There have been multiple accounts created with the sole purpose of posting advertisement posts or replies containing unsolicited advertising.

Accounts which solely post advertisements, or persistently post them may be terminated.

PSA To people watching YouTube with AdBlockers

You might have noticed that even on Firefox (depending on your lists) YouTube may detect uBlock Origin on Firefox now

There’s already a workaround (found, again, here), but I figured I would use this opportunity to tell people that projects like Piped and Invidious exist, which both allow you to watch YouTube without loading their ads, with improved Privacy and (in the case of Piped) even Geoblocking-Circumvention and SponsorBlock out of the box.

They’re both great tools, and using something like LibRedirect you can even automatically go to Piped or Invidious when clicking/opening a YouTube link (and more).

Both don’t load ads, but unless changed in the settings Individous may still make connections to Google/YouTube to load the video(s) themselves.

Bit of a shameless plug for these projects, but I figured this is a really good time to show these projects as I often see people asking what they are in threads on here

NahMarcas ,

Piped.video

code ,
@code@lemmy.world avatar

How long until Google says “fuck it” and outright starts banning adblock users? Considering how deep a lot of people are into the Google ecosystem, this is potentially devastating. Imagine losing access to you email, photos, etc., with no way to appeal. Good luck if you want to actually speak to anyone human at Google.

ilikekeyboards ,

Losing access to your banks. Banks in England send you an email link to confirm your access.

Usul_00_ ,

Set u a forward from the Gmail address to the new one, and maintain the account at least minimally. As a reference, I have an account created at least 14 years ago still forwarding email. Should be enough time to change the profiles.

shneancy ,

in case of a bank Im sure you can just walk to a physical office and get your account linked to another email

things will get hard with things like steam

ilikekeyboards ,

În uk there’s many online only banks

mister_newbie ,

I migrated my Steam library off Gmail last month. You’re allowed to change email addresses.

BaardFigur ,

I’m already in the process of decoupling from gmail for this exact reason.

I’ve decoupled the most important things, but there’s just so much stuff that is still using my gmail.

JasSmith ,

It took me a couple of years to migrate away from Gmail but it was completely worth it. People lose their Google accounts for any and no reason at all. People don’t realise how many important accounts would be lost without access to their email. Now, with my own domain, I can move hosts at any moment.

whereBeWaldo ,

Any email services you recommend?

JasSmith ,

Fastmail and Proton. Don’t shoot me but iCloud is actually a good option if you’re already in the Apple ecosystem. Personalised domains are included if you’re paying for any iCloud tier, even the very cheap one. That will support personal email domains for the whole family. For families I think it’s the best value. iCloud also includes other things like cloud storage/backup, “hide my email,” and private relay.

JasSmith ,

I don’t think they’d ever ban users, but this game of cat and mouse will continue forever. They’ll make the service worse and worse, while alternatives like Rumble and Odysee will get more and more users.

That said, back up all your Google data, and migrate to your own email domain. Millions of people all over the world lose access to their Google accounts each year for any and no reason at all. All it takes is a capricious algorithm. They don’t have any customer support at all.

mister_newbie ,

I had this exact thought. I’ve since bought a domain name, moved my email over to tutanota, did a takeout request, and installed DeGooglified LineageOS. I went nuclear. Fuck Google - remember when their motto was “Don’t be evil” ? Ha!

darkkite ,

unlikely especially if they’re paying for other services. they’ll most likely prevent playback

code ,
@code@lemmy.world avatar

There’s plenty of stories online like this one. It’s all automated and if it decides you’re bad, you’re out. No questions asked, no appeals.

Google search it up and you’ll find many more.

MapleEngineer ,
@MapleEngineer@lemmy.ca avatar

Has Google considered making their advertising engine better? Allow us to skip every ad. Allow us to block all those fucking cryptocurrency scam ads. Forcing me to watch an ad for a company that I’m not interested in guarantees that I will hate that company and never buy their product even if I need it. I will go out of my way to buy something from a company that hasn’t tried to ram their advertisements down my throat. If ads weren’t so fucking terrible I might agree to watch them.

ours ,

Or in my country: most ads are in only one of the main official languages but not the one in my region so it’s wasteful for them.

Krudler ,

Thank you, this is an exact point I was making earlier today in a different conversation.

Google has two decades of information about me. Just as one random example, I’m hooked into their mapping app so they know everywhere I go and on what schedule, and can infer what I buy.

Not once in 20 years has Google advertised something to me that is in line with my interests and needs. Google knows I go to the cigar store every Monday to replenish my supply, and they’ve never suggested to me a product or service that can save me time, money, or make it more convenient.

Google’s ad system seems to shove garbage products in my face like black label shit from China (raycon, manscaped, etc) and products/companies that do not operate in my region.

datavoid ,

While you’re right that Google isn’t very good at targeting ads, I don’t think more accurate ads is what we want.

Krudler ,

It’s what I want.

I worked for years in tech, and adjacent to marketers and sales people.

I know from direct experience that people want relevant advertisements for things that will solve a problem in their lives.

Going back to my example, I would very much appreciate an advertisement for a cigar store that will either give me a discount, introduce a new product to me, or deliver my product on my schedule.

I also make and buy mechanical toys, and I’ve had an interest in them for decades. I would really appreciate an ad that highlights a new collection of mechanical puzzles.

But instead I get badgered by Google ads for things that are nuisances and of no relevance to my life.

I steadfastly maintain there is an opportunity to advertise to people in a helpful way, but Google doesn’t do it.

Crass_Spektakel ,
@Crass_Spektakel@lemmy.world avatar

I just want to point out there are some plugins and scripts to use Youtube from VLC. The “Library” then works as a search frontend. It is supercool though I can’t find the link at the moment. I remember I had to download some scripts manually and place them into my VLC-Installation. Another bone: Massively reduced CPU power. Playing a Youtube-Video in Firefox needs like four times more power. Really nice if you work on battery.

Retrograde ,
@Retrograde@lemmy.world avatar

Aw man this sounds excellent, pls do tell if you end up finding the info :)

DeathsEmbrace ,

I use noscript don’t have this problem.

Omega_Haxors , (edited )

Everyone should use script blockers. Flat out only way to reliably block the boatloads of malicious scripts that litters the internet.

iminahurry ,

Do any modern websites run with no script? I figured with most websites based in JS frameworks like react and Vue, hardly anything would work with noscript

TalkingCat ,

You enable the minimum necesary for the website to do what you need.

Rolive ,

Good idea. I will soon as well.

rush OP ,

well duh, the detection uses JavaScript.

DeathsEmbrace ,

I don’t get it you guys are all about privacy and this or adblockers but you still willingly allow Javascript?

rush OP ,

please read up on threat models. If you need that amount of privacy/security that’s fine, but many don’t.

yum13241 ,

Because LITERALLY EVERY WEBSITE THAT HAS A WORKING BUTTON THAT UPDATES ITSELF requires JavaScript.

worsedoughnut ,
@worsedoughnut@lemdro.id avatar

I’m all for this post, but I feel like someone needs to ask: What features from Youtube am I losing out on by using these alternate front-ends? (instead of just continuing the cat-and-mouse game between uBlock Origin and Google while at leat preserving the same features and UI that we’re already very mu ch comfortable with)

rush OP , (edited )

You lose:

  • Your existing YouTube account, which can only be manually imported (subscriptions)
  • Account-Based/Algorithmic Homescreen recommendations
  • Some higher resolutions (e.g 4K) (very dependant on instance, I don’t have a list of instances with their max resolutions)
  • The UI will be somewhat different, but not necessarily hard to navigate
  • probably more random stuff idk
  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • [email protected]
  • random
  • lifeLocal
  • goranko
  • All magazines
    •