YouTube really doesn’t convince Apple users either in the app or in the browser. Last but not least, there are simply too many restrictions on the iPhone and iPad. A new app is now pimping Apple’s BrowserSafari and thus outwitting the video service.

The well-known tech blogger and expert Jon Gruber is enthusiastic about “Vinegar – Tube Cleaner” and currently recommends the Safari extension without restriction (source: Daring Fireball). His words are clear:

“I’ve been using Vinegar on all of my devices – iPhone, iPad, Mac – for over a week now – and I’m already at a point where I don’t know what I would do without it. Good work. $ 2 on the App Store. Buy – trust me. “

Finally making good use of YouTube on iPhone, iPad and Mac

So what makes the app so special? Briefly described: Vinegar is a Safari extension that replaces the YouTube player with a minimal HTML video tag. This has a number of advantages, features that are otherwise sorely missed:

  • The removal of advertisements in videos.
  • Prevent YouTube from tracking play / pause / search activity.
  • Restore picture-in-picture functionality (finally and forever).
  • The playback of videos is not interrupted when switching to another browser tab.
  • It is also possible to choose the audio-only stream of a video so that the music continues to play when Safari is running in the background.
Vinegar – Tube Cleaner on the iPhone (Image: Apple App Store).

What do other users say?

With all these points, the use of YouTube in the browser is now much more comfortable – works both on YouTube’s website and with embedded videos. The previous users and not only Jon Gruber gave a good certificate – 4.3 out of 5 stars. There is still room for improvement, for example the lack of 4K support has been criticized. A maximum of 1080p is currently supported.

Vinegar - Tube Cleaner

Vinegar – Tube Cleaner

Developer: And a Dinosaur

“Vinegar – Tube Cleaner” is not free, according to the votes, but worth every cent of 1.99 euros. Important to know: iOS 15, iPadOS 15 and macOS 11.0 or newer must at least be present in order to be able to install the small but useful Safari extension.