If you want to watch an NSFW YouTube video, you have to be logged in to your Google account first. The problem is you can't always log in. Maybe you're on a shared computer, or it's just too much hassle when you only want to watch a two-minute clip.

Google has really tightened up its restrictions on watching NSFW YouTube videos without signing in, and you might need to verify your age even if you are signed in. But there are still a few options you can try to see if they work for you. Let's take a look.

Google frequently blocks new methods of bypassing age restrictions on YouTube. The ones in this article are listed in order of their likelihood of working, so #1 is your best bet. We've left all the old methods here for reference, and you can try them if you need to, although they're unlikely to work anymore.

1. Install a Tampermonkey Browser Script

The best way to bypass age restrictions on YouTube is to install the Tampermonkey browser extension along with a script called "Simple YouTube Age Restriction Bypass".

It sounds complicated, but it isn't. You just need to be using a desktop browser. It officially supports Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Safari, Opera Next, and Firefox, but we tested it on Brave and it worked just fine there, too.

Tampermonkey is an extension that allows you to customize and enhance the performance of websites. To set it up:

  1. Go to tampermonkey.net.
  2. Select the browser you're using from the bar of tabs along the top (choose Chrome for Brave or other Chromium-based browsers).
  3. In the Download section, click Get from Store or whatever the relevant button is labeled, and then follow the onscreen instructions to install the extension. It's no different from installing any browser extension.
    install the tampermonkey extension

With that done, you can now install the script that will let you watch restricted videos without logging in. The Simple YouTube Age Restriction Bypass script is open-source, and you can view it on GitHub. However, for ease of use, we recommend downloading it from the script site greasyfork.org:

  1. Go to the relevant page on greasyfork.org.
  2. Click Install this script.
  3. A new tab will open, showing the code for the script. Click Install.
    install a tampermonkey script

The tab will close instantly, and the script should be installed. Now load up your restricted YouTube video to check that it works.

To delete the script, open the Tampermonkey extension from your browser's toolbar, select Dashboard, then click the trash icon alongside the script name.

2. Try the Invidious YouTube Client

The previous best option for watching NSFW videos was the alternative YouTube browser client Invidious. This runs in any web browser, just like regular YouTube does, so you can search for your videos and play them as normal. You can also grab the URL of any particular YouTube video and paste it directly into the search box.

watch blocked videos on invidious

If videos don't play in the standard browser window, try clicking the Download button to the side. This doesn't actually download the video but attempts to open it in a new tab, which sometimes works, although it's often disabled. You can also click Switch Invidious Instance if you have problems. This will let you choose an alternative version of the Invidious site.

3. Install a New YouTube App

The next option you can try is to install a new YouTube app on your laptop or phone. This is obviously less convenient, as it means you cannot watch the videos in your browser, but it can work well. The good thing about apps is that they tend to be updated regularly, although there's no guarantee they will always work for restricted videos.

skytube

FreeTube for Windows, Mac, and Linux, along with NewPipe and SkyTube—both for Android—are among the apps you can use. They're all free, and all open-source, which should help relieve any security concerns you might have. They're easy to use—just search and play your videos as you would using the normal YouTube tools.

Download: FreeTube for Windows (Free)

Download: NewPipe for Android (Free)

Download: SkyTube for Android (Free)

4. Two Tools to Watch NSFW YouTube Videos

a blocked youtube video

There are a couple of websites that were once able to let you watch age-restricted YouTube videos without signing in.

The small YouTube URL trick they use to bypass the block no longer appears to work, but here are the instructions if you wish to try it anyway.

  1. Visit YouTube and load up the video you want to watch.
  2. If you're prompted to sign in, click in the address bar at the top of your browser window instead.
  3. Highlight the part of the address that says youtube.com and change it to nsfwyoutube.com.
    change url to nsfwyoutube
  4. Alternatively, change youtube.com to listenonrepeat.com.
  5. Hit Enter to continue.
  6. You'll now be taken to either of those websites to watch your video. You won't need to sign in to your account to view them.

5. Hack the YouTube URL

Another old method to try and watch NSFW YouTube videos without logging in has also been blocked. As with the previous option, this method involves changing the address to the video in your browser's address bar. But this time it doesn't take you away from the official YouTube website.

Changes to YouTube's age verification system mean that this approach no longer works, but we'll leave the instructions here for reference.

  1. Load up the age-restricted video you want to watch.
  2. Click in the address bar in your browser.
  3. The URL will begin with www.youtube.com/watch?... Highlight the word watch and change it to embed so the address now begins www.youtube.com/embed?...
    change url to embed
  4. Hit Enter and the video will fill your browser window. Just click Play to watch it.

This is one of the areas that Google has focussed on when restricting videos. You're now likely to be redirected to the YouTube site where you have to log in. Sometimes you'll see a YouTube Playback ID error, which you might be able to fix using these tips for when YouTube isn't working.

A Few More YouTube Tricks

With Google tightening up the age restrictions, there's no guarantee that these tools will work, or for how long. If you find yourself watching a lot of blocked videos, at some point you're just going to have to bite the bullet and verify your age.

Watching NSFW videos without signing in isn't the only way to bypass some of YouTube's restrictions. You can also download specific portions of videos, or skip sponsored segments in the middle of clips.