YTLite, now YouTube Plus: an iOS YouTube tweak with a subscription attached

Free builds stopped at 5.2b4 and everything since needs a subscription

This is the first fact anyone reading this project needs, and the README puts it in a callout rather than burying it: starting from version 5.2, YTPlus requires a subscription, and the last free version is 5.2b4. The same note is repeated at the top of the 5.2, 5.2.1 and 5.2.2 release descriptions, which tells you the author is being deliberate rather than apologetic about it.

The release history explains how the feature list grew in the meantime. Version 5.2, published 2026-04-20, added settings search with the settings screen fully rewritten, Discord RPC integration, a native sleep timer, post and comment translation on long press, a new playback speed mode going up to 10x alongside the old one renamed to Standard, format and codec display when picking download quality, and Control Center seeking instead of skipping to the next track. Version 5.2.1 in April fixed settings not updating, crashes from search result cells, and SponsorBlock skip logic. Version 5.2.2 on 2026-07-17 added an account system and fixed the download button against the new YouTube interface.

So the honest reading is that the project is alive and the free distribution ended. The repository is dayanch96/YTLite with 5482 stars, 23113 forks, 44 open issues, last pushed on 2026-07-18, with topics covering jailbreak, tweak, sponsorblock and downloader.

The Makefile is a standard Theos tweak with rootless support

The build system tells you more about the project than any feature list would. The entire root Makefile is nineteen lines and follows the Theos conventions exactly, with the two package scheme switches you would expect on a modern jailbreak:

ifeq ($(ROOTLESS),1)
THEOS_PACKAGE_SCHEME=rootless
else ifeq ($(ROOTHIDE),1)
THEOS_PACKAGE_SCHEME=roothide
endif

DEBUG=0
FINALPACKAGE=1
ARCHS = arm64
PACKAGE_VERSION = 3.0.1
TARGET := iphone:clang:16.5:13.0

include $(THEOS)/makefiles/common.mk

TWEAK_NAME = YTLite
$(TWEAK_NAME)_FRAMEWORKS = UIKit Foundation SystemConfiguration
$(TWEAK_NAME)_CFLAGS = -fobjc-arc -DTWEAK_VERSION=$(PACKAGE_VERSION)
$(TWEAK_NAME)_FILES = $(wildcard *.x Utils/*.m)

include $(THEOS_MAKE_PATH)/tweak.mk

Two details are worth flagging. `$(TWEAK_NAME)_FILES` uses a wildcard over `*.x` and `Utils/*.m`, so the source layout in the tree, `YTLite.h`, `YTLite.x`, `Settings.x`, `Sideloading.x`, `YTNativeShare.x`, `YouTubeHeaders.h`, a `control` directory and `layout/`, maps directly onto what gets compiled. And the Makefile carries `PACKAGE_VERSION = 3.0.1` while the app is at 5.2.2, which is the kind of inconsistency you find in a project where the binary version and the internal package version diverged at some point.

Passing `ROOTLESS=1` or `ROOTHIDE=1` at build time selects the package scheme, which is the part a builder on a current jailbreak actually needs to get right.

More than a hundred options, grouped by what they change

The README describes YouTube Plus as a flexible enhancer for YouTube on iOS featuring over hundred customizable options. The feature list breaks into a few groups, and the grouping matters because it tells you where the value is.

Download is the biggest group: videos, audio including audio track selection, thumbnails, posts and profile pictures. Alongside that sit copy actions for video, comment and post information. Interface customization covers removing feed elements, reordering tabs, enabling OLED mode and a Shorts-only mode. Player settings add gestures, default quality and preferred audio track. Then there is the housekeeping set, save, load and restore settings plus cache clearing on demand or at startup, and a built-in SponsorBlock.

Two implementation notes make this more than a feature count. Preferences live inside YouTube's own settings screen rather than a separate app, which is why the README says YouTube Plus preferences can be found in the YouTube Settings. And there are bundled third party tweaks: YouPiP for native picture in picture and YTUHD, both by PoomSmart, documented in the Tweak Integration Details section with their own preferences panes and their own repositories. The README also credits contributors and open source libraries in named sections.

The build workflow produces a whole app, not a plugin

This is the part that surprises people who expect tweak projects to hand you a `.deb`. The README documents a GitHub Actions workflow that builds a complete YouTube Plus app, and the setup instructions are unusually specific because they are asking you to supply something the project legally cannot.

The flow starts with forking the repository and enabling read and write permissions for Actions on your fork. Then you sync the fork, open the Actions tab, and select the Create YouTube Plus app workflow. You tick the tweaks you want integrated, and then come the two fields that trip people up. You have to prepare a decrypted `.ipa` file yourself, the README says explicitly that it cannot provide one for legal reasons, upload it to a file host such as filebin.net, filemail.com or Dropbox, and paste a direct download link rather than a link to a page. There is a second workflow for beta builds where you additionally supply your own tweak binary URL.

Both workflows let you set the tweak version, defaulting to the latest release, and change the BundleID and Display Name. The output appears in the releases section of your fork. None of this runs from a command line in the README, so if you would rather use Theos directly, the Makefile is there and the Actions workflow is one option rather than the only path.

Every build is pinned to a YouTube version and a test date

Code that hooks an app's private interfaces breaks when the app changes, so the README tracks the pairing explicitly. The Supported YouTube Version section gives three lines: latest confirmed 21.16.2, date tested Jul 17 2026, and YouTube Plus 5.2.2.

That is a small section and it carries most of the practical information for anyone deciding whether a build will work today. It also explains the shape of the release notes, where a large share of entries are fixes for interface breakage: the download button not working with the new YouTube interface, progress bar coloring on the latest YouTube versions, SponsorBlock skipping issues, a player gesture that could not set brightness to zero, and hidden new ads in 5.2.2.

There is a FAQ directory with the same document in four languages, English, Russian, Italian and Polish, which is unusual and a reasonable proxy for the user base. The repository also links a review on a jailbreak community site. The 23113 forks against 5482 stars is a ratio worth noticing too, and it is consistent with a project whose main distribution method is forking and running the workflow yourself rather than downloading a binary.

What the repository does not settle

There is no license declared. The repository metadata reports none, and the README does not carry a license section or a LICENSE file in the tree, which for a project whose source is fully readable is the largest gap in the picture. Anyone planning to study the code, fork it as a base for their own tweak, or contribute should settle that question before doing anything else.

There is also no documentation of the subscription itself. The release notes say a subscription is required from 5.2 and that an account system exists in YTPlus settings, but the README does not say what it costs, what it entitles you to, or where the account is managed. The related searches for this project surface the subscription question repeatedly, which suggests it is the thing readers most want clarified and the thing the project documents least.

Setting those aside, the code quality signal is good. A nineteen-line Theos Makefile, a wildcard file glob that keeps the build honest, a dedicated `Utils/` directory, a `control` directory for the package metadata, `FAQs/` maintained in four languages, and a `.github/` directory holding the Actions workflow. For a project of this kind, the README is an honest summary and the repository is the real documentation.

Editorial conclusion

YTLite is unusual among tweak projects because the source is complete and readable while the free binary is not. The Makefile is a standard Theos tweak build, the GitHub Actions workflow produces a whole YouTube app rather than a plugin, and the feature list covers download, audio track selection, playback controls, interface removal and a built-in SponsorBlock. Two things decide whether it is usable for you. First, the subscription requirement from version 5.2 onward, which makes 5.2b4 the last free build. Second, the app-version coupling, where the README states a specific confirmed YouTube version and test date, because this kind of code breaks when Google ships a redesign. Start from the FAQs in four languages, read the supported YouTube version line, and decide there whether to build from the Actions workflow or stay on an older release.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

1. dayanch96/YTLite on GitHub
2. Issues
3. README
4. Releases