[Repost] Clean YouTube links.
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@artnacrea Yeah, I am aware of such browser extensions. I am extra cautious about using or recommending browser extensions only because they are difficult to vet and pose security vulnerabilities. That's just me.
Absolutely. There's a tradeoff in all these options. I'm willing to live the pluses and minuses but others may need to do things differently.
Caveat emptor!
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[Repost] Clean YouTube links. When you get a link from YT, it includes an ID tracking back to YOU. It's a "query string" on the end of the URL like this:
...?si=[tracker_ID_here]This ID allows YouTube (and their owner, Google, and *their* owner, Alphabet, and ALL of their associates) to track the people who click on the link, and the apps they used, back to you, building a network of none-of-their-business.
Good news: DELETE the "?si=..." part & the link works just fine without the tracking.
@VisualStuart I delete everything beyond the actual link needed to get to a website when clicking links on Facebook as well. I'm not going to make Zuckerberg more wealthy through ad clicks.
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[Repost] Clean YouTube links. When you get a link from YT, it includes an ID tracking back to YOU. It's a "query string" on the end of the URL like this:
...?si=[tracker_ID_here]This ID allows YouTube (and their owner, Google, and *their* owner, Alphabet, and ALL of their associates) to track the people who click on the link, and the apps they used, back to you, building a network of none-of-their-business.
Good news: DELETE the "?si=..." part & the link works just fine without the tracking.
@VisualStuart Will do!
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@Lorraine Not quite. Delete the ? and everything to the right of it. Enjoy!
Okay! Thanks so much!
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[Repost] Clean YouTube links. When you get a link from YT, it includes an ID tracking back to YOU. It's a "query string" on the end of the URL like this:
...?si=[tracker_ID_here]This ID allows YouTube (and their owner, Google, and *their* owner, Alphabet, and ALL of their associates) to track the people who click on the link, and the apps they used, back to you, building a network of none-of-their-business.
Good news: DELETE the "?si=..." part & the link works just fine without the tracking.
How are YouTube links formed, to embedded the playable video, and not a link.
Oh wise one. Please.
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How are YouTube links formed, to embedded the playable video, and not a link.
Oh wise one. Please.
@kevinrns I don't know. That sounds like a great question to ask the great Mastodon community. Best luck!
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[Repost] Clean YouTube links. When you get a link from YT, it includes an ID tracking back to YOU. It's a "query string" on the end of the URL like this:
...?si=[tracker_ID_here]This ID allows YouTube (and their owner, Google, and *their* owner, Alphabet, and ALL of their associates) to track the people who click on the link, and the apps they used, back to you, building a network of none-of-their-business.
Good news: DELETE the "?si=..." part & the link works just fine without the tracking.
@VisualStuart use DuckDuckGo
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[Repost] Clean YouTube links. When you get a link from YT, it includes an ID tracking back to YOU. It's a "query string" on the end of the URL like this:
...?si=[tracker_ID_here]This ID allows YouTube (and their owner, Google, and *their* owner, Alphabet, and ALL of their associates) to track the people who click on the link, and the apps they used, back to you, building a network of none-of-their-business.
Good news: DELETE the "?si=..." part & the link works just fine without the tracking.
@VisualStuart YouTube isn't the only site that appends trackers to its links. I always confirm that I am only posting the actual link.
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[Repost] Clean YouTube links. When you get a link from YT, it includes an ID tracking back to YOU. It's a "query string" on the end of the URL like this:
...?si=[tracker_ID_here]This ID allows YouTube (and their owner, Google, and *their* owner, Alphabet, and ALL of their associates) to track the people who click on the link, and the apps they used, back to you, building a network of none-of-their-business.
Good news: DELETE the "?si=..." part & the link works just fine without the tracking.
@VisualStuart For iOS friends, I've written a shortcut that will remove the surveillance from the URL in the clipboard. I have an icon right next to the YouTube app for this. It makes sharing links on my phone so much easier.
Edit: make sure the replace function is set to regex mode.
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[Repost] Clean YouTube links. When you get a link from YT, it includes an ID tracking back to YOU. It's a "query string" on the end of the URL like this:
...?si=[tracker_ID_here]This ID allows YouTube (and their owner, Google, and *their* owner, Alphabet, and ALL of their associates) to track the people who click on the link, and the apps they used, back to you, building a network of none-of-their-business.
Good news: DELETE the "?si=..." part & the link works just fine without the tracking.
@VisualStuart don't forget that lot's of other media companies do the same.
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[Repost] Clean YouTube links. When you get a link from YT, it includes an ID tracking back to YOU. It's a "query string" on the end of the URL like this:
...?si=[tracker_ID_here]This ID allows YouTube (and their owner, Google, and *their* owner, Alphabet, and ALL of their associates) to track the people who click on the link, and the apps they used, back to you, building a network of none-of-their-business.
Good news: DELETE the "?si=..." part & the link works just fine without the tracking.
@VisualStuart delete it before pasting to whatsapp or similar, as those are going to immediately take the link and creating a thumbnail/preview. And so youtube will know and can track. Sometimes, even after editing, the thumbnail retains the tracking ID and all your friends will be tracked as well.
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[Repost] Clean YouTube links. When you get a link from YT, it includes an ID tracking back to YOU. It's a "query string" on the end of the URL like this:
...?si=[tracker_ID_here]This ID allows YouTube (and their owner, Google, and *their* owner, Alphabet, and ALL of their associates) to track the people who click on the link, and the apps they used, back to you, building a network of none-of-their-business.
Good news: DELETE the "?si=..." part & the link works just fine without the tracking.
@VisualStuart better still - change a few characters in the bit after the si and mess with their algorithm. Also works.
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[Repost] Clean YouTube links. When you get a link from YT, it includes an ID tracking back to YOU. It's a "query string" on the end of the URL like this:
...?si=[tracker_ID_here]This ID allows YouTube (and their owner, Google, and *their* owner, Alphabet, and ALL of their associates) to track the people who click on the link, and the apps they used, back to you, building a network of none-of-their-business.
Good news: DELETE the "?si=..." part & the link works just fine without the tracking.
@VisualStuart Good point. I just copy the URL from the browser bar though.
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[Repost] Clean YouTube links. When you get a link from YT, it includes an ID tracking back to YOU. It's a "query string" on the end of the URL like this:
...?si=[tracker_ID_here]This ID allows YouTube (and their owner, Google, and *their* owner, Alphabet, and ALL of their associates) to track the people who click on the link, and the apps they used, back to you, building a network of none-of-their-business.
Good news: DELETE the "?si=..." part & the link works just fine without the tracking.
@VisualStuart I just add "fuckyoutoo" or "suckmeballs" to it. Works every time.
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@VisualStuart better still - change a few characters in the bit after the si and mess with their algorithm. Also works.
@nomenloony Yup, insert profanity!
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@lach @VisualStuart I use profanities and sexual references.
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[Repost] Clean YouTube links. When you get a link from YT, it includes an ID tracking back to YOU. It's a "query string" on the end of the URL like this:
...?si=[tracker_ID_here]This ID allows YouTube (and their owner, Google, and *their* owner, Alphabet, and ALL of their associates) to track the people who click on the link, and the apps they used, back to you, building a network of none-of-their-business.
Good news: DELETE the "?si=..." part & the link works just fine without the tracking.
@VisualStuart As alternative to specific URL addons:
You can add this filter to your uBlock Origin filters to remove it for Youtube only:
youtube.com##+js(trusted-replace-fetch-response, /[\?&]si\=[\w-]+/g, , youtube.com/youtubei/v1/share/get_share_panel)
Important: You need to enable "Allow custom filters requiring trust."
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[Repost] Clean YouTube links. When you get a link from YT, it includes an ID tracking back to YOU. It's a "query string" on the end of the URL like this:
...?si=[tracker_ID_here]This ID allows YouTube (and their owner, Google, and *their* owner, Alphabet, and ALL of their associates) to track the people who click on the link, and the apps they used, back to you, building a network of none-of-their-business.
Good news: DELETE the "?si=..." part & the link works just fine without the tracking.
@VisualStuart Yes!
All you need to share the video is the video id like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61I4hlig78w
See that "?v=61I4hlig78w" in that link? That is all you need to share the video, every ? after that is a tracker.
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[Repost] Clean YouTube links. When you get a link from YT, it includes an ID tracking back to YOU. It's a "query string" on the end of the URL like this:
...?si=[tracker_ID_here]This ID allows YouTube (and their owner, Google, and *their* owner, Alphabet, and ALL of their associates) to track the people who click on the link, and the apps they used, back to you, building a network of none-of-their-business.
Good news: DELETE the "?si=..." part & the link works just fine without the tracking.
@VisualStuart alternative front ends for YT also used to exist that made it so you (and anyone you shared content with) could view things from YT not actually on YT. One was Invidious, and it used to work well but I'm uncertain about if YT has killed those projects, as I haven't used it in maybe a year or so. Would be safer than ever using YT on any personal device, though, so might be worth looking into if anyone on this thread cares to
*edit: typo
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@VisualStuart better still - change a few characters in the bit after the si and mess with their algorithm. Also works.
@nomenloony That might make you feel good but odds are that it doesn't really "mess" with their algorithm: they try to look up the si ID for the resource and there's no match, end of story.
