Introduction
What SimpMusic is, which platforms it supports, and the difference between the FOSS and Full versions.
SimpMusic is a free and open-source (FOSS) YouTube Music client for Android and Desktop, built with Compose Multiplatform. It plays music from YouTube Music and YouTube without ads and supports background playback, while adding features inspired by Spotify, SponsorBlock and ReturnYouTubeDislike.
The project started in April 2023 as a personal side project and is maintained by an independent developer with help from a global community of contributors and translators. The entire codebase is open source under the GPL-3.0 license.
Beta software
SimpMusic is in the beta stage, so you may run into bugs or crashes. Because it depends on YouTube Music, occasional player errors are normal. If you hit a bug, please open an issue on GitHub or reach out on Discord.
Supported platforms
- Android — phones and tablets, plus Android Auto with online content.
- Desktop — Windows, macOS and Linux.
FOSS vs Full version
SimpMusic ships in two variants:
- FOSS version — contains no trackers and no third-party data collection whatsoever.
- Full version — uses Sentry to collect crash reports, which helps improve the app.
If you don't want any crash data collected, use the FOSS version.
One feature difference
The FOSS build also ships without the Google Cast SDK, so casting to a Chromecast is only available in the Full version. Everything else is identical — see Cast to a TV or speaker.
Even in the Full version, listening data is only sent to Google when a signed-in YouTube user explicitly enables the "Send back to Google" feature — used to improve recommendations and support artists.
Where the data comes from
SimpMusic acts as a specialized client that parses publicly available YouTube / YouTube Music content and APIs, similar to a browser with an ad-blocker. It does not host any audio or video files. Lyrics come from SimpMusic Lyrics, LRCLIB and other sources; Spotify Canvas and lyrics use the Spotify Web API.
For the project's full legal position, see the Legal Disclaimer & Terms of Use.
