Oh Raymond, I needed a laugh today and you've done it - Thanks so much
How to stop YouTube from asking me to sign in
- Thread starter mrochester
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Caporegime
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The only reason to download a video on YouTube is if you find something that you suspect it is copyrighted or someone might take it down later. So you want to save it. There is no reason to download YouTube at all otherwise, besides all the tinfoil stuff.
Soldato
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clip grab has a search built in.. I can search for what ever an it brings it up . Its like an embedded browser. I also use duck duck go that seems to be able to bypass youube as well. OP should try that if they aren't.
with all due respect you don't appear to get it it. It's NOT about saving time. That is merely a welcome side effect.
really ? I've been aware of and using clipgrab for years now. I think it took me an hour one time to evaluate youtube video downloaders. Clipgrab is on mac and PC. It also works with other video sites. There's another app for mac called hermit crab that is similar but more beefy that anybody interested in this topic should checkout.
very little on youtube REALLY interests me these days. Maybe i'm just getting old. Get off my lawn! and get off social media.
Caporegime
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Caporegime
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YouTube literally has EVERYTHING.
Want to find out how to put up a fence? Youtube Tutorial. There is probably a Tutorial on how to use Clipgrab! That you would be interested in.
It really is more than cat videos.
Soldato
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Soldato
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ok bud. And the sky is blue too, and water is wet ?
I would suggest you set fire to your modem while there is still time.................
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Why?
Caporegime
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The whole idea of hiding from the man is getting too tinfoil for me. I totally get the sentiment but in reality, you need to lose your bank account, lose your PAYE job, don't have a house, fake your own death to get off the grid.
Too much work for me tbh. The little step by blocking YouTube, really? lol over cat videos? There are bigger fish to fry.
The fact that everyone here is online means we are leaving a trace somewhere, and yes, even though i am running a VPN.
Too much work for me tbh. The little step by blocking YouTube, really? lol over cat videos? There are bigger fish to fry.
The fact that everyone here is online means we are leaving a trace somewhere, and yes, even though i am running a VPN.
Soldato
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We're unlikely to get/find the exact figure but going off some articles, around 30% of YouTube users deploy ad-blocking in some way - which is fairly substantial.
Not that i can back this up but i imagine before this recent addition, majority of users using YouTube weren't signed-in and rather watched "anonymously" which i suspect is of less value to Google than a user signed-in - especially if that user then goes on to user other Google products/services.
Saying that, at least you can select "No" which is a lot more than some sites (particularly one Chinese web-store) out there which just display a sign-in box.
Many users already deploy ad-blocking, so a few clicks to add a custom rule isn't that much work. Mileage varies of course but it was a lot less faff for me to do that than it would have been to create a dummy account and to be honest, a lot less than logging into my password manager and logging into YouTube with my account details.
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It's just good practice to reduce the amount of traceable/trackable data out there to a minimum, where you draw the line is down to you and likely what you perceive as convenient. This line is not necessarily going to be the same for everyone.
It doesn't need to be as polarised/binary as you're making it out to be, nobody is saying that they want to live in a cave.
Caporegime
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I understand the sentiment but I think it's more prudent to pick the right fight to fight. YouTube viewing stats really is not one of them IMO. Things like voting for the people who can get in government who can then force people like Google to comply with the law is more useful than not signing in. That has much more weight and power to do something.
It's not the viewing stats, it's all the cookies and tracking behind it. I don't see it as a "fight", just nonconformity for the purposes of data privacy risk/caution in Google's "convenience in exchange for your data" practice (in this example).
If you're an avid user of Youtube, then the convenience may outweigh the privacy risk, which is fair enough. But if you're like others, who rarely use the service, the balance may be the other way.
But yes, the "fight" is certainly within votes more than it is usage , but unlikely much will change there at all in the next 4-5 years. In the meantime, do what you can but arguably there's one in petitioning and educating on internet privacy too.
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Caporegime
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Only comes up for me once a day, and only takes me about a second (if that) to hit the No Thanks, if you can't do it, ******* hell! 
It's not just about viewing stats. The more information Google has on you, the more it will manipulate you. The core purpose of Google is to spy as much as possible on as many people as possible for power and profit. Youtube is one of the simplest examples - the more Google knows about your viewing history (and they'll know everything about your viewing history if you're signed in), the more they will manipulate your political position. Even if they don't do it deliberately (which they probably do - there's no point giving yourself power and not using it) they'll do it anyway because that's how Google is set up. The "see more of the same" approach creates polarisation and echo chambers.
Several people have advised creating an email address solely to use Youtube. That's not enough any more. You can't create a Google account with an email address any more. You must give Google your phone number. So do those people advise buying a phone solely to use Youtube? If not, why not?
Soldato
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That's not how it works for me. I subscribe to numerous channels, and yet still get spammed with useless **** I have zero interest in on the YouTube homepage. Just opened it up to test and on the top row I have some crap about Americans carving pumpkins, something called Bruno Mars, and Henry Thomas' audition for ET (and that's from a bloody Swedish TV channel). None of which are anything to do with my subscriptions and interests.
I don't sign in either.
Just keep clicking that 'no' button.
I used to sign in, but then my recommended/watched history got polluted with cat spanking videos. Which are a thing. You wouldn't believe it, but it's a thing. You can find videos dedicated to spanking cats (with soft foam paddles). Not that I would watch that kind of thing by choice. But somehow it got into my history, and now I don't sign in anymore.
Just keep clicking that 'no' button.
I used to sign in, but then my recommended/watched history got polluted with cat spanking videos. Which are a thing. You wouldn't believe it, but it's a thing. You can find videos dedicated to spanking cats (with soft foam paddles). Not that I would watch that kind of thing by choice. But somehow it got into my history, and now I don't sign in anymore.
Rather than the media demonizing the invasion of privacy from a centralized covid app, and welcoming google/apple
if they reminded the public of the possible implications of handing your data to them in social media, utube etc. (unpalatably - Brexit, Trump ?)
maybe they would be more reticent to login, and, would evade that.
Millenials are meant to be technically astute.
I don't get the youtube download strategies benefit ?, versus tuning up youtube with ublockO - my chosen weapon.
if they reminded the public of the possible implications of handing your data to them in social media, utube etc. (unpalatably - Brexit, Trump ?)
maybe they would be more reticent to login, and, would evade that.
Millenials are meant to be technically astute.
I don't get the youtube download strategies benefit ?, versus tuning up youtube with ublockO - my chosen weapon.