I've been using Altstore for a while. I just have a Windows VM on my existing Proxmox server running Altserver and never have to worry about it. My primary use-case is a third party YouTube client that integrates ad blocking and SponsorBlock-- it saves me a huge amount of time and frustration when using YouTube.

Why not jailbreak? I want to remain on the latest iOS software, and generally speaking, hardware. Jailbreaking is just not an option for me if I want to stay up to date and I don't want to deal with tethered jailbreaks, which seem to be more common for the latest release versions.

You can get sponsor and ad free YouTube through the App Store.

I prefer to avoid sideloading modified versions of the official iOS apps. That feels unsafe to run untrusted code, and I personally don’t want to review the code myself or build from source if that’s even possible.

There is no need to fuss with all of that, when there are plenty of good options on the AppStore.

Yatte [1] is a third party client built from scratch in swift ui. It can connect either Piped or Invidous servers. It’s available on all Apple platforms included tvOS. It runs way better than the official YouTube app.

Safari Extensions - I prefer watching YouTube in the browser. These extensions are universal AppStore purchases and work just as well on mobile as they do on desktop Safari.

Vinegar [2] is a Safari extension that blocks YouTube ads and replaces the player with the default WebKit html player. It makes using YouTube in the browser so much more tolerable. It’s helpful to have when you want to watch videos in 4K - something most Invidious or Piped servers struggle with.

SponsorBlock [3] also has an official Safari extension available.

[1] https://apps.apple.com/us/app/yattee/id1595136629

[2] https://apps.apple.com/us/app/vinegar-tube-cleaner/id1591303...

[3] https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sponsorblock-for-youtube/id157...

How well do these apps work with livestreams? That's been YT's secret sauce for me personally. While their player isn't perfect, the way that YT handles livestreams is far and away its most valuable feature. No other platform will allow you to pause a stream, walk away for 2 hours, and come back and let you press play where you left off. On mobile and desktop, it works great. I've had more issues with the YT player on Apple TV but I don't tend to pause streams with that device.