Each person uses it differently. I hate YT recommendations, they just promote whatever pays better, including low quality and simply incorrect content ("science"). All I'm using for years is a flat list of channels. I've been able to remove more from the list, then I add, and still use youtube as a substitute of a TV.

Lack of sign in in NewPipe was a positive change for me.

you are literally the first person I know that enjoy youtube recommendations.

It pushes trash to my feed.

It pushes trash if you watch trash? For me it pushes more similar stuff of what I already watch.

the youtube home page pushes exponentially more trash than the recommendations do though

At least for videos I use google spread sheet script to manage a bunch subscriptions into different private playlists accessible via sharelinks in Newpipe with psonsorblock. Allows me to keep things in sync with youtube account on other devices.

https://github.com/Elijas/auto-youtube-subscription-playlist...

Music I just use the default App and pay for the subscription.

Upgrade to a YouTube Premium family plan for $14.99/mo and have no ads in YT either...

I have no desire to pay 15 for the ability to play videos with the screen off

Especially when it was a feature by default in the Youtube app, then they took it away and put it behind said $15 paywall!

Yeah NewPipe is a privacy oriented client, like FreeTube or Invidious or Piped, so I don't think they will ever implement sign in[1]. In this sense, NewPipe is not a Vanced replacement.

[1] some of these clients have their own sign in, but you are not signing into your actual YouTube account and you don't get recommendations from YouTube.

That's strange, I take steps to explicitly avoid its recommendations.

>What value does YouTube even have without recommendations?

You can watch videos on it that were recommended elsewhere. Like, say, here. Or reddit. That's my exclusive usage of it.