When we talk about online video sharing platforms, YouTube comes to mind immediately. But recent years have introduced some more players like PeerTube that are growing in popularity as decentralised video sharing platforms. People, especially kids, are getting more and more involved with such platforms due to their unique video-sharing, uploading, and hosting features.
In this article, we will try to explore all the ins and outs of PeerTube, including its features, benefits, pros, and cons. We will also discuss this platform with a special focus on its safety features for kids so that parents can take necessary actions accordingly.
What is PeerTube?
PeerTube is a video-sharing platform just like YouTube or Dailymotion. This platform is free to use, and you can watch and upload videos without having to worry about the rules of the PeerTube company. That’s because they give all the controls to their viewers and uploaders.
Unlike other video-sharing platforms like YouTube that store all videos on their own servers, PeerTube runs differently. It uses a network of independent groups that can manage the videos and set the rules of content moderation on this platform. This means that all the control on videos comes to the common public, not the PeerTube platform itself. This group can be a community, an educational institution, or a separate organization.
Each independent group can set its own rules, video policies, and content moderation standards. This freedom gives users and communities an option to decide which kind of videos they want to host.
Different groups can also connect with each other via a mutual cooperation system. They can also support each other to make their videos available and accessible on the PeerTube platform. The mutual cooperation system on the PeerTube platform helps other users to view videos even with low internet connectivity.
According to a recent report by DataHorizzon Research, the global decentralized social network market is expected to increase from USD 1.3 billion in 2024 to USD 18.6 billion by 2033. This increase in the usage of decentralized video-sharing platforms is continuing to grow as a positive upward trend.
Try using parental control tools to protect their safety.
Key features of PeerTube
Let’s discuss some of the key features of PeerTube in detail for clarity:
Decentralized hosting
Unlike big video platforms like YouTube that are centralized to a single company, PeerTube is not limited to a single company. Rather, many independent groups or video uploaders are involved in managing this platform.
No central rules
Each independent server can set its own rules and policies for the videos it uploads. So, there is no central company that controls what is allowed or disallowed to be shared on PeerTube. Hence, the freedom and control lie with the general public, not with the PeerTube company.
Better reliability
If one server is down or goes offline, videos can get support from other servers. So, the content of videos always remains accessible for the users with a shared chain of hosting.
Shared video delivery
PeerTube uses a system where users help each other make video sharing possible and convenient. When a person is watching a video, he or she is naturally helping others to view that video. This system reduces costs and helps this platform remain affordable, accessible, and efficient.
Community-operated content
Each server on PeerTube is run or managed by a community. So, these institutions have more authority and freedom to introduce their own values and interests.
Data privacy and ownership
PeerTube focuses more on user control over data shared on its platform. So, this platform doesn’t keep a track of your activities or interests while you are using PeerTube. So, this platform will not track your movements to show you targeted or specific ads.
Server switching
Users are also free to switch between choosing or moving their data from one server to another. This gives full control in the hands of users about where they want to host their videos.
Increased user rights and freedom
PeerTube focuses more on ensuring complete user privacy. PeerTube users are free to share content on this platform without having a fear of forced takedowns of their videos due to any policies or violations set by a specific company. So, users have more control and security while they upload videos on PeerTube.
Pros and cons of PeerTube
We have discussed all the upsides of PeerTube until now. Let’s examine this platform carefully now by discussing all the pros and cons to have a fair judgment:
- Ad-free experience: PeerTube is an ad-free platform. We know how annoying ads can be, especially when we want to see a critical video urgently and can’t wait for the video to start. PeerTube provides such an experience to its viewers.
- No waiting or distractions: You don’t have to wait for a single second for the paid content or survey to finish so that you can start watching your desired video. So, you will not find any pop-ups or other distractions before your video starts.
- No data tracking: There will be no data tracking or targeted ads on PeerTube, and you can enjoy videos with a free mind without having to experience any frustration. You can also feel relaxed that your data is not being tracked to show the relevant ads to you in the future.
- Community engagement: As stated earlier, all the major controls of this platform are in the hands of users or the shared community. They will decide what content will show on PeerTube instead of the corporate policies. This encourages active participation and ownership by the community with active engagement. Users are free to suggest changes for improvements and have their say in content moderation policies.
- Content diversity and openness: As PeerTube doesn’t operate with corporate algorithms in the background, users are free to have wide content diversity on this platform. There will be no political restrictions depending on a country’s regulatory requirements or any other guidelines or policies. This gives users complete access to diverse perspectives that may not flourish on mainstream and centralized platforms.
- User privacy and control: PeerTube allows users to be in charge of their data control and privacy. The platform doesn’t track their searches and viewership patterns. Users can fully control what to upload, watch, and subscribe in the way they want.
- Inappropriate content: While limited content moderation gives the freedom of sharing or viewing diversified content, it can also serve as a downside of this platform. That’s because of the absence of universal content moderation rules. Users can upload inappropriate videos that may not be beneficial for all users.
- Smaller user base: YouTube is a gigantic platform with billions of users worldwide. PeerTube has a very small user base compared to YouTube and other big video-sharing platforms. So, we can say that many content creators will not be present on this platform. Hence, you may have a limited exposure to videos.
- No payment to uploaders: As PeerTube is an open source platform, it doesn’t pay its video uploaders. People make a variety of content with hard work on platforms like YouTube because they earn money. That’s why YouTube has dedicated uploaders who take it as their full-time job. Hence, more carefully made videos and documentaries are present on YouTube. That’s not the case on PeerTube.
- Technical drawbacks: P2P video sharing technology relies heavily on viewers’ activities. If there are no substantial activities by users, there will be slower streaming speeds or video buffering issues. This may hinder many users from using this platform.
Is PeerTube safe for kids to use?
While PeerTube offers many benefits to a wide range of users, it also poses certain potential threats, especially for kids. Let’s discuss some of the factors and challenges of this platform concerning kids:
Community-dependent moderation
As the content moderation on PeerTube depends solely on independent servers or instances, it may become challenging for the videos to be appropriate or inappropriate for kids. The community can set the guidelines ensuring child safety for the uploaded videos, and they can also ignore this factor, which can make it inappropriate for kids.
No general age restrictions
PeerTube doesn’t have any universal age restrictions to start viewing or uploading content on this platform. While some instances can introduce age limits, they can also be ignored. This can serve as a challenge for kids to upload the videos without thinking much about the appropriateness of those videos.
Mutual interaction limitations
PeerTube encourages users to have mutual interactions. But this may accompany potential risks of harmful contact with the children. The community engagement, commenting, and other forms of contact may pose threats for smaller kids to have bad experiences.
According to a 2024 press release by the American Psychological Association (APA), kids are more likely to experience harmful content on social media. It stressed that the platforms must be responsible for moderating the content according to the kids. That’s why it is pivotal for parents to provide necessary supervision to kids while they use such platforms.
PeerTube vs YouTube: A comparison
Let’s have a clear comparison between PeerTube and YouTube to have a clear idea of the winner according to your preferences.
User experience
Users may give more value to PeerTube because of having more freedom and flexibility due to this platform being decentralized and based on community decisions. They may also feel that the absence of ads makes their video viewing more enjoyable. On the other hand, they may feel a big difference when they switch from YouTube to PeerTube. There will be very little variety and automatic video suggestions on PeerTube. They may miss the personalized suggestions they used to have on YouTube. The absence of ads may make them feel alienated from the latest happenings. Slow buffering for some videos due to P2P technology may also make them frustrated.
Content availability
There will be decentralized content discovery on PeerTube, and the volume and scope of videos on PeerTube will be much smaller compared to YouTube. Content would represent only specific communities or independent groups. The absence of a central video directory. On the other hand, YouTube offers a world of videos across every possible or imaginable genre. The videos include music and movies also. From entertainment to education and tutorials, you will find almost everything on YouTube. That makes YouTube unbeatable in terms of content availability and variety.
Safety features
Safety features of PeerTube depend on the community guidelines and preferences. There is no centralized policy for the whole platform in terms of content moderation and safety. That can make this platform vulnerable to kids and innocent people. While PeerTube reduces the risk of data collection for targeted ads, there is still a threat of showing inappropriate content if the community allows it. YouTube has a centralized policy and content moderation for the whole platform. That makes it universal for all users to experience the same level of safety and privacy. It also offers a dedicated platform for kids (YouTube Kids) that especially focuses on showing videos that are safe for kids.
As discussed earlier in the pros and cons, both platforms have distinct advantages and disadvantages. It depends on a user’s choice to select the platform according to his or her preferences.
Suggestions for using PeerTube
While PeerTube offers more privacy for its users and uploaders and provides an ad-free experience, you cannot consider it fully safe for your kids. Many potential issues remain that we discussed already. Let’s discuss some practical suggestions for using PeerTube:
Choose child-friendly instances
As each instance has its own set of rules on PeerTube, you must choose the instance that has policies in favour of children. If you think the content moderation is according to the safety of your kids, you can choose those instances for your kids. You can also consider educational instances so that your children learn and increase their knowledge while watching videos on PeerTube.
Open communication
Try to have open communication with your kids. Tell the harms of inappropriate content. Let them know what content to avoid so that they can ensure their digital safety and learn about digital etiquette. If you can’t monitor them all the time, you must guide them on what to avoid.
Use parental controls
Using parental controls is one of the most efficient ways of ensuring the digital safety of your kids. While kids are prone to watching inappropriate content out of their innocence, you must take steps to stay away from such harmful content. You can download a good parental control app like FlashGet Kids. Use this app to set device-level restrictions, limits on app and phone usage, and keep an eye on all of your kids’ activities on their phones.
Conclusion
PeerTube is a decent alternative to centralized video-sharing platforms like YouTube. While it had many benefits, like enhanced privacy and an ad-free experience, it has limitations, too. While YouTube gives you a more systemic way of viewing personalized buddies with note variety, PeerTube focuses on more control over data and personal privacy.
In both cases, you must ensure that your kids stay away from unhealthy activities on their phones. The best way to ensure the digital safety of your kids is by using a good parental control app like FlashGet Kids. This will help you be aware of your kids’ activities on their phones so that you can take immediate action to keep them safe from being involved in potentially harmful activities.
