⚠️ Important fixes ⚠️
[YouTube] Fix extraction of comments TeamNewPipe/NewPipeExtractor#1163
The issue happened because YouTube changed the response of comments. Note that this response doesn't r...
Yup, now the only reason for me to occasionally switch to the actual YouTube page is to give videos likes and subscribes (that actually count for the person and aren't just bookmarks for myself)
I thought the app was being rewritten and that this version was only gonna receive fixes until the rewrite is over.
That's correct. The "New" and "Improved" changes are mostly from pull requests that were opened before the rewrite announcement, or are important quality of life improvements.
If that is too much hassle then you can install Droidify https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.looker.droidify and simply click on NewPipe in the repository settings of Droidify but beware that Droidify does enable the IzzyOnDroid repo by default.
Your question has been mostly answered, though if you're wondering why v0.26.0 is missing as well, it's because of some issues with reproducible builds that should hopefully have been resolved now.
Does anyone know if there is a way to do one-time donations to Newpipe without signing up for Libera Pay? E.g. did the team publish their IBAN or PayPal account?
I'd love to know that, too. I understand craving the security of a monthly "paycheck", but I avoid subscriptions whenever possible because all those individual "Giving that cause/software/YouTuber 2€ per month is barely noticeable" do become noticeable at some critical mass