Sidestep
Intercept URLs, remove tracking, and redirect to privacy-friendly frontends.
com.blankdev.sidestep
About Sidestep
<p>Android app that intercepts social media URLs and redirects them to alternative frontends while removing tracking parameters. No apps or accounts needed to access the content shared with you.</p><p><b>Alternative Frontends</b></p><p>Bypass closed ecosystems and access a more open internet - with a less cluttered web experience. Sidestep supports several major platforms with configurable alternatives:</p><ul><li>Twitter/X → Nitter</li><li>Reddit → Redlib</li><li>YouTube → Invidious, Piped</li><li>Google Maps → OpenStreetMap</li><li>IMDb → LibreMDB</li><li>Medium → Scribe</li><li>Wikipedia → Wikiless</li><li>Goodreads → BiblioReads</li><li>Genius → Dumb, Intellectual</li><li>Tumblr → Priviblur</li><li>UrbanDictionary → RuralDictionary</li><li>Imgur → Rimgo</li><li>GitHub → GotHub</li><li>StackOverflow → AnonymousOverflow</li></ul><p><b>Flexible Configuration & Smart URL Cleaning</b></p><p>Automatically removes tracking parameters from all URLs:</p><ul><li>UTM parameters (utm_source, utm_medium, etc.)</li><li>Platform-specific trackers (Twitter s/t, YouTube si, Instagram igsh)</li><li>E-commerce tracking (Amazon, affiliate links)</li><li>Analytics parameters</li></ul><p>Granular control over how URLs are processed:</p><ul><li>Unshorten URLs: Automatically resolves shortened links (bit.ly, t.co, etc.)</li><li>Remove Tracking: Strip analytics and tracking parameters</li><li>Immediate Navigation: Automatically open the processed URL in your browser</li><li>Clean Only Mode: Remove tracking without redirecting</li><li>Clean & Sidestep Mode: Remove tracking AND redirect to alternative frontend</li><li>Custom Redirects: Add your own domain mappings</li><li>Instance Picker: Fetch live, healthy instances sorted by uptime</li></ul><p><b>Tracking-proof</b></p><ul><li>Previews fetched via DuckDuckGo (optional)</li><li>No Data Collection: Zero analytics, zero tracking</li><li>Local Processing: All URL cleaning happens on-device</li></ul>