🚀 YouTube Ad Blocker - Custom Embedded Player

This project provides a simple, self-hosted solution to block ads on YouTube by embedding videos in a locally hosted player. It consists of:

• A browser extension that detects YouTube video links and redirects them to the embedded player.
• A local Flask server that hosts and plays the video without ads.

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📌 Features

✅ Ad-Free YouTube Videos - Watch videos without interruptions.
✅ Privacy-Focused - No third-party extensions tracking your data.
✅ Lightweight & Fast - Minimal setup, just a few lines of code.
✅ Runs Locally - No external dependencies or API calls.

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🛠️ Installation & Setup

1️⃣ Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/youtube-adblocker.git
cd youtube-adblocker/server

2️⃣ Install Dependencies

You have two options to set up the local server: manual installation or Docker.

🔹 Option 1: Manual Installation (Python)

Ensure you have Python installed, then run:

pip install flask flask-cors

🔹 Option 2: Using Docker and Make

If you prefer using Docker, you can build and run the server in a container. To build the server side code. Docker must be running.

make build

To run the server

3️⃣ Start the Local Server

🔹 Option 1: If using Python manually, run:

python server.py

🔹 Option 2: Using Docker and Make

make run

By default, the server runs on http://localhost:5000.

If using Docker, the server will already be running in the container.

4️⃣ Load the Browser Extension

1. Open your browser and go to chrome://extensions/ (or Edge's equivalent).
2. Enable Developer Mode (top-right corner).
3. Click Load Unpacked and select the extension/ folder.
4. The extension is now active! 🎉

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🚀 Usage

1. Open any YouTube video.
2. The extension detects the link, closes the tab, and opens the ad-free embedded player.
3. Enjoy a seamless, uninterrupted viewing experience! 🎥
4. Other features like like, subscribe, comments, and related video's are not present.

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📝 How It Works

• The browser extension listens for YouTube video links.
• When a video is opened, it automatically redirects it to the localhost server.
• The Flask server embeds the video that comes without ads and serves it locally.

Since YouTube doesn’t display ads on embedded videos, this trick effectively blocks them. 🚀

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❓ FAQ

🔹 Can I use this on any browser?

The extension is designed for Chromium-based browsers (Chrome, Edge, Brave, etc.).

🔹 Does this violate YouTube’s policies?

This project is for educational purposes only. Use at your own discretion.

🔹 Will this work forever?

YouTube updates its platform frequently. While this method works now, it may require future tweaks.

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📜 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

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🌟 Contributing

Feel free to fork this repository, submit pull requests, or open issues for improvements. Let’s make it even better! 🚀

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🎉 Acknowledgments

Special thanks to the open-source community for making learning and innovation possible! ❤️