Today, I’m launching Vinegar 3, a major small update to Vinegar. This update introduces a new extension, Vinegar Extract.
Vinegar Extract does what the original Vinegar does—it replaces the YouTube video player with a <video> tag. But it doesn’t block ads. So, you’ll need to use it alongside an adblocker or a YouTube Premium subscription.
Why?
I’ve been keeping an eye on the YouTube anti-adblock situation for some time. In fact, to prevent Vinegar from being blocked by YouTube, I’ve already had to rewrite it twice.
I’ve found that when Vinegar is used with other extensions, adblockers, or even VPNs, it can sometimes cause issues. But these issues aren’t caused by Vinegar itself.
Sometimes, YouTube returns 403 errors when you try to load videos using their API. This can make some videos unwatchable. When this happens, I have no choice but to fallback to the ad-laden videos on the YouTube website, which isn’t ideal.
So, thinking about all these problems, I’ve decided to focus on what Vinegar does best—transforming the YouTube video player. As for blocking ads, I suggest using dedicated adblockers. They’re better equipped to keep up with YouTube’s constant changes. This way, I can focus on making Vinegar better, and the adblockers can handle the rest.
Which Adblocker Should I Use?
There are many good adblockers out there. uBlock Origin is probably the most capable, but it’s not available for Safari. So, AdGuard (Mac, iOS) is a good alternative since their filter lists are pretty much the same.
If you’re already using an adblocker, it should work fine, too. Just make sure it’s updated with the latest anti-anti-adblock filters.
What about the Original Vinegar?
Don’t worry, I’m not removing the original Vinegar extension. When you install the app, you’ll see both extensions. If the original Vinegar extension works for you, you don’t have to switch to Vinegar Extract. You can pick the one that works best for you, just don’t enable them both at the same time.
But due to the issues I mentioned, I might be gradually reducing support for the original extension.
Vinegar was launched in 2021. Now, Vinegar 3 is here as a free update. I hope you find it useful. I think this update will ensure the longevity of Vinegar.