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5by review

5by compiles the most interesting videos on the Web and organizes them into genres, so you can browse based on your interests. While it offers a sleek interface, one setting issue prevents us from fully recommending it.

Pros

Easy to navigate: Once you log in to the app, you're presented with three menu options: Inbox, Find Videos, and the Daily 5. Find Videos allows you to browse a variety of genres, including Sports, Geeky, Entertainment, and more.

Create a Favorites list: Adding a video to your Favorites list is as easy as tapping the star icon at the top of the screen. The video instantly appears in your Favorites folder and can be viewed at any time.

Cons

Requires log-in: We've come across similar video apps that only require log-in if you want to create Favorites lists or share. We'd appreciate a similar option here for people who don't want yet another log-in to remember.

Videos automatically play: As soon as you select a genre, the video appears and immediately begins to play. We'd prefer to press Play ourselves, just in case we either select something by accident or are in a location that isn't appropriate for sound. We glanced at the Settings menu to see if the app offered any kind of remedy for it, but could not locate one.

Bottom Line

5by is a decent video viewing and sharing app, but we were annoyed that it would just play videos automatically. Sure, you can turn your volume all the way down, but that's kind of a nuisance each time you want to play a video. For that reason, we recommend you look for a different video app.

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