I assume by this that you are on iOS? In that case you could use AltStore, but refreshing the apps every week is indeed a hassle.

There are a lot of ways, actually, as long as you have at least a couple nics. I always recommend openbsd since it’s very hardened for this purpose. opnsense is a free open-source distro built on openbsd, and can do virtually everything that enterprise gear can do and isn’t hard to learn or manage. Openwrt is also pretty decent and can replace firmware for some existing off-the-shelf routers, which are all backdoored anyway.

1. Systemd is the most egregious pile of shit poetteringware in linux, hands down. It’s a gigantic, slow, bloated mess that runs as pid0 and keeps getting bigger as it consumes all other unix services. It violates every single unix and kiss principal. The attack surface is massive and, becuase it’s pid0, has the highest level of privilege escalation attacks. The recent xz backdoor (absolutely state-sponsored btw) was made possible because of the integration of sshd (and xz) into systemd. It’s been a cve nightmare forced onto us by redhat/ibm despite our protests. It may as well have been written by the cia. Systemd alternatives like runit are superior in every respect, particularly speed and security, while adhering to unix and kiss philosophy.

2. Not all js is malicious, but it’s objectively the most vulnerable and commonly expolited component by malicious actors in browsers (webassembly will be worse). It’s also an objectively terrible and idiosyncratic language on its own. Good css can eliminate a lot of the most worthless uses of js, but in many cases it’s still a necessary evil in frontend and web design. The best compromise we have is to only use trustworthy, foss 1st-party code and restrict 2nd/3rd party code. It’s also always a good idea to run your browser in a sandbox (bsdjail, bwrap, firejail) with no access to user files or dbus.

They’re all instances of running the same software, with a few tweaks here and there. Google has been trying to stomp out Invidious recently because google hates human rights and all that, so it’s an arms race to keep the instances running while google blocks domains, ip addresses/blocks, vps hosts, and apis. Everyone running the instances are trying to keep invidious up and some are having more success than others.

libredirect is a browser plugin that can set a customizable list of working/preferred invidious instances. If one doesn’t work, you can click a link on the video page to switch instances. I have pretty good luck with yewtu.be , inv.tux.pizza , inv.nadeko.net and invidious.drgns.space

Security and privacy are things accomplished in layers. You can implement any or all of these as you’re able to learn what they are and how they work.

At the very least a few browser tweaks and addons can prevent a lot malicious scripts and fingerprinting and are the absolute most simple, surface level things you can do. Just FF + ublockorigin will block most ads and surveillance capitalism tracking networks. noscript gives you granular control over what you do and do not want to run, and it’s a good learning experience for most users. Want ads gone, poof, there ya go.

Arkenfox is just a policy confg file (user.js) for firefox, which further helps block tracking, fingerprinting and the most awful annoyances and grievances sold as “convenience” in modern browsers. It’s well documented, easy to read and lets you configure things to your preference. The LibreWolf browser is firefox with a preconfigured arkenfox user.js for users who aren’t tech savvy or don’t like configuring things in text files. Highly recommended over FF + arkenfox if you’re getting started.

invidious is a privacy frontend for youtube that runs on instances (servers) that anonymizes users and cleans up youtube’s awful ui. Lemmygrad provides automatic invidious links when a user links to a yt video.

Running your own router firmware means owning your secure device and having meaningful control over it. Otherwise someone else has more access to your network than you do.

Finally, none of the security or privacy stuff means anything if you’re running an nsa compromised operating system, which is exactly that way by design. Opting out is free and returns speed, freedom and ownership to property held hostage by the worst excesses of capitalism and techno-fascism. This may tilt some “GaMeRs” … but people who won’t even liberate a personal computer from fascism at absolutely no risk, won’t liberate much else, either.