Comparison

MyTubeShelf vs Cloaki

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

MyTubeShelf

Organize your YouTube subscriptions into custom groups for a cleaner, focused browsing experience. Avoid endless scrolling and recommendations. Syncs across devices via iCloud.

Highlights
  • Group subscriptions by topic
  • Smart group feeds sorted by date/popularity
  • Distraction-free browsing
  • Automatic iCloud sync
  • Uses RSS feeds for privacy
Features
Read full description

Too many YouTube subscriptions? Scrolling endlessly? MyTubeShelf helps you organize channels into custom groups and browse them in a clean, focused way. No recommendations. No ads. Just your subscriptions. * WHAT YOU CAN DO + Group subscriptions your way + Organize channels into topics like Tech, Music, News, or anything you want. * SMART GROUP FEEDS + View videos by group, sorted by date or popularity. * CLEAN, DISTRACTION-FREE BROWSING + Focus on what you follow, not what YouTube recommends. * AUTOMATIC ICLOUD SYNC + Your groups and setup stay in sync across all your iOS devices. *** HOW IT WORKS (IMPORTANT) *** To avoid repeated YouTube logins, the app uses RSS feeds. This keeps the app fast, simple, and private - with a few intentional limits: - Sign in once, then refresh manually if you add or remove subscriptions - Shows the 15 most recent public videos per channel - Paid videos and Shorts may not appear - RSS feeds may occasionally return no videos for certain channels These are design choices, not bugs. * FREE & AD-FREE FOREVER + No ads + No tracking + No subscriptions Just a free tool built to help you organize YouTube subscriptions. * BEST FOR + Users with lots of subscriptions + People who want organized, topic-based feeds + Anyone who prefers speed, privacy, and simplicity * NOT FOR - Real-time auto-sync expectations - Shorts-only or paid-content browsing - Full YouTube app replacements * FINAL LINE If you want a simple, honest way to organize YouTube, this app is for you. MyTubeShelf doesn’t store your personal data. Sign-in happens directly with Google only when you log in or refresh subscriptions. Groupings can be synced via iCloud, but only your subscription organization is stored - nothing else. We don’t track, share, or sell your data. Full privacy policy: https://2smallcats.com/mytubeshelf#privacy Terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Cloaki

This app offers a private browsing experience for watching and searching YouTube content without a Google account. It stores your history and favorites locally, preventing your activity from being tracked and used for advertising profiles. Enjoy features like channel subscriptions and video previews while maintaining your privacy.

Highlights
  • Private YouTube browsing without Google account
  • Local storage for history, favorites, and subscriptions
  • Proxy server for anonymized requests
  • Targeted third-party tracker blocking
  • Channel subscriptions and new video notifications
  • Video previews and linked timestamps
Features
Read full description

Cloaki is a privacy-focused browser for YouTube on iPhone and iPad. Watch and search YouTube — even favorite videos and subscribe to channels — without a Google account, and without your searches and browsing being tied to you. WHAT MAKES CLOAKI DIFFERENT Most YouTube apps — including the official one — send your search queries and watch history back to Google, where they're used to build an advertising profile. Cloaki routes all YouTube API requests through its own proxy server, so your searches and channel browsing are never associated with your Google account or device. PRIVACY BY DESIGN • All search and channel requests go through Cloaki's proxy — not directly to Google • Watch history, search history, favorites, subscriptions, and playlists are stored on your device only, in an encrypted store excluded from iCloud backup by default • Optional iCloud backup available in Settings if you want to preserve your data across device restores • Thumbnails are served from Cloaki's server so your IP address is never exposed to Google's CDN • Targeted third-party tracker blocking built into the video player • No cookies are ever stored FEATURES • Search YouTube and browse channels without a Google account • Search within a single channel, or filter a saved playlist as you type • Subscribe to channels and get notified about new videos • See which videos are New or still Unwatched in the channels and playlists you follow • Save favorites locally and attach notes to them • Pick up where you left off with continue watching • Save playlists and play them through with autoplay • Keep watching in Picture in Picture while you use other apps • Open any YouTube link in Cloaki — hold a link in Safari or any app and tap Cloaki in the share sheet • Share videos with a cloaki.app link — opens directly in Cloaki when installed, with a clean preview page for everyone else • Hold any video card to preview its frames before you open it • Tap related videos in the player to open them in Cloaki rather than leaving the app • Switch between card and list layouts in search, favorites, channels, history and home • Bring your own YouTube API key to use your own quota (optional) • Take a guided tour of the app at any time from Settings CLOAKI PREMIUM Playback is never paywalled — every video plays in full, at no cost. The free tier includes a daily allowance of 5 proxy-routed searches, which keeps a shared quota fair for everyone and the privacy proxy sustainable. You can lift the allowance for free at any time by using your own YouTube API key with the proxy turned off. Cloaki Premium unlocks: • More proxy-routed searches • Linked timestamps in your video notes — tap one to jump straight to that moment • Note sharing with other Cloaki users, end-to-end encrypted • More options for background new-video checks on subscribed channels Cloaki Premium is available as an auto-renewing subscription at $2.99 per quarter (3 months) or $9.99 per year, or as a one-time lifetime purchase at $49.99. Payment is charged to your Apple ID at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and can be managed or cancelled in Settings → Apple ID → Subscriptions. PRIVACY PROTECTION MODE Enable Privacy Protection to block some third-party trackers and analytics requests in the video player. Turn it off if a specific video fails to load. YOUR OWN API KEY Advanced users can enter their own Google API key in Settings to bypass the shared Cloaki quota entirely. With your own key saved and the proxy turned off, searches run entirely on your own quota and the free tier's daily search limit no longer applies. Note: using your own key associates API requests with your Google account, and turning the proxy off removes the privacy benefit it provides. Requires iOS 17 or later. iPhone and iPad supported. Terms of Use (EULA): https://cloaki.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://cloaki.app/privacy

Screenshots

MyTubeShelf4 screens
Cloaki4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: MyTubeShelf at 100% against Cloaki's 50%. MyTubeShelf also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.0) and in-app purchases (none vs 3). On price, ratings volume, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Cloaki sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 3 months. MyTubeShelf asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

MyTubeShelf holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 3 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of MyTubeShelf's written reviews are positive against 50% of Cloaki's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MyTubeShelf ships an update every 3 days, Cloaki fortnightly. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
MyTubeShelf versus Cloaki: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMyTubeShelfCloaki
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (4 ratings) — better4.0 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings4 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.6 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size58 MB5 MB
Age rating4+17+
Developer2 Small Cats LLCJonathan Head

Customer experience

MyTubeShelf

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Cloaki

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

In-app purchases

None

MyTubeShelf

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Cloaki

Subscriptions2
  • Cloaki Premium - Quarterly$2.993 Months
  • Cloaki Premium - Annual$9.991 Year
One-time1
  • Cloaki Premium - Lifetime$49.99

Questions

Is MyTubeShelf free?
MyTubeShelf is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Cloaki free?
Cloaki is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, MyTubeShelf or Cloaki?
MyTubeShelf is rated higher. MyTubeShelf averages 5.0 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while Cloaki averages 4.0 from 3 ratings.
Do MyTubeShelf or Cloaki have ads?
Neither MyTubeShelf nor Cloaki shows ads.
Which is updated more often, MyTubeShelf or Cloaki?
MyTubeShelf ships an update every 3 days, and Cloaki fortnightly. Most recently, MyTubeShelf was updated on October 31, 2026 and Cloaki on October 31, 2026.

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