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Alternative Web Front-ends

This is a list of privacy-respecting front-ends to popular online services, including social media, streaming and information services. All of the options here are cross-platform webapps and should work on your device no matter the OS and hardware.

Note

You are viewing the Web Front-ends branch of this list!

If you would like Mobile Front-ends, TV Front-ends or Desktop Front-ends, please visit those branches of this repository.


Redirector rules based on services provided in this list can be found here


Thanks to shaedrich for contributing to the expansion of this list!

Thanks to 3nprob, aaferrari, heartlog, NxOne14, ZekXtreme, TimDaub, privacytime101, HexagonCDN, Odyssey346, gi-yt and Solomon1732 for their contributions to https://github.com/digitalblossom/alternative-frontends on which this fork is based!

ⓘ You can suggest new front-ends and modifications to the list here.


A to Z + Tools

ChefkochFandomGeniusGitHubGoodreadsIMDbImgurInstagramLemmyMastodonMatrixMediumOdyseeQuoraRedditSearch EnginesStackOverflowTiktokTranslateTumblrTwitchTwitterUrban DictionaryYoutubeYT MusicTools

☰ You can view this contents list and jump between sections via the little menu icon above to the right.

ⓘ Check out the tools section at the bottom to find out how to easily adopt and even self-host.


Chefkoch

Fandom

Genius

  • Dumb

    • Dumb tries to make reading lyrics from Genius a pleasant experience and as lightweight as possible.
    • Official Instance (N/A) | Repo
    • Public Instances
    • Open Source
    • Self-Hostable | Guide
    • Decentralised Options | I2P | Onion
  • Intellectual

    • Intellectual is an alternative frontend for Genius focused on privacy and simplicity. Written in Rust, Intellectual is incredibly lightweight, not requiring JavaScript and proxying all requests through the server, including images.
    • Official Instance | Repo
    • Public Instances
    • Open Source
    • Self-Hostable | Guide
    • Decentralised Options | I2P | Onion

GitHub

  • GotHub

    • Minimalist JS-free Github front-end in Go.
    • Official Instance (N/A) | Repo
    • Public Instances
    • Open Source
    • Self-Hostable | Guide
    • Decentralised Options | Onion

Goodreads

  • BiblioReads

    • BiblioReads is a free and open source alternative Goodreads front-end focused on privacy. Scrapes content from Goodreads and presents the results without any of the bloat.
    • Official Instance | Repo
    • Public Instances
    • Open Source
    • Self-Hostable | Guide
    • Decentralised Options | I2P | Onion

IMDb

Imgur

  • Rimgu

    • Lightweight Imgur front-end without Javascript and ads. Uses its own request implementation. Can use either API or scraping.
    • Official Instance (N/A) | Repo
    • Public Instances (N/A)
    • Open Source
    • Self-Hostable | Guide

    ⓘ Rimgu's development has been paused and Rimgo is recommended instead

  • Rimgo

    • Rewrite of Rimgu in Go. Works without JS and has several public instances, including an Onion one.
    • Official Instance (N/A) | Repo
    • Public Instances
    • Open Source
    • Self-Hostable | Guide
    • Decentralised Options | I2P | Onion
  • Imgin

    • Lightweight Imgur front-end without Javascript and ads. Uses its own request implementation.
    • Official Instance | Repo
    • Public Instances (N/A)
    • Open Source
    • Self-Hostable

Instagram

  • Imgsed

    • Imgsed is an online Instagram backup tool that helps users save Instagram photos through the Instagram public API.
    • Official Instance | Repo (N/A)
    • Open Source
    • Self-Hostable
  • Bibliogram [Deprecated]

    • Alternative Instagram front-end without Javascript, tracking, ads and signup prompts. Currently unstable due to Instagram's server blocking.
    • Official Instance | Repo
    • Public Instances
    • Open Source
    • Self-Hostable | Guide

    ⓘ Bibliogram's development has stopped as Instagram is continuing to block servers (if you want to pick up the development of Bibliogram, check this blog post by the original maintainer). There currently is no working open source front-end for Instagram. For some reason, closed source proxy sites like this one continue working despite doing the exact same thing Bibliogram did.

Lemmy

  • Alexandrite

    • Alexandrite is a beautiful desktop-first alternative web UI for Lemmy, a social link aggregator and discussion forum for the Fediverse.
    • Official Instance | Repo
    • Public Instances (N/A)
    • Open Source
    • Self-Hostable | Guide
  • mlmym

    • A familiar desktop experience for lemmy.
    • Official Instance (N/A) | Repo
    • Public Instances (N/A)
    • Open Source
    • Self-Hostable | Guide
  • Photon

  • Voyager

Mastodon

Matrix

  • Cinny

    • A Matrix client focusing primarily on simple, elegant and secure interface. The main goal is to have an instant messaging application that is easy on people and has a modern touch.
    • Official Instance | Repo
    • Public Instances (N/A)
    • Open Source
    • Self-Hostable | Guide
  • Commet

    • Commet is a client for Matrix focused on providing a feature rich experience while maintaining a simple interface. The goal is to build a secure, privacy respecting app without compromising on the features you have come to expect from a modern chat client.
    • Official Instance | Repo
    • Public Instances (N/A)
    • Open Source
    • Self-Hostable | Guide
  • Element

    • Element (formerly known as Vector and Riot) is a Matrix web client built using the Matrix React SDK.
    • Official Instance | Repo
    • Public Instances (N/A)
    • Open Source
    • Self-Hostable | Guide
  • FluffyChat

    • FluffyChat is an open source, nonprofit and cute Matrix client written in Flutter. The goal of the app is to create an easy to use instant messenger which is open source and accessible for everyone.
    • Official Instance | Repo
    • Public Instances (N/A)
    • Open Source
    • Self-Hostable | Guide
  • Hydrogen

    • A minimal Matrix chat client, focused on performance, offline functionality, and broad browser support.
    • Official Instance | Repo
    • Public Instances (N/A)
    • Open Source
    • Self-Hostable | Guide
  • SchildiChat

    • SchildiChat for Web is a Matrix Client based on Element Web/Desktop, featuring a different design and various extra tweaks, customisation options, and additional community features.
    • Official Instance | Repo
    • Public Instances (N/A)
    • Open Source
    • Self-Hostable | Guide
  • Syphon

    • Syphon aims to be built on the foundations of privacy, branding, and user experience in an effort to pull others away from proprietary chat platforms to the Matrix protocol.
    • Official Instance | Repo
    • Public Instances (N/A)
    • Open Source
    • Self-Hostable | Guide

Medium

Odysee

Quora

Reddit

ⓘ Most Reddit alternative front-ends will no longer work due to the 2023 Reddit API controversy. Mutiple public instances of Libreddit, in addition to self-hosted instances of Troddit and Troddit+ are mostly functional however it seems.

  • Redlib

  • Libreddit

    • Privacy-focused fast Reddit front-end without ads, javascript and tracking. All requests are proxied through the server.
    • Official Instance (N/A) | Repo
    • Public Instances
    • Open Source
    • Self-Hostable | Guide
    • Decentralised Options | I2P | Onion

    ⓘ The maintainer has shutdown the official instance and ceased development due to Reddit's API changes. Development has continued at the previously mentioned Libreddit fork, Redlib.

  • Troddit

    • A significantly smaller Open Source front-end for Reddit, written in NextJS.
    • Official Instance | Repo
    • Public Instances (N/A)
    • Open Source
    • Self-Hostable | Guide

    ⓘ Troddit uses Javascript and their official instance uses Vercel's audience analytics. Connects directly to Reddit without a proxy using Reddit's API.

  • Teddit

    • Privacy-focused lightweight Reddit front-end. No ads, no javascript. Provides an unofficial API.
    • Official Instance (N/A) | Repo
    • Public Instances
    • Open Source
    • Self-Hostable | Guide
    • Decentralised Options | I2P | Onion

Search Engines

  • Whoogle

    • Google search result front-end without Javascript, ads, cookies and tracking. Tor and HTTP/SOCKS proxy support.
    • Official Instance (N/A) | Repo
    • Public Instances
    • Open Source
    • Self-Hostable | Guide
    • Decentralised Options | I2P | Onion
  • LibreX

    • A privacy respecting meta search engine for Google and popular torrent sites which can redirect to privacy-respecting front-ends.
    • Official Instance (N/A) | Repo
    • Public Instances
    • Open Source
    • Self-Hostable | Guide
    • Decentralised Options | I2P | Onion
  • SearX

    • Privacy-respecting, self-hostable metasearch engine. Acts as front-end for more than 70 search services.
    • Homepage | Repo
    • Public Instances
    • Open Source
    • Self-Hostable | Guide
    • Decentralised Options | Onion

    ⓘ SearX's repo has been archived as at September 2023 and will no longer be maintained, as per this last commit before the repo was archived.

  • SearXNG

    • Fork of SearX with UI improvements (including to the settings page) and updates to the selfhosting procedure.
    • Homepage | Repo
    • Public Instances
    • Open Source
    • Self-Hostable | Guide
    • Decentralised Options | Onion

StackOverflow

  • AnonymousOverflow

    • View StackOverflow threads without the cluttered interface and exposing your IP address, browsing habits and other browser fingerprint data to StackOverflow.
    • Official Instance | Repo
    • Public Instances
    • Open Source
    • Self-Hostable | Guide
    • Decentralised Options | I2P | Onion

Tiktok

Translate

Tumblr

  • PriviBlur

    • A privacy-focused alternative frontend to Tumblr with a touch of modern design.
    • Official Instance (N/A) | Repo
    • Public Instances
    • Open Source
    • Self-Hostable | Guide

Twitch

  • SafeTwitch

  • Twitchat

    • A custom twitch chat that aims to fill gaps in the official Twitch chat for streamers. The main goal is to follow your chat as best as possible.
    • Official Instance | Repo
    • Public Instances (N/A)
    • Open Source
    • Self-Hostable | Guide

Twitter

  • Nitter

    • Lightweight Twitter front-end. No ads, no Javascript, no tracking. RSS support.
    • Official Instance (N/A) | Repo
    • Public Instances
    • Open Source
    • Self-Hostable | Guide
    • Decentralised Options | I2P | Onion | Loki

    ⓘ The maintainer has declared Nitter abandoned because of X's/Twitter's actions. The official instance has been discontinued and very few instances still work.

Urban Dictionary

  • Rural Dictionary

    • Rural Dictionary scrapes Urban Dictionary for data and then displays it in HTML.
    • Official Instance (N/A) | Repo
    • Public Instances
    • Open Source
    • Self-Hostable
    • Decentralised Options | I2P | Onion

YouTube

  • Invidious

  • Piped

    • Alternative privacy-friendly YouTube front-end. Lightweight, no ads (Sponsorblock integrated), no tracking, 4K support and more.
    • Official Instance | Repo
    • Public Instances (scroll down)
    • Open Source
    • Self-Hostable | Guide
    • Decentralised Options | IPNS | Onion
  • Cloudtube

    • Alternative Invidious front-end without Javascript.
    • Official Instance | Repo
    • Public Instances (N/A)
    • Open Source
    • Self-Hostable | Guide
  • Viewtube

    • Privacy-respecting front-end with subscription, watch-progress and recommendation features.
    • Official Instance | Repo
    • Public Instances (N/A)
    • Open Source
    • Self-Hostable | Guide

YouTube Music


Tools

  • Fastside

    • A smart redirecting gateway for various frontend services. Faster and compatible alternative to farside. Also adds Tor and I2P support.
    • Official Website | Repo
    • Open Source
    • Self-Hostable | Guide
  • Farside

    • Automatically redirects to working instances of alternative front-ends. Helps prevent performance bottlenecks by distributing across instances.
    • Official Website | Repo
    • Open Source
    • Self-Hostable | Guide
  • Privacy Redirect

    • Browser extension that automatically redirects to the alternative front-ends of several services. Available for Chromium browsers and Firefox.
    • Official Website (N/A) | Repo
    • Open Source

    ⓘ Development of Privacy Redirect has ended/paused, consider using LibRedirect instead

  • LibRedirect

  • Redirector

    ⓘ Redirector rules based on services provided in this list can be found here

  • SSL Labs

    • Free tool by Qualys that does a deep analysis to check the SSL implementation of a server. Helpful to check public instances. You'll find this on the Piped page for instance.
    • Official Website
    • Open Source

    ⓘ Not Open Source, but made by a trustworthy company and operates with a good privacy policy.

  • YunoHost

    • Novice-friendly server OS. Easily host multiple of the listed services on your own hardware (e. g. a Raspberry Pi) using templates.
    • Official Website | Repo
    • Open Source
    • Download for free

Legal addendum

This repository is not affiliated with any of the mentioned companies. Trademarks belong to their respective owners.

Chefkoch is a trademark of Chefkoch GmbH. FANDOM is a trademark of Fandom, Inc. Genius is a trademark of ML Genius Holdings, LLC. GitHub is a trademark of GitHub, Inc. Goodreads is a trademark of Goodreads LLC. Google is a trademark of Google LLC. IMDb is a trademark of IMDb.com, Inc. Imgur is a trademark of MediaLab AI, Inc. Instagram is a trademark of Meta Platforms. Mastodon is a trademark of Mastodon GmbH. Medium is a trademark of A Medium Corporation. Odysee is a trademark of Odysee, Inc. Quora is a trademark of Quora Inc. Reddit is a trademark of Reddit Inc. StackOverflow is a trademark Stack Exchange, Inc. Tiktok is a trademark of Bytedance Ltd. Tumblr is a trademark of Automattic Inc. Twitch is a trademark of Amazon.com, Inc. Twitter is a trademark of Twitter Inc. Urban Dictionary is a trademark of Urban Dictionary LLC. YouTube is a trademark of Google LLC. YouTube Music is a trademark of Google LLC.

The creators of this repository assume no liability for the accuracy and timeliness of any information provided above. Trademark owner information was researched to the best of the author's knowledge at the time of curation and may be outdated or incorrect.