[YouTube] "Sign in to confirm..."/"Watch on the latest version..."

[zestygrass]

Checklist

• I am able to reproduce the bug with the latest version given here: CLICK THIS LINK.
• I made sure that there are no existing issues - open or closed - which I could contribute my information to.
• I have read the FAQ and my problem isn't listed.
• I have taken the time to fill in all the required details. I understand that the bug report will be dismissed otherwise.
• This issue contains only one bug.
• I have read and understood the contribution guidelines.

Affected version

0.27.0

Steps to reproduce the bug

1. Attempt to play any video
2. Video does not play
3. Page shows "Content unavailable" page

Expected behavior

Video should play.

Actual behavior

Video does not play.

Screenshots/Screen recordings

No response

Logs

Exception

• User Action: requested stream
• Request: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXQOpChgksI
• Content Country: GB
• Content Language: en-GB
• App Language: en_GB_#u-fw-mon-mu-celsius
• Service: YouTube
• Version: 0.27.0
• OS: Linux Android 14 - 34

Crash log

org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.exceptions.ContentNotAvailableException: Got error: "Sign in to confirm that you're not a bot"
	at org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.services.youtube.extractors.YoutubeStreamExtractor.checkPlayabilityStatus(YoutubeStreamExtractor.java:948)
	at org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.services.youtube.extractors.YoutubeStreamExtractor.onFetchPage(YoutubeStreamExtractor.java:844)
	at org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.Extractor.fetchPage(Extractor.java:60)
	at org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.stream.StreamInfo.getInfo(StreamInfo.java:77)
	at org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.stream.StreamInfo.getInfo(StreamInfo.java:72)
	at org.schabi.newpipe.util.ExtractorHelper.lambda$getStreamInfo$3(ExtractorHelper.java:118)
	at org.schabi.newpipe.util.ExtractorHelper.$r8$lambda$YTHJjScxCJNO1LTCqs3IKy35iyY(ExtractorHelper.java:0)
	at org.schabi.newpipe.util.ExtractorHelper$$ExternalSyntheticLambda3.call(R8$$SyntheticClass:0)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.internal.operators.single.SingleFromCallable.subscribeActual(SingleFromCallable.java:43)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.core.Single.subscribe(Single.java:4855)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.internal.operators.single.SingleDoOnSuccess.subscribeActual(SingleDoOnSuccess.java:35)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.core.Single.subscribe(Single.java:4855)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.internal.operators.maybe.MaybeFromSingle.subscribeActual(MaybeFromSingle.java:41)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.core.Maybe.subscribe(Maybe.java:5377)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.internal.operators.maybe.MaybeConcatArray$ConcatMaybeObserver.drain(MaybeConcatArray.java:153)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.internal.operators.maybe.MaybeConcatArray$ConcatMaybeObserver.request(MaybeConcatArray.java:78)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.internal.operators.flowable.FlowableElementAtMaybe$ElementAtSubscriber.onSubscribe(FlowableElementAtMaybe.java:66)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.internal.operators.maybe.MaybeConcatArray.subscribeActual(MaybeConcatArray.java:42)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.core.Flowable.subscribe(Flowable.java:16144)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.internal.operators.flowable.FlowableElementAtMaybe.subscribeActual(FlowableElementAtMaybe.java:36)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.core.Maybe.subscribe(Maybe.java:5377)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.internal.operators.maybe.MaybeToSingle.subscribeActual(MaybeToSingle.java:46)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.core.Single.subscribe(Single.java:4855)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.internal.operators.single.SingleSubscribeOn$SubscribeOnObserver.run(SingleSubscribeOn.java:89)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.core.Scheduler$DisposeTask.run(Scheduler.java:644)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.internal.schedulers.ScheduledRunnable.run(ScheduledRunnable.java:65)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.internal.schedulers.ScheduledRunnable.call(ScheduledRunnable.java:56)
	at java.util.concurrent.FutureTask.run(FutureTask.java:264)
	at java.util.concurrent.ScheduledThreadPoolExecutor$ScheduledFutureTask.run(ScheduledThreadPoolExecutor.java:307)
	at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor.runWorker(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:1145)
	at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.run(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:644)
	at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:1012)

---

Affected Android/Custom ROM version

Android 14

Affected device model

Google Pixel 6

Additional information

I could replicate this issue on LibreTube and Grayjay.

[AudricV]

Can you reproduce this issue if you try to watch on youtube.com logged out with the same IP as the one you got this on NewPipe?

[zestygrass]

Yup, tried to play the same video on youtube.com, asks for login.

I am using a vpn, which has not been an issue before today, I will try without the vpn and report back

Edit: Video's play without any issue in newpipe when vpn is off. No longer asks for login

[zestygrass]

Bit of an update, I tried a different vpn server in the same region, newpipe works without asking for login for now on these servers.

[davidasunmo]

@AudricV So, is this still a bug or not? If google doesn't like the IP from a VPN for some reason, is it NewPipe's responsibility to try and circumvent that, or is that the responsibility of the user?

[Japhys]

I have been experiencing the same since two days or so. Never happened before. But when I open the video in my browser it does not ask me to login.

[opusforlife2]

This is a network-wide problem. Invidious and Piped (and several others) are also facing the same issue.

[chayleaf]

embeds still work without logging in, but not with a 100% chance

[ladfrombrad]

https://lemdro.id/post/9678087

Same for me, is very odd.

[NoahJelen]

I had an issue similar to this many years when tinkering with a Wireguard VPN on Linode. If you're using a commercial VPN or running a VPN system with a VPS (ex: Linode, Digital Ocean), YouTube thinks you're a robot (and forces a login) because the of the data center between YouTube and your device.

[anoraktrend]

I commented on the Oauth for Subscriptions feature request, but allowing users to sign in via oauth might be the only permanent solution for this issue.

[indomara]

I have this issue as well, without a vpn. Videos will not play, feed will not load. If I open the video on youtube it plays without being logged in. Thank you to everyone who spends their time on this project, I very much appreciate you.

[NoahJelen]

I commented on the Oauth for Subscriptions feature request, but allowing users to sign in via oauth might be the only permanent solution for this issue.

Is there a way we could have spoof accounts, similar to how the Aurora Store scrapes Google Play?

[opusforlife2]

Is there a way we could have spoof accounts, similar to how the Aurora Store scrapes Google Play?

Piped, via Libretube.

[mycodedoesnotcompile2]

TeamPiped/Piped#3658 (comment)

[kid-with-phone]

I am also connected to a VPN. Now just restarting the app usually fixes the error.

[gsture]

I now have this error all the time. When I click "open in browser" the video plays fine without any sign in or verification. If I restart newpipe I can sometimes play 1 video and then it the no content unavailable error returns.

I don't use a VPN.

[InfinityLoop1308]

A potential workaround for this issue is to implement sign-in functionality, which could address both this problem and the restricted content issue. While this approach may not align perfectly with NewPipe's philosophy, it has proven effective in some cases.

For those interested in seeing how this solution works in practice, PipePipe's latest version demonstrates one possible implementation.

[PrivacyFriendlyMuffins]

Please correct me if I'm wrong as I am no expert, but wouldn't "sign-in functionality" just be doing exactly what Google wants in this case, not to mention also defeat entirely one of the main reasons Newpipe even exists? I know you said it "may not align perfectly with Newpipe's philosophy", but that philosophy is kind of one of the primary reasons Newpipe even exists in the first place. Without it, there's very little reason to even use Newpipe, except for the reason of no ads. But, again, that's only one of the reasons people use Newpipe as far as I know.

[gsture]

If there is no other solution a middle ground could be something like anonymous sign in with a random account like aurora store does but I don't know how feasible that would be with something like YouTube.

[bitelaserkhalif]

TeamPiped/Piped#3658 (comment)

Tl;dr: ATM, use Cloudflare WARP as bandaid. They don't block cloudflare affiliated IP's. In theory if they (g) blocked cloudflare IP, some feature is going to be broken

[ghost]

Please correct me if I'm wrong as I am no expert, but wouldn't "sign-in functionality" just be doing exactly what Google wants in this case, not to mention also defeat entirely one of the main reasons Newpipe even exists? I know you said it "may not align perfectly with Newpipe's philosophy", but that philosophy is kind of one of the primary reasons Newpipe even exists in the first place. Without it, there's very little reason to even use Newpipe, except for the reason of no ads. But, again, that's only one of the reasons people use Newpipe as far as I know.

The solution is Potoken, but it needs to be added to the Extractor. Or, I don't know, the official YouTube works account+potoken.

[mrkrabs206]

A potential workaround for this issue is to implement sign-in functionality, which could address both this problem and the restricted content issue. While this approach may not align perfectly with NewPipe's philosophy, it has proven effective in some cases.

For those interested in seeing how this solution works in practice, PipePipe's latest version demonstrates one possible implementation.

It should only be verification and not for activity (liking commenting history etc)

[mycodedoesnotcompile2]

The method pointed there, to use Cloudflare WARP, seems now defunct.

I suspect Cloudflare forwards the source IP to the destination (which Youtube in this case), the former can then choose not to return results.

The weird thing is that if you use yt-dlp from the same machine, through Cloudflare WARP, it works !

So maybe Piped should embed yt-dlp to access content and stream the result to the user ?!

If anyone has another method to circumvent Youtube anti-Piped access, please share !

[n-d-v]

Couldn't this issue be fixed by making youtube think that you are logged in? maybe perhaps some sort of default account that the data could somehow be rerouted to?

[86ul]

BTW, it seems to me, that I get this message only when I am 'binge-watching' a playlist. Either when I watch some bits, or even several short videos of +5min each (no Shorts itself!), I get this message. However, when I watch several videos for longer than +10min each, I do not get this error message, even on a local (active?) VPN server. Otherwise I have to hope merely to another country with the official VPN app of my provider, and/or restart the app (no forced restart!), and off I go (again)...

[QuantumEdgeCode]

YouTube appears to redirect special IP addresses to the login page, but using high-quality IP addresses allows you to watch directly, including US IPs.

[tag27]

Couldn't this issue be fixed by making youtube think that you are logged in? maybe perhaps some sort of default account that the data could somehow be rerouted to?

It used to be using OAuth2, which is almost similar, but recently YouTube A/B tests broke this solution. Now all that's left is POtoken to fix the problem, for now.