UI Improvement: Remove redundant 'Share' and 'Open in browser' buttons from the video page.

[jehad-husein]

Checklist

• I made sure that there are no existing issues - open or closed - which I could contribute my information to.
• I have read the FAQ and my problem isn't listed.
• I'm aware that this is a request for NewPipe itself and that requests for adding a new service need to be made at NewPipeExtractor.
• I have taken the time to fill in all the required details. I understand that the feature request will be dismissed otherwise.
• This issue contains only one feature request.
• I have read and understood the contribution guidelines.
• I have read and understood the AI policy. The content of this request is not generated by AI.

Feature description

I've noticed a redundancy in the current UI of the video player page. The 'Share' and 'Open in browser' buttons appear in two places simultaneously:
Inside the video player overlay (top right).
Below the video description/action bar.
Having the same features twice on the same screen feels unnecessary. I suggest removing the larger buttons from the bottom (marked as '2' in my attached screenshot) and keeping only the ones on the video player (marked as '1'). This would free up more space for the comment section and make the overall layout look much cleaner.

Why do you want this feature?

This will make the video player look clearer.

Additional information

[dftf-stu]

I'd argue;

• Unless you tap the \/ chevron, you don't see these icons by default anyway
• Some people may wish to share a video
• Some people might want to open videos in a browser so they can then like or comment on the video (assuming that browser signs in with a Google account, as unlike ReVanced or Grayjay, NewPipe and its forks do not support Google Account integration)

Your request is unlikely to be actioned anyway, given the team and undertaking a "major re-factoring of the app", in which the UI will significantly change anyway. But this request strikes me as "I don't use these, so I see little-value in them being there", even though they are features others may use... 🤔

[jehad-husein]

@dftf-stu Thank you for sharing your opinion. But we can tap on \ / to get this feature, and by tapping here we will get the feature of sharing and opening with browser. I don't think the feature should be on the same page twice for this. Another thing that could be done is below the video and on the line above the comment box where there are features like download, save to playlist, etc. I think these two features can be aligned there. If you slide from right to left, you will get those features, like YouTube where there are features like download,popup video ,share, etc.

[dftf-stu]

You're correct that if you tap on the title bar of a video, that also reveals duplicate "Share" and "Open in browser" buttons.

But the reason why they exist in the video overflow menu (the top-right \/ dropdown) is likely so you can access these features when watching a video in full-screen (phone rotated sideways) mode. If they were taken away, you'd always have to put a full-screen video back into "card-mode" (phone rotated portrait) to then access them

[jehad-husein]

I think there might be a misunderstanding. I am not suggesting to remove the buttons from the video player overlay (the ones accessible in full-screen). I agree they are essential for landscape mode! 🤝
My suggestion is specifically about the action bar below the video in portrait mode. Since the player overlay already provides these buttons, having them again right below the video feels like a waste of space. 😌
Instead of two large dedicated buttons there, we can move them into the swipeable action row (alongside Download, Add to, etc.). This way, we keep the functionality in portrait mode without cluttering the screen, and the full-screen (landscape) experience remains exactly as it is now.

[dftf-stu]

Hmm... maybe the simpler solution would be for the team to simply make it so the full video title was available at all-times, without having to tap the \/ to reveal it?

As otherwise, the larger "Share" and "Open in browser" buttons are hidden when the arrow is in the \/ position, so I'd guess you're only tapping it to reveal the full video title...?

[hollownights]

The "share" and "open in browser" on the info page/under the player are not redundant, as any action/button on the player is only available when the video is being played, something the user may not want to do or maybe even can't do at some point, So, if there is any redundancy, it is with the share/open buttons inside the player, not with the ones on the info page.

[ShareASmile]

Please note that two "Share" buttons have separate functions. We have a time-stamped share button inside the player for sharing URL with timestamp (which is a feature, a lot of our users use it daily) and the lower one below main player is for sharing clean URL. So they have separate functions. "Open in browser" button also has its unique ease of use in both places. So there are no plans to remove them.

On the contrary two share buttons should co exist and definitely look different, so it demands opening a new issue anyway on NewPlayer repo. One solution is to use a different icon for the "Share timestamp" button in line with NewPlayer current implementation. A clock icon on the bottom right corner of timestamped version of "Share" button could be included for sharing with playback progress if there isn't a standard Material icon available for this.
cc @theScrabi @Stypox

However "Share" without timestamp button should be not be hidden in a collapsible menu.
It should be easy to access. We should get a neat solution to this specially when going through Rewrite & switching to using our NewPlayer which comes with Improved Player UI.