not work properly
• Casting will not work properly (there is a solution)
• The interface is not the best
• Does not support Samsung Tizen, Apple TV, LG WebOS

So, as you can see, this replacement has many advantages but several disadvantages. Still, this is the best app of its kind available for the Android TV operating system.

How does SmartTubeNext work?

As I wrote, the application was written from scratch, so it is not a remake. This application uses the Google API to view and manage content. Because of that, it has the flaws I mentioned above, but it allows it to have many more options than the official application.

When it comes to signing in to the app, it's possible and you can have multiple profiles. The connection process takes place via the official Youtube API and after that you can like the clips, sign up, view your lists… etc.

So, everything takes place via the official API and content scraping, the application does not use any connection to another server.

Is SmartTubeNext safe? Analysis

Now, the longest part of this article. I believe that many are concerned about security and privacy when it comes to this application, and that is why I will present my research on this topic here.

Open-source

This application is, as I mentioned, open-source. This specifically means that everyone in the world can see all its code, what it does, and which servers it contacts) (here). This is not really the case with, say, the official Youtube application (like no other Google application), so STN has an advantage here.

When you install, say, a Youtube application, you completely trust the developer (Google) that the application is clean, does not collect your data, has no malware, etc. because you do not have access to the source code of that application. But, in the case of the STN application, you don't have to trust the developer, you can see for yourself what the application is like and what is in it. Is it better than to blindly trust Google or with your own eyes?

Another advantage is that other developers can look at the application code and possibly point out some shortcomings, help with improvements, development, etc.

Developer

This application was coded by Yurii Lyskov, an experienced developer from Ukraine. He is not an anonymous user hiding behind an alliance, but a serious developer who has a job is active in the Android community, has several projects of his own, and helps others with coding…

Since he doesn’t hide his identity, I was free so I researched it a bit. These are his profiles:

• Portfolio
• Github account
• Email contact
• LinkedIn profile
• Stackoverflow profile

Application analysis

To see what the app does in the background, I examined about 200 files on Github in search of features that call external services, as well as links that call.

Lokacije:
- https://github.com/yuliskov/SmartTubeNext/blob/933ff834f64a51c91ac7eb8013a8645eb36220c7/common/src/main/java/com/liskovsoft/smartyoutubetv2/common/utils/Utils.java#L54
Izlazni linkovi:
- https://api.qrserver.com/v1/create-qr-code/?data=%s

Lokacije:
- https://github.com/yuliskov/SmartTubeNext/blob/ebe8ede90cf863c37ae0c75e6151ff8830bc4bbe/common/src/stbeta/res/values/update_urls.xml
- https://github.com/yuliskov/SmartTubeNext/releases/download/latest/smarttube_beta.json
Izlazni linkovi:
- https://drive.google.com/uc?id=174NUD7rr_v-NVG6H2rTmd6JDzlJNL2i7

Lokacije:
- https://github.com/yuliskov/SmartTubeNext/blob/8d036b1c8ce1624323ab60f53c97c93464b32f2a/common/src/main/java/com/liskovsoft/smartyoutubetv2/common/app/presenters/dialogs/AmazonBridgePresenter.java#L9
Izlazni linkovi:
- https://github.com/yuliskov/SmartTubeNext/releases/download/latest/Amazon_SYTV_Bridge.apk

Lokacije:
- https://github.com/yuliskov/SmartTubeNext/blob/8d036b1c8ce1624323ab60f53c97c93464b32f2a/common/src/main/java/com/liskovsoft/smartyoutubetv2/common/app/presenters/dialogs/ATVBridgePresenter.java#L9
Izlazni linkovi:
- https://github.com/yuliskov/SmartTubeNext/releases/download/latest/ATV_SYTV_Bridge.apk

Lokacije:
- https://github.com/yuliskov/SmartTubeNext/blob/be5791dc1b40033e180371a519483da7892c10c6/common/src/main/java/com/liskovsoft/smartyoutubetv2/common/prefs/ContentBlockData.java#L14
Izlazni linkovi:
- https://sponsor.ajay.app

As you can see, I found only a few files that point to links that are not related to Google or Youtube.

An explanation for each link:

• api.qrserver.com: used to generate QR codes
• github.com: New versions are being withdrawn to update the application
• drive.google.com: also used for updates (backup option)
• Amazon_SYTV_Bridge.apk: required for Amazon devices
• ATV_SYTV_Bridge.apk: required for ATV devices
• sponsor.ajay.app: used to withdraw the SponsorBlock database (this is the official site)

Traffic analysis

However, file mining is not enough to convince me that the application is safe, so I let it work and record its traffic.

I have included an application that intercepts all the traffic of this application to find out which external services it contacts. Then, I entered the app and played a video, linked my profile, liked something, subscribed to the channel… etc.

The following is a list of domains contacted through this application:

To clarify each domain:

• * .google.com: Google-owned domain
• github.com: A domain owned by Github
• * .githubusercontent.com: domain owned by Github
• * .ytimg.com: a domain owned by Google
• * .googlevideo.com: Google-owned domain
• * ajay.app: domen za SponsorBlock
• * .youtube.com domain owned by Google
• * .ggpht.com: domain owned by Google

As you can see, there are no domains that are not from the list that I extracted from the files. Sure, there are a few new domains owned by Google (e.g. ggpht.com and ytimg.com) but content from those domains is loaded by the youtube.com site because it has to, not the app.

Logging on an account - yes or no?

The application is used without an account and will work without problems, but you will not be able to like clips, view your lists, subscribe to the channel, see personalized content, etc.

If you decide to link your account, you will be pleasantly surprised because the app uses Youtube connectivity instead of the classic account login.

So, the app connects via your youtube.com/activate link to your account in a few strokes and will never save your data (because it doesn't even have access to it). Basically, you are actually connecting to the official Youtube TV service, not this app - as shown in the image below.

After approving the connection, you can check the application you have given access to in your account:

As you can see in the pictures, you have given permission to the official Google service (Youtube for TV), not the application, and you can remove this access at any time by clicking "Remove access".

Conclusion

As you can see the application is "clean", I tested it personally, and many other developers have done it because the application is open source.

However, I distance myself from it since I am not a developer and I cannot guarantee it, so I suggest that you check it yourself here and install it at your own risk.

Maybe in the future, I will make instructions on how to install the application if necessary.