Tubular icon

Tubular

by poly · GPL-3.0-only · open source

A fork of NewPipe that adds SponsorBlock and Return YouTube Dislike. Its developer has discontinued it, so this final version won’t receive fixes when YouTube changes.

Needs:No root · no Google account

1 tracker in the code Signer matches IzzyOnDroid’s record NonFreeNetSourceArchived

2113 Apps is independent, not affiliated with or endorsed by poly. Official sources: source code on GitHub.

Download APK · 11.0 MB v0.28.4 · checked
Version
0.28.4
Size
11.0 MB
Requires
Android 5.0+
Updated
2026-03-09

Screenshots

Tubular screenshot 1Tubular screenshot 2Tubular screenshot 3Tubular screenshot 4Tubular screenshot 5

Introduction

Before you install: Tubular is discontinued. Its developer archived the project on GitHub on July 7, 2026. The repository now just says they can no longer dedicate time to it. Version 0.28.4, released in March 2026, is the last one. This matters more for a YouTube app than for most: see below.

What Tubular is

Tubular is a fork of NewPipe, the lightweight YouTube player that doesn’t use Google’s libraries or the YouTube API. Like NewPipe, it reads YouTube’s website directly, so it works without a Google account and on phones without Google services. On top of that it adds two features NewPipe doesn’t have:

  • SponsorBlock, which skips sponsor segments, intros and similar parts of videos, using timestamps submitted by the SponsorBlock community.
  • Return YouTube Dislike, which shows an estimate of a video’s dislike count again.

Why being discontinued matters

Apps like this depend on how YouTube’s pages work. When YouTube changes them, NewPipe-based apps need an update to keep playing videos, and those updates are routine for maintained projects. Tubular won’t get them any more. The last version may keep working for a while, but once YouTube breaks it, there will be no fix.

If you are choosing now, pick a maintained app. On this site that is FreeTube Android, which also has SponsorBlock. In its farewell note, Tubular’s developer points users to PipePipe, another NewPipe-based app.

About this file

This is the final release as published through IzzyOnDroid, checked against its signed index. Our scan found ACRA code in the package, a crash-reporting library that NewPipe-based apps use for bug reports. As always, that shows the code is included, not what it sends. IzzyOnDroid flags the app SourceArchived and NonFreeNet (it relies on YouTube).

Written by 2113, last reviewed . Sources: source code, release notes, IzzyOnDroid listing.

What’s inside the APK

Trackers

ACRA

Code from these SDKs is in the package. That shows it is bundled, not how it is used.

Native code

4 CPU types

Runs on 64-bit and older 32-bit ARM phones.

Android versions

Android 5.0 and up

Built for Android 15 (target API 35).

Permissions

11

2 of them need your approval first.

Flagged by IzzyOnDroid:

  • NonFreeNet: Relies on or promotes a proprietary network service.
  • SourceArchived: The source code repository has been archived, so there will be no further updates.

CPU types in this build: arm64-v8a (64-bit ARM, almost every phone since 2017); armeabi-v7a (32-bit ARM, older and budget phones); x86 (32-bit Intel, emulators); x86_64 (64-bit Intel, emulators and Chromebooks).

Asks you first (2)

Android shows a prompt before the app can use these.

  • Show notifications (Android 13+) · POST_NOTIFICATIONS
  • Write shared storage (Android 10 and older) · WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE

You switch these on in Settings (1)

Special app access. Nothing is granted until you turn it on yourself.

  • Display over other apps · SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW
Granted at install (7)

Low-risk permissions Android grants automatically, plus any we have not classified.

  • ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE
  • FOREGROUND_SERVICE
  • FOREGROUND_SERVICE_DATA_SYNC
  • FOREGROUND_SERVICE_MEDIA_PLAYBACK
  • INTERNET
  • RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED
  • WAKE_LOCK
Defined by other apps (1)

Permissions that belong to another app or to this app itself.

  • org.polymorphicshade.tubular.DYNAMIC_RECEIVER_NOT_EXPORTED_PERMISSION

More Information

Package name
org.polymorphicshade.tubular
Version
0.28.4 (build 1009)
File size
11.0 MB (10,989,082 bytes)
Requires
Android 5.0 or later
Category
Media
License
GPL-3.0-only
Developer
poly
Released
Mar 9, 2026
Signer SHA-256
8ad7025a8c911454e2a7b4515e360c52ca63ec0410a042ff46e9ad05b509e187
File SHA-256
b362605d9a7a3383262622d016a069221726a60a1288be1b8fade4b563e499f1
Checked
, against the IzzyOnDroid index · how we check · verify it yourself

Common questions

Is this APK the official Tubular release?

Yes. It is the developer’s own release of Tubular 0.28.4, byte for byte as IzzyOnDroid distributes it. Its SHA-256 matches IzzyOnDroid’s signed index, and it is signed with the certificate IzzyOnDroid records for the app (SHA-256 8ad7025a8c911454e2a7b4515e360c52ca63ec0410a042ff46e9ad05b509e187).

What Android version does Tubular need?

Android 5.0 or later (API level 21). Version 0.28.4 is built for Android 15 (target API 35). Runs on 64-bit and older 32-bit ARM phones.

Can Tubular access the internet?

Yes. The APK requests Android’s internet permission. In total it declares 11 permissions, and 2 of them need your approval first.

Does Tubular contain trackers?

Yes. Version 0.28.4 contains code from ACRA, which matches an Exodus Privacy tracker signature. That shows the code is bundled, not how the app uses it.

Is Tubular open source?

Yes. Tubular is released under the GPL-3.0-only licence, and its source code is published at https://github.com/polymorphicshade/Tubular.

Recent releases

Version Released Size Requires
v0.28.4 · this download Mar 9, 2026 11.0 MB Android 5.0+
v0.28.2 Jan 29, 2026 12.7 MB Android 5.0+

Versions currently kept in the IzzyOnDroid repository. We host and check only the newest one. Full changelog.

Alternatives and related apps

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